May 19, 2004
LAS VEGAS - With just a one game lead over New Mexico (22-26-1, 18-9) in the conference standings, the Rebels (32-20, 19-8 MWC) and the Lobos will go at it in a battle of the league's two top offensive teams to decide who will be crowned the Mountain West Conference regular season champion as the Rebels head to New Mexico for a three-game series this weekend. The Thursday-Saturday series will have all three games beginning at 11:00 a.m. (PST), with Internet gametracker available at www.unlvrebels.com.
Coming off a weekend in which the Rebels scored fifty-eight runs against Utah, UNLV again look to its offense to pick up wins against the Lobos. Junior right fielder Eric Nielsen hit .529 over the series, with 15 RBI and 5 homers, and was subsequently named both the MWC's Player of the Week, and National Player of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Senior first baseman Eddie Gill also had a big weekend against the Utes, driving in eight runs, while knocking out three home runs of his own.
On the mound, the Rebels will look to senior right-hander David Seccombe (8-2, 5.10), who was named the MWC's pitcher of the week for the third time this season, to pick up a win on Friday, while Jake Vose (9-3, 4.48 ERA) and Matt Luca (6-5, 6.68 ERA) round out the rotation for the Rebels.
The Lobos are coming of a Tuesday night 24-4 shellacking by No. 17 Arizona State, but at just one game back in the MWC standings, will look to rebound against the Rebels. A.J. Spitaleri leads the club with a .365 average, while most of the run production comes from Joe Salas, who has knocked in fifty-one runs this season, including eleven homers and three triples.
On the mound, the Lobos will go with the rotation of right-hander Jason Fernandez (7-5) on Friday, southpaw Danny Ray Herrera (3-6) on Saturday and right-hander Cooper Eddy (5-4) on Sunday.
The Rebels will return to Las Vegas to host the Mountain West Championship Tournament, which will be held at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Wednesday through Saturday, May 26-29.
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