May 29, 2004
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV Rebels (37-22) claimed their second straight Mountain West Conference Tournament championship as they defeated the Aztecs of San Diego State (35-29) 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas. With the win, the Rebels capture the MWC's automatic berth into the 2004 NCAA baseball tournament.
The Aztecs scored first, posting three runs in the bottom of the third as Landon Burt hit an RBI double down the left line, and shortstop James Guerrero and designated hitter Brock Ungricht each had RBI singles.
UNLV tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the fourth as senior second baseman Ryan Ruiz hit a two-RBI single to left field to score right fielder Eric Nielsen and third baseman Zeke Parraz.
The Rebels took the lead in the top of the fifth as senior left fielder Andrew D'Angelo's double down the left field line scored senior shortstop Peter White and junior catcher Brad Ross.
Ross gave the Rebels an insurance run in the top of the ninth as he launched a solo shot over the wall in right field, his fourth of the year. Ruiz would then come around to score on a throwing error by Aztec second baseman Lance Zawadzki, making the score 6-3.
Aztec starter, senior southpaw Drew Jenson, went seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking only one in the loss.
UNLV sophomore right-hander Matt Luca pitched the complete game for the Rebels, allowing just three runs on six hits while striking out ten and walking four. Luca was named the MWC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
The Rebels will begin NCAA tounament play on Friday, with the location to be announced on Sunday and the pairings to be announced on Monday.
2004 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL
ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Clayton Couch P Air Force Josh Mader SS New Mexico
Scott Shoemaker P San Diego State
Rielly Embrey 1B San Diego State
Brick Ungricht DH San Diego State
Eric Nielsen RF UNLV
Zeke Parraz 3B UNLV
Andrew D'Angelo LF UNLV
Ryan Ruiz 2B UNLV
David Seccombe P UNLV
MVP: Matt Luca P UNLV
Game Notes:
2004 MWC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 10 NOTES (May 29, 2004)
No. 1 seed San Diego State, winners over No. 2 seed New Mexico in Friday's semifinal contest, made its fifth straight appearance in the MWC Tournament finals. SDSU is now 1-4 in title games, including today's loss. The Rebels are 2-0 in title games after defeating SDSU the last two years in the title tilt.
Saturday's finalists, SDSU and UNLV, are the only two MWC teams to go 4-0 in the MWC Tournament: SDSU in 2000 at Wilson Stadium and UNLV in 2003 at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque and again this year. SDSU is now 15-8 all-time in the MWC Tournament, while the Rebels are 11-6.
SDSU leads the all-time series 44-29 vs. UNLV, but the Rebels have a 5-1 mark vs. the Aztecs in MWC Tournament play, including a 14-3 victory on Friday in the semifinals and today's 6-3 win for the championship.
The No. 1 seed is 2-2 all-time in MWC Tournament title games, while the No. 3 seed is 2-0: BYU (2001) and UNLV (2004).
The winner of Saturday's MWC Championship game earns an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Overall, the MWC has a 4-6 record in the NCAA since the league was formed in 1999-2000. A look at the last NCAA appearance for the MWC Tournament finalists:
UNLV: 2003 at Tempe, Ariz.
(2-2, lost to New Mexico State 12-14 (11 inn), def. Central Conn. State 22-3, def. New Mexico State 16-10, lost to Arizona State 1-16)
NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 31 at 11 a.m. CDT (9 a.m. PDT) on ESPN2.
UNLV's Matt Luca and BYU's Nate Fernley (2001) are the only two pitchers to throw a complete game in the MWC Championship contest.
UNLV's Zeke Parraz was 0-for-5 in the Rebels' opening round MWC Tournament game, but picked up 11 hits in his next 17 at bats, including UNLV's only hit through three innings vs. SDSU in today's championship game.
SDSU center fielder Landon Burt tied the MWC Tournament career hit record (25 Doug Jackson, BYU, 2001-03) with his RBI-double in the bottom of the third inning vs. UNLV today. Burt had 11 hits in 2002, nine in 2003 and posted five this year.
