Feb. 27, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV junior outfielder Zach Borba was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week, marking the first time this season that a Rebel has earned the award, the league announced today.

Borba was a key cog as the Rebel offense got untracked this past weekend, scoring 48 runs on 53 hits as UNLV took two of three from Eastern Michigan, with the victories coming by the scores of 18-5 and 23-5.

On the weekend Borba, from Reno, Nev., hit .750 (9-for-12) at the plate with three doubles, three RBI and seven runs score. In game one against the Eagles he went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored and in game two he was 1-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored. Borba had his best game in a Rebel uniform to cap the series, going 5-for-5 with two doubles and four runs scored. Defensively, he had four putouts with no errors from the outfield and he also stole two bases.

Danny Ray Herrera, an Odessa, Texas, native, pitched a complete game shutout vs. Utah Valley State last Sunday for New Mexico and was named the MWC Pitcher of the Week. In nine innings of work, he struck out seven batters while scattering six hits and walking only one to collect his second complete game and third win of the season.

UNLV tentatively has a home game scheduled for Tuesday against UC Irvine at 6:30 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, if weather allows. The game was originally scheduled to be played in California but weather concerns prompted the teams to move the game to Las Vegas. The Rebels will then host the defending national champion Texas Longhorns in a three-game series that gets underway on Friday at 6:30 p.m.