March 13, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior Mike Cruz was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week after he helped the Rebels go 3-2 last week against Texas Tech and Cal, the league announced today. It is the third-straight week that a Rebel player has won the award and the second time in his career that Cruz earned the accolade.

Cruz, a Reno, Nev., native, hit .467 (7-for-15) last week, drilling a home run and a double, while driving in seven RBI and scoring seven runs. In UNLV's 16-11 win over Texas Tech, Cruz went 3-for-4, with a three-run home run and RBI single, for a total of four RBI and three runs scored against the Red Raiders. In game one vs. Cal, he went 1-for-2, followed by a 2-for-2, three RBI performance in the Rebels' 9-6 game two victory. He concluded the series vs. the Bears going 1-for-3 with a run scored in UNLV's 5-4 victory.

Danny Ray Herrera of New Mexico was named the MWC Pitcher of the Week. He improved to 5-0 on the season with his win over No. 12 Oregon State last weekend. In 8.0 innings on the mound, he gave up two earned runs on 11 hits, while striking out a career-high tying nine batters.

UNLV is back in action Tuesday as the Rebels travel to play UCLA and Matt Luca will make his first start for the Rebels this season at 6:00 p.m. (PST).