March 6, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV junior Keith Smith was named the Mountain West Co-Conference Player of the Week, marking the second-consecutive week that a Rebel has earned the award, the league announced today.

Smith hit one of the most dramatic home runs in UNLV history this past Friday night, a pinch-hit grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning that gave the Rebels a 13-10 lead, completely erasing what was once a 10-0 deficit. UNLV went on to beat No. 8 Texas 13-12 for the Rebels first win in its history against the Longhorns.

The next afternoon Smith was clutch once again, as he hit the game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Rebels beat the defending national championships once again, 9-8.

Smith, an Anaheim, Calif., product, hit .357 (5-for-14) with the game-winning grand slam, a triple, a double, five RBI and four runs scored as the Rebels went 3-1 last week, including 2-1 against the Longhorns.

Smith shared the honor with Daniel Stovall of New Mexico, who went 15-for-21 (.714) from the plate with a home run, a triple, seven doubles, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored last week, as New Mexico tallied a 4-0 record, including a three-game sweep of Northern Colorado. San Diego State right hander Justin Masterson was named MWC Pitcher of the Week as he recorded his second win of the year in SDSU's upset win over then-No. 12 Pepperdine last Friday. He struck out 11 batters, while allowing just one earned run on seven hits in 8.0 innings of work.

UNLV is back in action tonight as the Rebels host Texas Tech in a two-game series with the first game slated for 6:30 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.