April 20, 2009

LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman pitcher Tanner Peters was named Co-Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week by the league on Monday, after he threw just the fifth complete game one-hitter in school history. It is the first weekly award for Peters, who shared it with Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State, while Matt Parker of BYU earned Player of the Week.

Behind the one-hit complete game of Peters, UNLV beat Northern Colorado 2-0 on Friday night in the opener of a four-game series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. It marked the fifth time that a UNLV pitcher tossed a complete game one-hitter, and he is the first to accomplish the feat since Billy Wells limited Fresno State to one hit on March 10, 1985.

Peters was in complete control on the mound, facing three over the minimum in working the first complete game of the year for the Rebels, keeping the Bears off balance at the plate the entire evening. The only base knock the freshman right-hander allowed was a double to left field off the bat Adam Hilker that led off the top of the fourth inning, but Peters got the next three batters out to keep UNC off the board. He finished with seven strikeouts against three walks, and he was at his best early on, when he needed just 27 pitches to get through the first three innings of the game.

This is the second time that a UNLV player has been honored by the league this year, as Drew Beuerlein was named the Player of the Week on March 9.