Feb. 25, 2013

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) -- UNLV freshman pitcher Kenny Oakley was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, announced the conference office earlier today.

Oakley, a freshman from Henderson, Nev., earned his first collegiate win in his first career start against Gonzaga over the weekend. He pitched 7.0 innings where he gave up only two hits and two walks, while striking out seven batters, guiding the Rebels to their first shutout of the season.

The rookie made his collegiate debut against Tennessee on opening night out of the bullpen. On the season he holds a 2.08 ERA in 8.2 innings of work and has struck out eight.

"I'm really proud of Kenny," head coach Tim Chambers said. "He earned a spot in our rotation coming into the season, but we elected to use him out of the bullpen the first weekend because he just throws strikes. He walked only one guy in 22 innings during intersquad action before the season started. He will truly be an asset to our team moving forward with our season."

Oakley is the second freshman to earn the honor this season as San Diego State's Bubba Derby was named Pitcher of the Week with his performance against San Diego last week.

The Rebels finished the weekend 2-2, splitting games against Pacific and Gonzaga. UNLV opened the weekend with a 9-1 victory over Pacific, then dropped two games the following day: a 9-3 loss against Gonzaga and a 3-0 loss against Pacific. The Rebels concluded the weekend on Saturday by shutting out the Bulldogs 4-0.

UNLV will be back in action this week as it will host the Rebel Classic at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels will play five games in five nights, starting on Thursday at 7:35 p.m. against Bradley.