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MWC Weekly Diamond Notes UNLV enters week 1 1/2 games ahead of SDSU.
May 11, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UNLV maintained a 1-1/2 game lead in the MWC standings despite losing two-of-three games at home to San Diego State last week. The Aztecs edged New Mexico for second place in the standings after the Lobos dropped two-of-three games at BYU. SDSU hosts BYU this week, while UNLV hosts a hot Utah squad -- the Utes have won six straight heading into this week's schedule. In other action, New Mexico hosts Air Force. Here's a look at this week's conference matchups:
BYU at San Diego State (May 12-14)
Air Force at New Mexico (May 14-16)
Utah at UNLV (May 14-16) GRAND PERFORMANCES
Six grand slams are on record in the MWC this season, tying last year's mark, and home run production has increased overall in the past few weeks. SDSU's Rielly Embrey blasted the league's sixth grand slam last week vs. UNLV, following grand slams by New Mexico's Joe Salas and Ryan Barba, UNLV's Eric Nielsen and Utah's Eric Chevalier and Ryan Khoury this year.
Utah joined New Mexico and UNLV as the only teams averaging over 1.0 homers per game in the MWC. The Lobos have a league-high 53 home runs in 45 games (1.18 per game), while UNLV has 50 homers in 48 games (1.04 per game) and Utah has 48 in 46 games (1.04 per game). Both UNLV and New Mexico tied the MWC single-game record by smashing eight home runs in a game this season. Rebel outfielder Eric Nielsen also tied an MWC single-game record with three homers (vs. Air Force 5/2/04). Utah is the only team to average over 1.0 home runs per game each year in the MWC. SAY "YES" TO BASEBALL The Mountain West Conference, UNLV and the NCAA YES Program will host an NCAA YES Baseball Clinic on Saturday, May 29 from 10:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., preceding the MWC Baseball Championship game at 3 p.m. (PT). MWC coaches and student-athletes will share tips and skills on the importance of education and sports. The clinic is free to all accepted participants ages 10 -- 18 (space limited to 75 participants). Registrations must be returned to UNLV by May 24. The clinic will take place at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on the campus of UNLV. MWC AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS UNLV moved up to fourth in the nation with 9.5 runs per game and 19th nationally in batting average with .324, according to the May 10 NCAA statistics report. Four MWC individuals are ranked among the top 10 nationally: UNLV's Brent Johnson is fourth with 1.46 RBI per game, Utah's Matt Ciaramella ranks sixth with .48 doubles per game, New Mexico's Matt Young ranks sixth with .18 triples per game and San Diego State's Ryan Schroyer is fourth with 11 saves this season. FOUR DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS IN FOUR YEARS The MWC has produced four different regular season champions the past four years. New Mexico captured the inaugural regular season crown in 2000, but BYU and San Diego State established themselves in the upper echelon of the league with regular season titles in 2001 and 2002, respectively. UNLV took the league by storm in 2003, winning the regular season and tournament titles after being selected fourth in the preseason poll. The Rebels were picked first in the 2004 MWC preseason coaches poll. COACHING MILESTONES New Mexico's Rich Alday needs one win to reach his 425th career victory and BYU's Vance Law needs one victory for career win No. 150. San Diego State head coach Tony Gwynn recorded his 50th career victory this season, while UNLV first-year head coach Buddy Gouldsmith notched his 25th career win. Utah head coach Tim Esmay recorded career win number 200 with a 4-2 victory over Albertson College on April 13. RECORD CROWD San Diego State downed Houston 4-0 on March 11 in the first-ever game played at the newly constructed Petco Park in San Diego. The game will go down in NCAA history as a record 41,106 fans turned out for the contest, shattering the NCAA all-time single-game attendance mark of 27,673 set at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on April 10, 2002. College Sports Television (CSTV) selected the Houston vs. San Diego State contest as its inaugural baseball telecast of the 2004 campaign. MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE QUICK HITS AIR FORCE The Falcons will look to snap a 24-game losing streak when they travel to New Mexico this week. Air Force, which plays its remaining six MWC games on the road, will be the sixth seed in the MWC Baseball Championship May 26-29 in Las Vegas. Junior Brent Tittle is batting .353 with a team-high seven RBI in the last 10 games. BYU The Cougars have won seven of their last nine outings, including a pair of wins over New Mexico last week. Ryan Chambers tied the team high hitting streak this season at 10 games with a single on Saturday vs. the Lobos. Wade Vest and Ben Saylor are the other two Cougars to have 10-game hitting streaks this year. NEW MEXICO The Lobos continue to lead the MWC with a .341 batting average in league play, despite hitting only .271 vs. BYU last week. Joe Salas posted a team-high four RBI vs. BYU and ranks second in MWC games with 33 RBI this season. The Lobos play their final six league games at home, including a series vs. UNLV to wrap up the regular season. SAN DIEGO STATE SDSU is 14-8 in the MWC with remaining series' vs. BYU and Utah. The Aztecs are a combined 2-4 vs. the Cougars and Utes this season. In three games at UNLV last weekend, Jake McLintock went 9-for-14 (.643) with four doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and five RBI. McLintock currently has a 15-game hitting streak. UNLV The Rebels are 16-7 in the MWC after dropping a two games to San Diego State last week. UNLV's remaining schedule consists of a four-game set at home vs. Utah and a road series at New Mexico. The Rebels are a combined 3-2 vs. the Utes and Lobos this year. Eric Nielsen has a nine-game hitting streak and is batting .590 with 17 RBI in that span. UTAH The Utes improved to 10-13 in the MWC after sweeping a five-game series vs. Air Force last week. Overall, Utah outscored the Falcons 73-16, and totaled eight home runs, 13 triples and 23 doubles in the series. In Friday's 12-0 victory, Utah set an MWC single-game record with five triples. |
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