United Athletic Conference

PLAYER OF THE WEEK Nevada outfielder Jacob Butler, a sophomore from Yelm, Wash. (Yelm HS), hit .636 (7-for-11) in two games for the Wolf Pack last week. On Saturday, Butler hit for the cycle in a 21-5 win over Fresno State. He went 4-for-6 with five RBI and three runs scored in the game. The next day, he went 3-for-5 to improve his season batting average from .289 to .333 over the weekend. In the two games combined, his slugging percentage was 1.181. It is Butlers second career WAC Player of the Week award and third for a Wolf Pack player this season.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK Rice right-handed pitcher Philip Humber, a sophomore from Carthage, Texas (Carthage HS), pitched his first complete-game of the year in a 2-1 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday. Humber equaled his season-high with 13 strikeouts and allowed just three hits and three walks in the game. The win ended Rices two-game losing streak. It is Humbers first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and seventh for an Owl this season.

OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Casey McGehee, Jr., 3B, Fresno State - hit .500 (7-14) in three games for Fresno State last week. On Sunday, he recorded his first four-hit game of the season and extended his hitting streak to a WAC-best nine games. He also hit three doubles, had three RBI and scored three runs during the week.
Rocky Russo, Fr., DH, Hawaii - was 4-for-11 (.364) in three games for the Rainbows last week. He hit one home run and two doubles to record a slugging percentage of .818.
Justin Ruchti, Sr., C, Rice - in four games, Ruchti was 5-for-11 (.455) with three runs and a double. On Saturday against Louisiana Tech, he was 3-for-5 with two runs.

Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Ricky Bauer, So., Hawaii - started and pitched nine innings of Hawaiis 3-2 13-inning victory over San Jose State on Friday. He allowed one run, one walk and three hits while striking out four. Bauer faced the minimum through the first five innings.
J.T. Shermn, Jr., Nevada - pitched seven innings and allowed just one run on six hits in Nevadas 21-5 win over Fresno State. It was Shermans sixth victory of the year.
Corey Cabral, Fr., San Jose State - earned San Jose States first conference road win of the year by pitching 7.2 innings of the Spartans 5-3 victory at Hawaii on Sunday. He set a new career-high with seven strikeouts and allowed just four hits and one run in the contest.

THIS WEEK IN THE WAC Rice does not play any games this week as it is finals week for the Owls. The other five teams all compete against non-conference opponents either today or tomorrow while San Jose State will also host Sacramento State in a three-game series beginning Friday. In WAC action, Nevada hosts Hawaii and Fresno State travels to Louisiana Tech. Both of those series also begin Friday. Earlier this year, Nevada swept Hawaii in Honolulu (March 21-23) while Fresno State swept Louisiana Tech in Fresno (March 28-30).

WAC TOP DEFENSIVE CONFERENCE, THIRD IN ERA Last week, the NCAA released its mid-season statistical trends and the WAC was ranked number one in fielding percentage (.969). Rice and Fresno State were ranked first and tenth, respectively, in the nation in last weeks report. The WAC was also ranked third in the nation in pitching with an ERA of 4.33. Rice was second in the nation with a 2.42 ERA.

RICE TOPS IN FIELDING, SECOND IN ERA In this weeks NCAA rankings, Rice is ranked number one in fielding percentage (.984) and second in ERA (2.50). The Owls are also 23rd in batting (.322) and are one of three teams ranked in the top 30 in all three categories. Rice pitcher Jeff Niemann is first in wins with 11 and ninth in ERA (1.61). His teammate, Wade Townsend, is fifth in strikeouts per nine innings (13.3) and 11th in ERA (1.64).

SINISI, TOWNSEND NAMED TO WATCH LIST Rice teammates Vincent Sinisi (1B) and Wade Townsend (SP) have been named to the 25-player Golden Spikes Awards watch list. The award is given to the best amateur baseball player in the country by USA Baseball.

STREAKING Fresno State junior third baseman Casey McGehee currently has the WACs longest hitting streak at nine games. McGehee has hit .447 (17-for-38) with four RBI and four runs scored during his streak. The longest streak by a WAC player this year was 19 games by Nevada freshman catcher Brett Hayes (Feb. 28-April 6).

IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is number three in all four polls: Baseball America, Sports Weekly/ESPN, NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball. Earlier this year, Rice had been the unanimous number one team in the country for four weeks. No other WAC teams are ranked.

NON-CONFERENCE After a 0-1 week, the WAC is 85-59-1 (.590) in non-conference games this season. Fresno State is 14-12 (.538), Hawaii is 18-6 (.750), Louisiana Tech is 7-12-1 (.375), Nevada is 11-14 (.440), Rice is 21-5 (.808) and San Jose State is 14-10 (.583).

BASEHITS Fresno State: the Bulldogs have lost nine of their last 12 games after winning 14 of their previous 15 games ... Casey McGehees career totals now stand at 233 hits, 39 doubles and 122 RBI ... McGehee needs two RBI to move into a tie for 10th on the schools all-time list ... Hawaii: had its seven-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday against San Jose State ... the streak was the longest of the season for the Rainbows ... the Rainbows are second in the WAC in ERA (3.68) after posting a 2.61 ERA last week, the best in the WAC ... Ricky Bauer has a 1.18 ERA in his last five starts ... senior Brent Cook leads the WAC with four triples ... sophomore pitcher Ricky Bauer has allowed only 0.88 walks per game, the best in the WAC ... Cook has been walked 0.76 times per game, also the best in the WAC ... Louisiana Tech: Tech is now 0-12 against Rice since joining the WAC with seven of those games being decided by two runs or less ... has lost six of its last seven games ... the Bulldogs have a .181 batting average over those seven games ... Tech is 1-5 during its current seven-game road trip ... the Bulldogs return home this weekend where they have won six of their last seven games and their last two WAC series ... Adam Kirkendall has lost his last two starts but has a 1.69 ERA in those two games ... Jeremy Alford has 20 hits this season, seven of which are home runs ... Louisiana Tech has stolen home four times this season ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in stolen bases with 74 while seniors Fairon Allen and John Brandon are a combined 31-of-33 ... Nevada: has won three of its last four games ... Nevada is the only team in the WAC unbeaten at home in conference games (5-0) ... the Packs 12 conference wins are two more than all of last year ... Nevadas 12-5 record in the conference is its best start since joining the WAC prior to the 2001 season ... the Pack hit a WAC-best five home runs last week ... senior Tony Cappuccilli leads the WAC in slugging percentage (.606) ... senior Kevin Kouzmanoff leads the WAC in home runs with 11 ... the Wolf Pack have 54 home runs, 19 more than Louisiana Techs second best total in the WAC ... Rice: has won at least 40 games the last nine seasons ... the Owls weekend rotation of Jeff Niemann (11-0), Josh Baker (8-0) and Philip Humber (9-1) is now a combined 28-1 ... Jeff Jorgensens 17 stolen bases lead the WAC and are the most by an Owl since Jason Gray had 18 in 1999 ... Rice has won 18 consecutive WAC series ... Rice leads the WAC in attendance, averaging 2,862 per home game ... Rice has beaten nine ranked opponents this season ... the Owls are 10-2 in one-run games ... Rice leads the WAC in hitting (.322), ERA (2.50) and fielding percentage (.984) ... Rice has committed just 28 errors on the year, including two last week, 20 less than Fresno States second best total of 48 ... Rice has shut out nine teams this season, the most in the WAC, which ties a school record (1981 and 1984) ... Jeff Niemanns streak of 29 scoreless innings came to an end in the first inning of Fridays game against Louisiana Tech ... Niemann has won 12 games in a row ... the Owls have scored more runs (333) than opposing teams have hits (327) ... sophomore Vincent Sinisi leads the WAC in multiple hit games (25) while junior Austin Davis leads the WAC in multiple RBI games (14) ... Sinisi hit his first career grand slam last week and his seven home runs now lead the Owls ... junior David Aardsma leads the WAC in saves with eight ... San Jose State: the Spartans snapped their 11-game conference road losing streak with a win at Hawaii on Sunday ... the Spartans six extra-inning games are the most in the WAC this season (3-3) ... Doug Thurman, in his eighth season on the San Jose State coaching staff, was promoted to associate head coach prior to the start of the 2003 season ... Thurman has assumed all gameday coaching responsibilities for head coach Sam Piraro (536-384-4; 16 years) and will accumulate all of the Spartans wins and losses on his coaching record.

POSTSEASON The WAC does not conduct a postseason tournament, but the regular season champion as determined by winning percentage in conference games will earn an automatic berth into this years NCAA Tournament which begins May 30.