United Athletic Conference

PITCHER OF THE WEEK Louisiana Tech right-handed pitcher Matt Lacy, a sophomore from Longview, Texas (Pine Tree HS), threw his first complete game in a 9-1 victory over San Jose State on Saturday. Lacy allowed five hits, one unearned run, no walks and struck out four in picking up his first win as a starter in seven chances. It is Lacys first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and second for a Bulldog pitcher this year.

OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Isaac Omura, So., 2B, Hawaii - was 4-for-8 in two games last week against Fresno State. He hit a double in the first game and added a solo home run in the second.
Kyle Spangler, Sr., 1B, Louisiana Tech - hit .563 (9-16) in four games for the Bulldogs. He scored four runs, drove in seven, hit three doubles and belted two home runs as Louisiana Tech won three of four contests.
Lance Pendleton, So., OF, Rice - was 8-for-13 (.615) in a three-game sweep of Nevada. He scored five runs, had four RBI and hit two doubles and two home runs for the Owls.

Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Matt Garza, So., Fresno State - pitched seven innings and allowed two runs (one earned), seven hits and two walks in a 7-2 win over Hawaii on Thursday.
Guy McDowell, So., Hawaii - came into Thursdays game against Fresno State in the sixth inning and pitched three innings, allowing one run, three hits and a walk.
Philip Humber, Jr., Rice - threw seven shutout innings and struck out 11 in Rices 14-1 win against Nevada on Friday. He allowed just two hits and three walks in the game.

RICE WINS EIGHTH STRAIGHT TITLE On Sunday, Rice clinched the WACs conference title, the Owls eighth straight as members of the WAC. Rice also earned the conferences automatic bid into this years NCAA tournament. The 64-team bracket will be announced live on ESPN2, Monday, May 31 at 10:00 a.m. (MT). The 16 four-team regionals begin Friday, June 4. The winners will advance to one of eight Super Regionals, June 11-14. The eight Super Regional champions will then move on to play in the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 18-28.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT The WAC had three players last week named to the Academic All-District teams as selected by CoSIDA. Rice had two players named to the District VI team in pitcher Wade Townsend and outfielder Chris Kolkhorst. Fresno State shortstop Chris Patrick was named to the District VIII team. All three are now eligible for the Academic All-America team to be selected next month.

DICK HOWSER TROPHY SEMIFINALISTS Two WAC pitchers, Rices Philip Humber and Wade Townsend, are on the list of 30 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy awarded to the top player in collegiate baseball. The winner will be announced at the College World Series on June 18.

UPCOMING WEEKEND ACTION Only two conference series will be played this weekend as Louisiana Tech and San Jose State are off due to final exams. Nevada hosts Hawaii while Rice travels to Fresno State as both series begin on Friday. Earlier this season, Hawaii won two of three games against Nevada in Honolulu, April 29-May 1; and Rice swept Fresno State in Houston, March 26-28.

STREAKING Fresno State outfielder Richie Robnett currently has the WACs longest hitting streak at 26 games, which is also the longest streak by any WAC player this year. Robnett has hit .465 (47-for-101) with 30 RBIs and 25 runs scored during his streak. It is the longest streak in the WAC since Fresno States Casey McGehee hit safely in 31 straight games during the 2002 season. Rices Chris Kolkhorst has the WACs second longest current hitting streak at 11 games.

IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is second in the Sports Weekly/ESPN poll and third in Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. No other WAC teams received votes.

NON-CONFERENCE In non-conference games, the WAC is 84-74-1 (.532). Fresno State is 12-17 (.414), Hawaii is 17-8 (.680), Louisiana Tech is 9-18 (.333), Nevada is 16-13 (.552), Rice is 18-6 (.750) and San Jose State is 12-12-1 (.500).

ALL-WAC TEAMS The 2004 All-WAC baseball teams will be announced on Tuesday, June 1.

BASEHITS Team and individual notes:

Fresno State: has won four of its last five games ... finishes up its season with its final six games at home ... Fresno State leads the WAC in stolen bases with 72 on the season ... its the most stolen bases for the Bulldogs since swiping 91 in 1991 ... sophomore outfielder Richie Robnett leads the WAC in batting average (.382), slugging percentage (.711), hits (78), doubles (22), total bases (145) and stolen bases (21) ... with 13 home runs and 21 stolen bases, Robnett is the first Bulldog since Steve Hosey in 1988 to have at least 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases ... Robnett was named the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on May 10. Hawaii: has lost three in a row for the first time since losing its first four games of the season ... sophomore outfielder Matthew Inouye has 19 doubles on the season and is attempting to break the school record of 25 set by Charles Jackson (1984) and Gregg Omori (2001) ... USA Baseball announced last month that head coach Mike Trapasso will serve as an assistant coach on the 2004 USA Baseball National Team that will represent the United States at the II FISU World University Baseball Championships in Chinese Taipei, July 22-Aug. 1. Louisiana Tech: has won three in a row, tied for its longest winning streak of the season ... Bulldog pitchers have not walked a batter in 28 innings ... both Jeff Walker and Brandon Haygood have hit safely in 10 straight games ... both Kyle Spangler and Will Wade hit a pair of home runs in Saturdays 9-1 win over San Jose State ... senior Brad Chedister earned his first career save on Sunday ... Tech finished its home season winning five in a row ... Tech is a WAC-best 7-1 in one-run games this season after beating San Jose State on Saturday, 5-4 ... outfielder Jeff Walker is hitting .390 in WAC games only, third best in the conference ... has been shut out five times this year, tied for the most in the WAC ... the Bulldogs have committed 121 errors, 51 more than the next worst team in the WAC (Nevada with 70). Nevada: Jacob Butler leads the WAC in home runs with 15 ... the Pack leads the WAC in home runs with 68 ... junior outfielder Chris Gimenez has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 25 times this year ... Gimenez has been hit by a pitch 60 times in his career, the most of any player currently in the WAC ... first baseman Ben Mummy broke his left wrist in a non-baseball related accident last month and is out for the year. Rice: is two wins shy of 40 for the 10th year in a row ... outscored Nevada 34-3 last week and did not allow an earned run ... junior pitcher Jeff Niemann made his first appearance in over a month after missing games due to an injury ... Niemann pitched 1.2 innings of relief against Nevada on Sunday and allowed no hits, one walk and struck out four ... Rices team ERA of 2.30 is ranked first in the nation ... Wade Townsend leads the WAC and is fifth nationally with a 1.47 ERA ... Philip Humber leads the WAC and is 12th nationally with 11.9 strikeouts/game ... senior outfielder Chris Kolkhorst has been on base in 48 consecutive games dating back to the national title game last year ... Rice is the only team in the WAC to not play an extra inning game this season ... seven of its nine losses have come against Texas (four) and Hawaii (three) ... Rice is 24-2 when hitting a home run in a game ... senior outfielder Austin Davis is ninth in WAC history in career hits (290) and 11th in doubles (58) ... junior Wade Townsends career ERA of 1.94 is currently the sixth best in WAC history (min. 200 IP) while his 13 saves are tied for 13th ... junior Philip Humber has 387 career strikeouts, the most of any active WAC pitcher ... Humber was named the National Pitcher of the Week by Collegiate Baseball on March 22. San Jose State: has lost six of its last seven games ... is off until May 28 due to final exams ... has been shut out five times this year, tied for the most in the WAC ... junior Matt Durkin has pitched a WAC-high 101.1 innings ... Durkin is the WACs active career leader in both complete games (10) and shutouts (5) ... Kevin Frandsen has 240 hits in his career, breaking the school record of 237 set by Junior Ruiz (1999-2001).

NATIONAL WATCH LISTS AND AWARDS Several players from the WAC have been named to watch lists for national awards this year. Clemens Award (Best Pitcher): Matt Durkin, San Jose State; Philip Humber, Rice; Jeff Niemann, Rice; and Wade Townsend, Rice. Golden Spikes Award (Top Amateur Player): Philip Humber, Rice; and Wade Townsend, Rice. Johnny Bench Award (Top Catcher): Brett Hayes, Nevada.

WAC ADDS NEW MEXICO STATE On Oct. 23, 2003, the WAC issued invitations to New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. In baseball, New Mexico State is currently 32-21-1. Utah State does not sponsor baseball.