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Nevada Baseball Puts First Place Standing on the Line this Weekend at Fresno State

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK Louisiana Tech third baseman Ryan Hamilton, a junior from Houston, Texas (Blinn JC), hit .417 (5-for-12) in Techs three-game sweep of Fresno State last week. In Saturdays win, he hit a triple and scored to tie the game in the fifth inning. On Sunday, Hamilton hit a three-run home run in the first inning of the 10-7 win. He had at least one hit in each game to extend his WAC-best hitting streak to 20 games. It is Hamiltons first career WAC Player of the Week award and first for a Bulldog player this year.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK Rice pitcher Eddie Degerman, a junior from Granada Hills, Calif. (UC Irvine), threw a complete-game shutout in Rices 4-0 win at Hawaii. He allowed four hits and five walks while striking out seven to improve to 5-0 on the season. It is Degermans first career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and third for an Owl pitcher this year.

OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Isaac Omura, Jr., 2B, Hawaii - hit .333 over four games with a home run and scored three times.
Jacob Butler, Sr., OF, Nevada - was 4-for-10 with all four hits being home runs in four games last week. He drove in nine and had five RBI on two home runs in a 9-2 win over San Jose State. Butler was also walked six times in the four games.
Adam Hale, So., OF, Rice - hit .333 (4-12) in four games for the Owls.
Anthony Contreras, Sr., SS, San Jose State - had hits in all four games last week to extend his season-long hitting streak to 10 games. He was 8-for-16 with three RBI and two runs.

Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Steven Wright, So., Hawaii - threw two perfect innings in relief to get a save in the Rainbows 3-2 win over Rice last Friday.
Ryan Rupert, Jr., Louisiana Tech - recorded a complete-game in Techs 2-1 win against Fresno State on Friday. He gave up just four hits and two walks in the victory.
Ryan Rodriguez, So., Nevada - picked up his WAC-leading eighth win in a 9-2 victory over San Jose State. He pitched seven innings and allowed six hits, two runs and two walks.
Matt Winck, Sr., San Jose State - made two appearances and picked up a win over Saint Marys and a save against Nevada. He pitched 9.2 innings and allowed six hits, four runs and four walks while striking out nine.

NEVADA TAKES LEAD Nevada took two of three from San Jose State to pass the Spartans and move into first place in the WAC standings. The Pack won the first game, 10-8, and took the second, 9-2, before the Spartans salvaged the third game with a 13-5 win on Sunday. Rice has moved into third place after taking two of three games against Hawaii. Its the fourth consecutive series win for the Owls after opening the season by being swept at San Jose State.

THIS WEEK IN THE WAC All six teams are in action beginning Friday with Hawaii at San Jose State, Louisiana Tech at Rice and Nevada at Fresno State. The Rainbows won two of three games against the Spartans in Honolulu from April 2-3. Rice took two of three at Louisiana Tech, April 8-10. This will be the first meeting between Nevada and Fresno State this season.

BASEBALL AMERICAS MIDSEASON REPORT Baseball America published its midseason report last week and two WAC players were mentioned. Rice first baseman/pitcher Joe Savery was named the top freshman in the nation and was on the all-freshman team as a utility player. Joining Savery on the all-freshman team was Fresno State third baseman Beau Mills. Savery is second in the WAC in batting average (.381) and fourth in ERA (2.19). Mills leads the WAC in home runs (12) and RBI (41) while hitting .320 on the season.

STREAKING Louisiana Tech third baseman Ryan Hamilton has the WACs longest current hitting streak at 22 games. Hamilton has hit .376 (35-for-93) with 20 RBI and 10 runs scored during his streak. It is the longest streak by a WAC player this year and longest ever for a Louisiana Tech player. The longest streak by a WAC player last year was 26 games by Fresno States Richie Robnett.

IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is 15th in both Baseball America and Sports Weekly/ESPN. Nevada received votes in the Sports Weekly/ESPN coaches poll.

WALLACE WATCH LIST The WAC has seven players on the 2005 Wallace Watch as announced by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, Texas. The Brooks Wallace Award is presented to the national college baseball payer of the year. The WAC candidates are Fresno States Christian Vitters (2B), Hawaiis Matthew Inouye (OF), Nevadas Jacob Butler (OF), Rices Josh Geer (P), Paul Janish (SS) and Lance Pendleton (OF) and San Jose States Travis Becktel (OF). The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semifinalists by May 24. Additional candidates will be added as the season progresses.

NON-CONFERENCE In non-conference games, the WAC is 75-71-1 (.514). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 13-13 (.500), Louisiana Tech is 8-16 (.333), Nevada is 11-11 (.500), Rice is 18-7 (.720) and San Jose State is 11-9-1 (.548). Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents, the WAC is 9-21 (.300) as Fresno State is 0-5, Hawaii is 4-1, Louisiana Tech is 1-6, Nevada is 0-2, Rice is 4-6 and San Jose State is 0-1.

TOP 10 NCAA RANKINGS In the most recent NCAA stat rankings, Nevadas Ryan Rodriguez is tied for second in the nation in wins with eight. In team categories, Rice is sixth nationally in ERA (2.74) while San Jose State is sixth in fielding percentage (.978).

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 bid into this years NCAA Tournament which begins June 3. Rice has been the WACs regular season champion the past five seasons. The Owls also won the WAC tournament three consecutive seasons from 1997-99. San Jose State tied Rice for the regular season championship during the 2000 season.

WAC ADDS NEW MEXICO STATE AND SACRAMENTO STATE Last year, the WAC issued invitations to Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU, UTEP and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. Of the three incoming schools, only New Mexico State has baseball. Sacramento State will also join the WAC as an affiliate member in baseball beginning in the 2006 season. The Hornets previously were an affiliate member of the WAC from 1993-96.

TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (19-22, 5-7 WAC)
Has lost five games in a row, its longest streak since losing six in a row from March 20-April 2, 2004 ... completed its six-game road trip with a 1-5 record ... is 1-10 on the road this season ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC with eight triples but have hit just one in the last 14 games ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi stole a base against Louisiana Tech last Friday ... it was his first attempt since March 27 ... Moresi is 12-for-12 in stolen base attempts ... freshman third baseman Beau Mills leads the WAC in RBI with 41 and home runs with 12 ... sophomore second baseman DeAndre Miller leads the WAC in runs scored with 40.

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (18-23, 5-10 WAC)
Has lost six of its last nine games ... lost at California on Wednesday and is now 1-8 on the road this season ... has scored just one run in its last three games ... UH has played five extra inning games (2-3), tied for the most in the WAC ... junior second baseman Isaac Omura leads the WAC in batting average (.395), hits (60), doubles (17), multiple hit games (22) and multiple RBI games (11) ... Omura is attempting to become the first Rainbow to hit .400 since Greg Oniate in 1981 (.417) ... freshman shortstop Joe Spiers leads the WAC in stolen bases with 24 (in 29 attempts), twice the number of the WACs runner-up.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (15-24, 7-8 WAC)
Swept Fresno State last weekend for its first WAC sweep since taking three from San Jose State last May ... Tech hit five home runs in the series against Fresno State ... freshman shortstop Gary Holik hit two solo home runs in Techs 2-1 win last Friday ... its 7-8 WAC record is its best after 15 games since joining the WAC ... is 13-1 when leading after eight innings ... junior third baseman Ryan Hamilton has a school-record 22-game hitting streak, the longest by a WAC player this year ... he has hit safely in all 15 WAC games this season ... Tech leads the WAC in stolen bases with 47 in 71 attempts, but has allowed a WAC-high 57 stolen bases from its opponents.

Nevada Wolf Pack (19-15, 8-4 WAC)
Has lost four of its last six games ... completed its nine-game homestand with a 4-5 record ... has hit a home run in 12 straight games and has a total of 23 during the streak ... junior catcher Brett Hayes started two games last weekend at shortstop ... the Pack owns the WACs best road record (11-7) ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez has eight wins, tied for second in the nation ... junior Wesley Dorsett leads the WAC in saves with five ... senior outfielder Jacob Butler leads the WAC in RBI per game (1.03) and slugging percentage (.692) ... in conference games only, Butler leads the WAC in hitting with a .444 average ... head coach Gary Powers is seven wins shy of 700 for his career.

Rice Owls (26-14, 8-7 WAC)
Has won five of its last seven games ... a Reckling Park record 5,227 fans watched the Owls 7-6 loss to Texas on Wednesday ... the game marked the first of an eight-game homestand for the Owls ... leads the WAC in ERA (2.80) and hitting (.280) ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery is second in the WAC in batting average (.381) and fourth in ERA (2.19) ... Savery and junior pitcher Josh Geer are tied for the WAC lead in strikeouts with 78 ... junior Eddie Degerman is 5-0 on the season, the best record by winning percentage in the WAC ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley has been hit by a pitch a WAC-high 12 times this season.

San Jose State Spartans (20-15-1, 9-6 WAC)
Has lost three of its last four games ... is a half game back in the WAC standings after being picked in a tie for last in the WAC preseason poll ... Sundays start time against Hawaii has been moved from 1:00 to 12:00 ... had 21 hits in a 13-5 win at Nevada last Sunday ... the 21 hits tied for the most by a WAC team this season ... junior DH Chris Williammee had five hits in the game, tied for the most by a WAC player this year ... has played five extra inning games (3-2), tied for the most in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.62) ... he is 5-1 with a save ... senior shortstop Anthony Contreras has been the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.31 per game.