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Click here for more LSU Regional informationClick here for a link to live scoringPLAYER OF THE WEEK Nevada first baseman Ben Mummy, a junior from Edmonds, Wash. (Meadowdale HS), hit .333 (4-12) in Nevadas three-game sweep of Fresno State over the weekend. On Friday, Mummy was 2-for-5 and hit a game-winning walk-off solo home run to give the Pack a 6-5 victory. On Sunday, he was 2-for-4 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI in Nevadas 20-7 win that gave head coach Gary Powers his 700th career victory. For the week, he had three home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored and was walked twice. It is Mummys third career WAC Player of the Week award and fourth for a Wolf Pack hitter this year.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Nevada right-handed pitcher Ryan Rodriguez, a sophomore from Reno, Nevada (McQueen HS), threw his first complete-game of the year in Nevadas 5-1 win over Fresno State on Saturday. Rodriguez allowed just one run, six hits and two walks while striking out five. At one point, he retired 11 batters in a row and 15 of the last 17 hitters in the game. It is Rodriguezs third career WAC Pitcher of the Week award and first for a Nevada hurler this year.
OTHERS NOMINATED Other player of the week nominations included:
Adam Roberts, Jr., 1B, Hawaii - was 4-for-8 in the Rainbows two wins at Louisiana Tech. He was 3-for-4 on Friday and then added a two-run homer on Saturday. Roberts drove in a total of four runs in the rain-shortened series.
Tyler Henley, Fr., CF, Rice - hit .455 (5-11) in a three-game sweep of San Jose State. He had a total of four runs, three RBI, two walks and hit a home run and a triple.
Additional pitcher of the week nominations included:
Rich Olsen, So., Hawaii - threw 2.2 hitless innings to pick up his first win of the season in the Rainbows 7-4 victory at Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Olsen struck out three and walked one.
Josh Geer, Jr., Rice - notched his 10th win of the season with a complete-game six-hitter in a 5-3 win against San Jose State on Friday. He allowed just one earned run and walked none.
RICE TRAVELS TO LSU REGIONAL Rice earned its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the WACs regular season title and automatic bid. The Owls previously have hosted a regional in each of the past four seasons, but this year Rice travels to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for postseason play. Rice, the number two seed in the regional, will play No. 3 Northwestern State (40-18) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. (CT). Host LSU (38-20) plays Marist (33-19) in a 1:00 p.m. contest. The winner of the regional will advance to the Super Regionals and will face the winner of the Tulane Regional that includes top-ranked Tulane, Alabama, Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern University. The Owls are looking for their fifth trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 17-27, after making appearances in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003. Rice won the 2003 National Championship.
ALL-WAC TEAMS The all-WAC teams as selected by the leagues head coaches were announced on May 31. The first team featured two Nevada teammates that were repeat selections from 2004, outfielder Jacob Butler and catcher Brett Hayes. Hayes, a junior, has been a first-teamer all three years and was the WACs Freshman of the Year in 2003. Rice freshman Joe Savery earned first team honors as both a pitcher and first baseman, becoming the first WAC player to receive first team honors at two positions since Fresno States Ben Fritz did so as a pitcher and utility player in 2002. The complete teams can be found on page 5 of this release.
TOP INDIVIDUAL HONORS Besides selecting all-WAC teams, the coaches also voted for the leagues top individual awards. Rice freshman first baseman/pitcher Joe Savery was named the Player of the Year, Fresno State junior Matt Garza earned Pitcher of the Year honors, and the Freshman of the Year award went to Fresno State third baseman Beau Mills. Rice head coach Wayne Graham was selected as Coach of the Year. Savery hit .390 with 21 RBI, seven doubles, three home runs, six stolen bases and scored 21 runs in 26 conference games. He also pitched in 10 WAC games and was 5-2 with a 2.42 ERA, one save and struck out 74 batters in 70.2 innings. Garza earned the WACs Pitcher of the Year award after putting together a record of 5-2 in 10 WAC appearances. He had an ERA of 2.62 and struck out 67 batters in 68.2 innings. Mills hit .303 in 30 conference games. He had 32 RBI, 14 home runs and scored 25 runs. Graham, in his 14th season with Rice, has led the Owls to a 41-17 overall record and their ninth consecutive WAC title with a 21-9 mark. It was Grahams fifth WAC Coach of the Year award.
HAYES NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR BENCH AWARD Nevada junior catcher Brett Hayes was one of 10 semifinalists for the 2005 Johnny Bench Award. Hayes, a two-time all-WAC catcher, was the 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year. Last summer he was a member of the Team USAs gold medal winning FISU II World University Baseball Championship squad.
TWO INVITED TO NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS USA Baseball announced last week that Fresno States Beau Mills accepted an invitation to try out for the National Team at North Carolina State, June 27-30. Mills is one of 36 players from across the nation invited to the tryouts. He joins Rice freshman first baseman/pitcher Joe Savery who was invited earlier last month. Mills, a freshman from Visalia, Calif., plays third base and has been batting cleanup for the Bulldogs.
STREAKING San Jose State senior shortstop Anthony Conteras finished his season with a 32-game hitting streak, the longest in the WAC this season. Contreras hit .433 (58-for-134) with 19 RBI and 23 runs scored during his streak. The streak is the longest by a WAC player in at least six years. The WAC record is 45 games set by Arizona States Roger Schmuck in 1972.
IN THE POLLS In this weeks polls, Rice is seventh in Sports Weekly/ESPN, 14th in Baseball America and 17th in Collegiate Baseball.
NON-CONFERENCE In non-conference games, the WAC is 81-78-1 (.509). Fresno State is 14-15 (.483), Hawaii is 13-13 (.500), Louisiana Tech is 8-19 (.296), Nevada is 11-12 (.478), Rice is 20-8 (.714) and San Jose State is 15-11-1 (.574). Against Collegiate Baseball top 25 opponents, the WAC is 10-23 (.303) as Fresno State is 0-5, Hawaii is 4-1, Louisiana Tech is 1-7, Nevada is 0-3, Rice is 5-6 and San Jose State is 0-1.
TOP-10 NCAA RANKINGS In the most recent NCAA stat rankings, Fresno States Beau Mills is tied for seventh in home runs per game (0.37) and San Jose States David Pierson is 10th in sacrifice hits per game (0.28). In team categories, San Jose State is second in the nation in fielding percentage (.978) and Rice is 10th in ERA (3.08).
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. The 2006 season will also see the return of a postseason tournament. Next years host and site will be announced in the fall.TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (30-29, 16-14 WAC)
Lost its last three games of the season after winning eight of its previous nine games ... finished at least .500 for the 29th consecutive year ... sophomore shortstop Christian Vitters finished his season with a 12-game hitting streak, the second longest by a Bulldog this season ... sophomore outfielder Nick Moresi was 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts this season ... third baseman Beau Mills, the WACs Freshman of the Year, leads the WAC in RBI (63), home runs (22), slugging percentage (.699) and multiple RBI games (18) ... junior pitcher Matt Garza leads the WAC with 120 strikeouts ... junior Rudy Quinonez is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five.
Hawaii Rainbows (28-27, 15-14 WAC)
Finished above .500 for the third consecutive year and had a winning conference record for the first time since 1999 ... won 7 of its last 10 road games after losing its first seven ... UH was 12-6 in one-run games ... junior second baseman Isaac Omura had a 12-game hitting streak snapped at Louisiana Tech on Friday ... it was the longest streak by a Rainbow this season ... freshman shortstop Joe Spiers leads the WAC in stolen bases with 31 (38 attempts) ... its the most stolen bases in the WAC since UHs Sean Takamori had 34 in 1999 ... UH played seven extra inning games (3-4), tied for the most in the WAC ... Ricky Bauer pitched 346.0 innings in his career, the 12th most in WAC history.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-39, 9-20 WAC)
Lost 17 of its last 19 games including five consecutive WAC series (2-12) ... junior pitcher Matt Lacy tied a season-high with 10 strikeouts (in 6 innings) against Hawaii on Saturday ... junior third baseman Ryan Hamilton finished the season with a 14-game hitting streak ... he hit safely in 37 of his last 39 games which included a 22-game hitting streak earlier this year ... Hamilton had 23 multiple-hit games, the third most in the WAC ... senior Brandon Haygood finished his career with a 95-game starting streak at second base ... he tied the school record for doubles in a season with 20 ... Haygood had a season-high 16-game hitting streak snapped on Saturday against Hawaii.
Nevada Wolf Pack (26-27, 15-15 WAC)
Won its last three games of the season to give head coach Gary Powers his 700th career victory ... against Fresno State on Sunday, four Wolf Pack players tied WAC single-game highs: sophomore catcher Baker Krukow (5 hits), senior second baseman Carlos Madrid (3 doubles), junior first baseman Ben Mummy (2 home runs) and junior outfielder Shawn Scobee (2 home runs) ... won 13 road games, the most in the WAC this season ... sophomore Ryan Rodriguez had 11 wins, the most in the WAC ... junior Wesley Dorsett is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five ... Butler finished his career with 39 home runs, tied for the 14th most in WAC history.
Rice Owls (41-17, 21-9 WAC)
Has won 10 of its last 12 games ... had 14 hits against San Jose State on Saturday and has 14 or more hits in 16 games this season ... won its first game on Saturday when drawing only one walk (1-4) ... leads the WAC in ERA (3.08), hitting (.294), doubles (118) and triples (14) ... freshman pitcher/DH Joe Savery is first in the WAC in batting average (.387) and second in ERA (2.49) ... senior catcher Adam Rodgers leads the WAC in doubles (21) ... freshman outfielder Tyler Henley leads the WAC in runs scored (63) and hit by pitches (21) ... the Owls have earned the WACs automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament in all nine seasons as a member of the league.
San Jose State Spartans (28-28-1, 13-17 WAC)
Senior shortstop Anthony Contreras was the hardest WAC player to strike out with 0.23 Ks per game ... he leads the WAC in hits (90) and multiple hit games (28) ... Contreras finished his career with a school-record 32-game hitting streak ... junior second baseman David Pierson leads the WAC with 16 sacrifice hits ... SJSU played seven extra inning games (4-3), tied for the most in the WAC ... leads the WAC in fielding percentage (.978) and has committed just 49 errors, 27 less than the next best team in the WAC ... senior Brad Kilby leads the WAC in ERA (1.85) ... he is 7-2 with a save ... junior Steve Jones is tied for the WAC lead in saves with five.