March 14, 2005
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – New Mexico sophomore outfielder Chris Carlson and BYU junior third baseman Brandon Taylor were named Mountain West Conference Co-Players of the Week Monday afternoon, while UNLV junior righthander Matt Luca earned Pitcher of the Week accolades. This is the first career weekly honor for Carlson, while Taylor and Luca earned their second and third career honors, respectively.
Carlson, from Topeka, Kan., hit .600 (9-for-15) last week, helping the Lobos to a 3-1 record, including a three-game sweep of Savannah State. On the week, he hit two home runs, three doubles and a triple, while tallying nine RBI and scoring eight runs.
Carlson opened his week going 1-for-3, with a home run and two runs scored vs. New Mexico Highlands. In game one vs. Savannah State, he went 2-for-4, with another homer, a double, three RBI and two runs scored. In game two vs. the Tigers, Carlson went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, four RBI and two runs scored, and finished the series going 3-for-5 with another double, an RBI and two runs scored.
Carlson is batting .391 for the season with four homers and 30 RBI. Over his past seven games, he his batting .556 (15-for-27) with three homers and 16 RBI.
Taylor, an Orem, Utah, product, went 8-for-14 (.571) from the plate with a two home runs, a triple, a double, 11 RBI and six runs scored as the Cougars defeated Utah Valley State and swept a three-game series from New Mexico State last week. Against Utah Valley State, he was 3-for-5 at the plate, with a double, a triple and five RBI. In game one vs. New Mexico State, Taylor went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, and followed with a 1-for-4, one RBI performance in game two. In game three vs. the Aggies, he smashed a sixth inning grand slam, finishing the game with four RBI and two runs scored. Taylor raised his batting average from .310 to. 350 over the week and extended his hitting streak to six games.
Luca, a Galveston, Texas, native, collected his first win of the season in game three of the Rebels’ series vs. California. In 6.2 innings on the mound, he gave up no earned runs and struck out five batters, while giving up nine hits and walking three, as UNLV won its second straight game for the first time this season.
The Lobos return to action this week (March 17-19) to face BYU at Isotopes Park to open up Mountain West Conference play.