Wac notebook

BY DARRELL MOODY

Appeal Sports Writer

Nevada made it a clean sweep of the weekly Western Athletic Conference baseball awards.

Senior Ryan Rodriguez was named Pitcher of the Week after throwing eight shutout innings Friday in a 15-0 win at New Mexico State. He allowed just six hits, didn't walk a batter and fanned a season-high 10. At one point, he retired 11 straight and 14 of 16. It's the fifth time Rodriguez has been honored.

The performance by Rodriquez also earned him accolades from InsidePitch.com. His performance was tabbed as the best performance in the West Region.

Rodriguez's batterymate, catcher Konrad Schmidt, was named Player of the Week after going 9-for-15 with six RBI against New Mexico State. It's the second time Schmidt has been honored this season.

Nevada returns to action today at 5 p.m. against Pacific.

SOFTBALL ON A ROLL

Nevada's softball team stretched its winning streak to six games by winning four straight in its own tournament at the Christine Hixson Softball Complex over the weekend.

Nevada improved to 14-24 entering this week's nonconference doubleheader at Utah Valley State and this weekend's doubleheader at Utah State.

Nevada beat Saint Mary's College 8-2 on Sunday, as Amanda Wise led the offense with three hits and Jordan McPherson pitched five shutout innings to pick up her eighth win of the season against 12 losses.

McPherson was named WAC Pitcher of the Week after compiling three wins without a loss last week. Her ERA was 0.78 for her 18 innings of work, which included two complete games.

Freshman sensation Sam Bias collected two hits, stretching her hit streak to eight games. She has been one of the best hitters on the team this year along with ex-Douglas star Brit Puzey, Sarah Hunt and Kym Silagy.

THEUS REPRIMANDED

New Mexico State basketball coach Reggie Theus was issued a formal reprimand by the Western Athletic Conference office for leaving the sidelines during the Aggies' semifinal win over Boise State on March 8.

"While I understand the emotions that occurs during a game, the WAC has set standards that coaches and student-athletes are expected to follow," WAC commissioner Karl Benson said. "Coach Theus' actions clearly violated those standards and cannot to be tolerated."

Theus left the bench after Boise State star Coby Karl committed a hard foul against Tyrone Nelson from behind.

Benson was asked where the WAC was in regards to sanctions against Nevada coach Mark Fox, who verbally berated game officials after leaving the court following Nevada's 79-77 loss to Utah State.

"We are still in the process of evaluating and assessing the situation cooperatively," Benson said. "The WAC and Nevada are working together to reach a final decision."

The punishment for Fox could range from a private reprimand to a public reprimand (like Theus') to suspension to a fine for the university. Benson said that it is up to Nevada to recommend a penalty, and he can either accept or reject it.

KARL SURGERY

Karl, who underwent surgery 13 months ago for thyroid cancer, was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes.

According to a press release distributed by Boise State University, the procedure is a follow-up on last year's surgery. One in 10 patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer have to undergo further treatment.

The cancerous growth in his lymph nodes was discovered in January before a game against Utah State, but it didn't slow him down over the final 15 games. Karl didn't tell his teammates until after the season.

According to reports, Karl is expected to recover in time to participate in the NBA Pre-Draft camp which starts May 29.

• Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281