April 25, 2011

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Utah freshman third baseman Trey Nielsen and BYU senior righthander Matthew Neil have been named the Mountain West Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the first career accolade for both Nielsen and Neil.

Nielsen batted .500 ( 7-for-14) while helping Utah to a 2-2 record last week, including a non-conference series win at Tulane. The Salt Lake City, Utah, native had multiple hits in three of the four games, finishing with six extra-base hits on the week. He drove in six runs and scored four more while also collecting a walk and a stolen base over the four games. Nielsen opened the week with a 2-for-5, one-run effort in Tuesday's non-league meeting against BYU, recording doubles on both of his hits. He followed that performance by going 5-for-9 in three games against the Green Wave, including a 3-for-4 effort in Saturday's series finale win, during which he fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Neilsen finished the series with two doubles, two homers, six RBI, three runs scored, one walk and one stolen base. For the week, he posted on-base and slugging percentages of .588 and 1.214, respectively. Defensively, the freshman recorded two putouts and nine assists without an error from his third base position.

Neil posted a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA in two appearances while leading the Cougars to one-run victories over Utah and New Mexico last week. In Tuesday's non-league meeting with the Utes, the senior righthander was on the mound for the final two frames of an 11-inning affair, striking out four of the six batters he faced to secure the 7-6 win. On Saturday, Neil worked all nine innings of the Cougars' 1-0 win over the Lobos to earn his first career complete-game shutout. The Mesa, Ariz., native fanned six batters while surrendering six hits and one walk, retiring the side in order in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings. With the 11 shutout innings, Neil lowered his season ERA from 2.13 to 1.75.

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