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MWC Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week
UNLV's Caitlyn Paus and San Diego State's Celena Velasquez honored
May 9, 2005 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UNLV freshman second baseman Caitlyn Paus and San Diego State junior righthander Celena Velasquez have been named Mountain West Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Paus, a New Lenox, Ill., native, led the Rebels to doubleheader sweeps over Colorado State and New Mexico last week, helping UNLV to secure a No. 2 seed in this week's MWC Softball Championship. In game one vs. the Rams, she went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, three RBI and two runs scored in an 8-0 win. She also went 2-for-3 in game two vs. CSU, smashing her second homer of the day, knocking in a run and scoring another run in the Rebels' 3-1 victory. Paus followed with a 4-for-6 effort in the doubleheader vs. the Lobos, including a 3-for-4 performance in game two. In the second game vs. UNM, she hit her third home run of the weekend on the way to driving in four RBI and scoring a run as UNLV concluded the regular season with a 7-2 win. On the week Paus hit .667 (8-for-12) with three home runs, eight RBI and four runs scored, a slugging percentage of 1.417 and an on-base percentage of .692. Defensively, she was perfect from the second base position with seven putouts and four assists. On the year she is hitting .337 with nine home runs and 44 RBI. Her nine homers puts her in a three-way tie for the top mark in the UNLV single-season record books, while her 44 RBI is second on the single-season list. Velasquez, from Tucson, Ariz., tossed two complete game shutouts and collected a save in four appearances last week. She allowed no earned runs and just six hits in 19.0 innings on the mound, leading the Aztecs to a 3-1 record on the week. In game one vs. New Mexico, Velasquez struck out two and gave up only four hits, while walking two in SDSU's 3-0 win. She came on in relief in game two vs. the Lobos, holding New Mexico scoreless and striking out six in 3.1 innings of work. Velasquez tossed her second complete game shutout of the week and her 11th of the season in the Aztecs' 1-0 game one win vs. Colorado State. In 7.0 innings on the mound, she gave up only two hits and struck out four. In game two vs. the Rams, she came on in relief in the top of the sixth with the tying run at the plate and one out, and notched a pair of outs to escape the inning. She retired CSU in order in the seventh inning to collect her sixth save of the season. On the season, Velasquez is 13-12 and leads the MWC in ERA (1.16), strikeouts (197) and saves (six).
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