Scruggs voted MWC’s top player

A forgettable season for UNLV baseball at least will be remembered for the individual excellence of junior first baseman Xavier Scruggs.

After slugging his way to the Mountain West Conference triple crown by batting .389 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs, Scruggs was named the league’s Player of the Year on Monday.

“Xavier has been carrying the load for us most of the year,” coach Buddy Gouldsmith said. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the conference that was feared more.”

Sixth-seeded UNLV (21-35) faces third-seeded San Diego State (30-26) at 1 p.m. today to open the MWC tournament at Fort Worth, Texas.

Scruggs, from Poway High School in San Diego, is the Rebels’ only representative on the two all-conference teams, voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.

San Diego State sophomore right-hander Stephen Strasburg was named Pitcher of the Year, and Texas Christian’s Jim Schlossnagle earned Coach of the Year for the third consecutive time.

Schlossnagle, UNLV’s coach in 2002 and 2003, led the Horned Frogs (39-16) to the Mountain West regular-season title.

Strasburg was 8-2 with a 1.59 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings. The Rebels won two of three games against the Aztecs, with Strasburg turning in a dominant performance in a 17-1 victory over UNLV on April 18.

But in the six-team double-elimination tournament, San Diego State coach Tony Gwynn is planning to hold his ace. Strasburg is not scheduled to start today.

“If there is a bright spot, that would be a bright spot,” Gouldsmith said.

Junior right-hander Corey Hales, 4-3 with a 5.46 ERA, is expected to start for the Rebels. He has not pitched in about two weeks because of a sore shoulder.

Gouldsmith said Hales is his best starter when healthy, but UNLV’s pitching staff has been hammered for a 7.21 team ERA.

“I really felt this was a team that could win between 30 and 35 games with some consistency on the mound,” Gouldsmith said. “Everybody is still optimistic about our ability to win this thing.”

Fourth-seeded Brigham Young (22-34) plays fifth-seeded Utah (23-26) at 5 p.m. today. The losers of today’s games meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Second-seeded New Mexico (32-23) will play the highest seed to advance from Game No. 1 and Game No. 2 at 1 p.m. Wednesday, and TCU will take on the lowest seed to advance from the first two games at 5 on Wednesday.