Home Season Opens--Games at UVSC

Home at last, BYU's baseball team will host Mesa State College on Thursday and Friday.

After 22 games on the road, the Cougars, 12-10, open their home season with a three-game series against Mesa. The games will be played at Utah Valley State College because BYU's Miller Park is still under construction.

Thursday's game will be at 1 p.m., and Friday's doubleheader begins at noon. BYU's games this week and next will be at the UVSC field in Orem.

The Cougar pitching rotation is still being debated by the coaches as they ready to host the Mavericks, a division II power who have a 16-6 record.

"We are excited to finally be playing at home and grateful that UVSC is allowing us to use their field," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "It's nice for our players so we can get a full week in academically."

Law praised his players for maintaining focus on the road and for their recent performance in winning two of three games at pre-season league favorite San Diego State.

"Our players did an admirable job on the road by not getting weary. We competed for nine innings each game when we could have gotten discouraged at times."

Among the Cougars who contributed to BYU's success in San Diego were sophomore outfielder Matt Carson and freshman pitcher Jeff Stearman.

Carson batted .454 and continued to get key hits to drive in important runs against the Aztecs. He leads the team with nine home runs. Stearman, 1 2, picked up a save and BYU's first victory of the season for a pitcher other than those garnered by Nate Fernley (6-1) and Ryan Adams (5-1).

Following this week's non-conference series with Mesa, BYU returns to Mountain West Conference action next week when it hosts the Air Force Academy for another three-game series in afternoon games at UVSC.

None of this week's games will be broadcast on the radio or the Internet.