Rivalry Week Has Utah in Provo

Rivalry week gets started with a Wednesday game against Mesa State before BYU hosts Utah in a three-game baseball series.

The Cougars, now 14-11 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference, host Mesa State, 15-10, on Wednesday at 1 p.m.. BYU hosts Utah, 11-14 and 4-2, on Thursday and Friday at 1 p.m. and on Saturday at noon.

BYU remains atop the Mountain West standings, while Utah is in third place after sweeping UNLV last weekend in Salt Lake City. The Cougars earned a sweep at UNLV two weeks ago and won two of three games last weekend in Provo to open the home season.

Before the Utes come to town, BYU will play host to Mesa State at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Utah also hosts the Division II Mavericks in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday.

While Wednesday's Cougar starter is still being decided, BYU Coach Vance Law will continue his rotation for the Utes. On Thursday and Friday, Jeff Stone (5-2, 6.15) and Micah Mangrum (4-3 3.99) will start. James Ray (2-2, 5.62) is scheduled to start Saturday.

"Utah is playing well right now and we are, too, so it should be a good series," said Law. "We've been starting slow in some games and I don't want us to get complacent. It's a bad habit if a team thinks it can turn it on and off at will. We just need to be consistent and do what our abilities allow. I'm encouraging our team to keep going and not have hindsight."

The current BYU hitting-streak-leader is freshman Matt Carson with eight games. Carson was named the MWC player of the week prior to the series with AFA, then continued his pace with three singles and a game-winning triple in BYU's newly extended ball park.

Aaron Whitley continues to lead the Cougars with his .460 batting average, followed by Craig Peterson at .411 and Nick Day at .408. BYU is batting .322 as a team, compared to .283 for its opponents.

Radio KSRR (1400 AM) will broadcast each game of the Utah series. The Cougars lost the opener at Mesa State earlier this season in a three-game series in Grand Junction, Colo. Utah and BYU are scheduled to meet again at the end of April in Salt Lake City.

Ticket prices for BYU's games are $3 for students/faculty/staff, $5 for general admission, $10 for a family pass, or public Cougar Cards ($25 individual, $60 family) and BYU All Sport Cards ($20) are good for season admission and are available through the Marriott Center Ticket Office (378-BYU1).