Tourney Time in Tennessee

Baseball teams from the Big 12, Conference USA, and Mid American conferences face BYU in Tennessee this week at the annual Service Academies Spring Classic.

The Cougars' opening game will be against nearby University Memphis on Thursday, in at the tourney site in Millington, Tenn. Memphis and Akron are starting its seasons this week, while Missouri brings a 5-2 record into the Classic and BYU is 3-2.

Senior righthander Jesse Craig (0-2. 6.10) will start Thursday's game at 3 p.m. (CST) as he maintains his Thursday-Tuesday-Saturday regimen. Sophomore southpaw Jake Wortham (0-1, 8.31) is scheduled to throw for the Cougars against Missouri on Friday at 1 p.m. Jordan Muir, also a sophomore, (2-0, 3.09) will pitch for BYU in Saturday's contest at 10 a.m., as the righthander seeks for his eighth victory against no losses in his college career.

Craig is one of three seniors on a team that has 13 freshmen.

"We are just young and need to gain some confidence," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We have not been swinging the bats like I know we can."

One bat that remains consistent for BYU is sophomore Kent Walton, who now has a 13-game hitting streak, a string that started last season.

The Cougars do not play the U.S. Air Force or Naval Academies, who are also in the tournament. Tournament games will have livestats. and one live audiocast available through links on www.byucougars.com.

Following the Tennessee tourney, BYU returns to Provo to open its home baseball season next week with a three-game series against Northern Colorado.

For more information on BYU's baseball team for this week, click on the PDF link at the top of this page.