UNLV-BYU Tilt Starts MWC Tourney

UNLV is BYU’s opening game for the first time in the 10-year history of the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament.

The Cougars, now 25-29 overall, play UNLV, 27-27, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. PDT, in San Diego, Calif. No. 4-seeded BYU is scheduled to start freshman Chris Capper (4-1, 4.68) on the mound, while the Rebels will counter with Tanner Peters (6-5, 5.99). The two teams were 3-3 in head-to-head competition during the regular season.

“We are hoping our young players can step up in a significant way and take this opportunity to achieve a goal we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season,” said BYU coach Vance Law.

Injuries have plagued the Cougars in recent weeks with the losses of starting pitcher Matthew Neil and catchers Bryce Ayoso and Wes Guenther. Ayoso had surgery last week on his rotator cuff.

“We’ve never had to deal with this many injuries,” said Law, who is hopeful that Alex Wolfe will be able to play in the MWC Tourney after going down with an injury in the 22-19 loss last Saturday at the Air Force Academy.

Depending on the fortunes of the UNLV game, BYU will advance in the winner’s bracket against either defending champion TCU or No. 2 seen New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon/evening. Should the Cougars falter against the Rebels, on Wednesday morning they would face the loser of the Utah-San Diego State game.

For more information, please see the multi-page PDF at the top of this page.

Tuesday, May 25
Game 1 - #4 BYU vs. #5 UNLV - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 2 - #3 San Diego State vs. #6 Utah - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Wednesday, May 26
Game 3 - Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 - 11 a.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 4 - #2 New Mexico vs. Highest Seed to Advance from Games #1 & #2 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Game 5 - #1 TCU vs. Lowest Seed to Advance from Games #1 & #2) - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Thursday, May 27
Game 6 - Lower Seed Game #4 or #5 vs. Winner Game #3 - 11 a.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Game 7 - Higher Seed Game #4 or #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 8 - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Friday, May 28
Game 9 - Loser Game #8 vs. Winner Game #7 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn.
Game 10 - Championship Game (Winner Game #8 vs. Winner Game #9 - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Saturday, May 29
Game 11 - Championship Game (if necessary), 1 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C