|
BYU will play a familiar foe -- rival Utah -- in today's opening round of the 2008 Phillips 66 Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament.
The fourth-seeded Cougars, now 22-34 overall, have played Utah in recent years at Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Nevada and now in Fort Worth, Texas. Both teams ended the season with identical 10-14 league records and split the four games played thus far this season.
Last weekend, BYU took the final two of a three-game series in Salt Lake City. But the Utes, who are 23-26, won the non-conference game in March at Provo, 9-7. The Cougars rallied with three big-run innings for comeback victories in the final two games, with their 12-run eighth inning being the most dramatic after being behind 10-0 in the finale on Saturday.
Fifth-seeded Utah did not pitch its projected Tuesday starter Brian Budrow (5-5, 3.68) last week in anticipation of the tournament. But when the three-game series started last week, it wasn't clear whether the two teams would meet up this quickly in the tournament. BYU will counter with a repeat of Jake Wortham (4-5, 6.67), whom the Utes touched up for eight hits in their 5-3 victory last Thursday.
"We're hoping those wins will breed the confidence we need for the tournament," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We are familiar with each otherand it's tooth and nail all the time."
Today's game has no bearing on the Deseret First Duels all-sport supremacy trophy which BYU won last week.
KSRR Radio (1400 AM) will carry the live broadcast of Brent Norton, with the play-by-play with game time at 6 p.m. MDT. The Mtn. network will televise all of the tournament games live and the championship game will be broadcast on both The Mtn. and the CBS College Sports Network.
The winner of the MWC championship will earn an automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 26 at 10:30 a.m.
The Cougars have a 20-14 record in the MWC Tournament, including a 3-2 record against the Utes in the tourney. BYU has a 208-91-1 overall record against Utah in baseball. Law has a 39-14 record against the Utes in his eight years at the BYU helm.
• McNaughton, Walton earn conference honors: At Fort Worth, Texas, outfielders Sean McNaughton and Kent Walton of BYU have earned first and second team All-Mountain West Conference honors, respectively.
McNaughton, a 5-foot-9 sophomore leftfielder from Lakewood, Wash., batted .345 in league play and has a team-leading .354 average overall with 14 homers, 91 hits, 22 doubles, four triples, 53 RBI and 21-of-29 stolen bases.
Walton, a 6-0 junior centerfielder from Yucaipa, Calif., batted .373 in MWC games and .319 overall with 75 hits, 12 doubles, seven triples and 14-of-17 stolen bases.
2008 MWC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
At Fort Worth, Texas (all times MDT)
Today
Game 1: San Diego St. (No. 3) vs. UNLV (No. 6), 2 p.m.
Game 2: BYU (No. 4) vs. Utah (No. 5), 6 p.m.
Wednesday
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 4: New Mexico (No. 2) vs. Game 1 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 5: TCU (No. 1)* vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Thursday
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m.
Friday
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner (if necessary), 2 p.m.
* The No. 1 seed will play the lowest seed to advance from the first round of tournament games |
