Athletic Media Relations 30 Smith Fieldhouse • Provo, Utah • 84602 801-378-8948 • Fax 801-378-3520
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Athletic Media Relations 30 Smith Fieldhouse • Provo, Utah • 84602 801-378-8948 • fax 801-378-3520 ASEBALL Weekly Release — March 20, 2002 B Media Relations Information Home Season Begins Baseball contact: Ralph Zobell A showdown between the defending conference champion and the pre season E-Mail: [email protected] pick to win the league starts Thursday when BYU’s baseball team hosts San BYU 2002 Remaining Schedule Diego State University. The league-leading Cougars, 9-12-1 overall and 3-0 in % Mar. 21 *SDSU Provo 7 pm the Mountain West Conference, open their home season at Larry H. Miller Field % Mar. 22 *SDSU Provo 7 pm with favored SDSU, 18-9 and 2-1, with a pair of 7 p.m. Games on Thursday and % Mar. 23 *SDSU Provo 1 pm Friday. Saturday’s finale in the three-game series starts at 1 p.m. Mar. 29 *Air Force Colo. Spgs.,CO(DH)11 am Mar. 30 *Air Force Colo. Spgs., CO 1 pm %+Apr. 1 Notre DameSouth Bend, IN 1 pm A Quick Look at the Cougars %+Apr. 2 Notre DameSouth Bend, IN 6 pm Third-year coach Vance Law returns four position starters and has several expe- Apr. 4 *Utah Provo 7 pm rienced pitchers to go with a unique blend of transfers, returning missionaries Apr. 5 *Utah # Provo 7 pm and freshmen. Leading the young pitching corps is senior lefty Jeff Stone, who Apr. 6 *Utah # Provo 1 pm Apr. 11 *N. Mexico Albuquerque 3 pm needs six victories to become the all-time record-holder at BYU. Others to Apr. 12 *N. Mexico Albuquerque 3 pm watch include junior pre-season All-Americans Matt Carson and senior Lars Apr. 13 *N. Mexico Albuquerque 1 pm Birkeland and junior Doug Jackson. % Apr.18-19*SDSU San Diego, CA 6 pm % Apr. 20 *SDSU San Diego, CA 1 pm Apr. 25-26 *Air Force Provo 7 pm Probable Pitching Rotation Apr. 27 *Air Force#Provo 1 pm Mar. 21 San Diego State Jeff Mousser (3-1, 2.92) Provo, 7 pm % May 2-3 *UNLV Provo 7 pm Mar. 22 San Diego State Ryan Adams (1-3, 7.43) Provo, 7 pm % May 4 *UNLV Provo 1 pm Mar. 23 San Diego State Scott Koffman (2-2, 5.56) Provo, 1 pm May 6 So. Utah Provo 4 pm May 7 So. Utah Provo 7 pm May 9 *Utah Salt Lake City Noon Radio Coverage May 10 *Utah Salt Lake City Noon BYU’s station, KOVO (960 AM) carries all of its Mountain West Conference sin- May 11 *Utah Salt Lake City Noon gle games. SDSU’s games are broadcast live over the Internet. May 14-15 So. Utah Cedar City 1 pm May 16-17 *N. Mexico Provo 7 May 18 *N. Mexico Provo 1 Tickets 5/22-25 MWC Tournament Provo Individual baseball game prices at Miller Park are $5 for public and $3 for stu- 5/31-6/2 NCAA Regionals TBA dents, faculty, staff and senior citizens. Season reserved seats can be obtained 6/7-9 NCAA Super Regionals TBA with a Cougar Card for $30. Otherwise, reserved seats for the season are $30 6/14-22 College World Series Omaha, Neb. * Indicates MWC Games for students or $60 for public. For groups of 15 or more, there is a special rate #BYU Softball Hosts of $2 per person. For reserved tickets, phone 801 378-BYU1. All-sport and % Audiocast +Livestats Cougar Cards must be shown at the ticket office on the game day and redeemed for a reserved seat, based on availability. Tickets are on sale at the Mountain West Pre-Season Pix ticket office on the north side of Miller Park. Votes (1st) W-L, 2002 1. SDSU 24 (4) 2-1 Probable Lineup 2. BYU 22 (2) 3-0 1B–#17 Dave Jensen 2B–#21 Rob Itri SS–#8 Ranger Wiens 3. Utah 14 0-3 3B–#33 Jake Stubblefield C–#34 Lars Birkeland RF–#28 Matt Carson 4. New Mexico 12 3-0 CF–#13 Doug Jackson LF–#11 Cameron Coughlan 5. UNLV 11 0-3 DH–#33 Jake Stubblefield 6. Air Force 5 1-2 Series Record San Diego State leads the series, 45-31-1. The BYU-SDSU series dates back to 1957. BYU has a 14-13 record against SDSU in Provo. www.byucougars.com BYU Baseball Release Page 2 Matt Carson, Right Field BYU Quick Facts Second-Team All-American Pre-Season, Baseball America magazine Location: Provo, Utah 84602 Mountain West Conference Player of the Week, Feb. 18 (Santa Clara-Pacific) Enrollment: 28,300 (Daytime) Founded: Oct. 15, 1875, by The Church of Jesus Next Week Christ of Latter-day Saints The Cougars play at the Air Force Academy with a Friday doubleheader and a Colors: Blue and White single game on Saturday before continuing to fly back to Notre Dame. Nickname: Cougars Mascot: Cosmo (the Cougar) Regarding BYU this season Affiliation: NCAA Division I BYU has five current players who are married (Lars Birkeland, Ryan Adams, Conference: Mountain West Jeff Stone, Jacob Stubblefield and Matt Ward). There are 15 players on the team Field: Larry H. Miller Field (2,300) who have served two-year volunteer Church missions, 11 of whom were President: Merrill J. Bateman assigned outside the United States and speak Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and Men’s AD: Val Hale Russian. Incorporated into this year’s team are seven players who have just Ticket Office Phone: (801) 378-BYU1 or finished serving two-year Church missions (Kevin Bills, Rob Itri, Paul Jacinto, 1-800-322-BYU1 Dave Jensen, Curtis Rodriguez, Ranger Wiens and Adam Wilkes). Ranger Baseball Staff: Wiens is one of six players (Tyler Dabo, Sam Fernley, Jason Garcia, Jake Head Coach: Vance Law (BYU, 1978) Stubblefield and Mike Weingarten) who transferred to BYU this past Office Phone: (801) 378-5049 season...Wiens played three years ago at the University of Nevada. Two Record: 76--63-1, third season Cougars have South Korean connections...pitcher Jeff Stone served a two-year Assistant Coaches: mission to that country and second baseman Han Yi was born in Seoul--each David Eldredge (BYU, 1984) lived in Korea for nearly two years. Among those throwing batting practice to Mike Karpel (UC San Bernardino, 1994) BYU again this season is former Cy Young winner Vernon Law (1960 Pittsburgh Nate Mathis (BYU, 2000) Pirates), father of BYU head coach Vance Law. In January, Vance Law was in Trainer: Jared Hutchinson Washington, D.C., where he was again a resource player (yearly for the past Baseball Facts: nine years) for the major league rookie training. Pitcher Jake Chrisman stands 2001 Record: 38-22 (12-7 home, 26-15 away) 6-8 and redshirted this past season in basketball. Pitcher Jeff Stone (26-14) Conference Finish: 21-8, 1st in MWC needs six more victories to become BYU’s all-time winningest pitcher. Cameron NCAA Finish: Eliminated, first round at Lincoln, Neb. Coughlan runs a 6.5 in the 60-yard dash to be among the fastest Cougars. Final National Ranking: NA Starters Returning (4): Injuries Lars Birkeland, 6-1, Sr., C Pitchers Curtis Rodriguez and James Ray are both sidelined due to off-season Matt Carson, 6-2, Jr., RF surgery last semester, but both are hopeful of mid-season returns. Kainoa Doug Jackson, 5-7, Jr., OF Obrey, a pre-season third-team All-America, is out for the season, hoping for a Kainoa Obrey, 6-3, Jr., 3B medical hardship because of a back problem. Starters Lost (5): Ty Haguewood/Tim Law, 1B Coach Vance Law and staff Tyler Perry, 2B Vance Law played 14 years of pro ball, including 11 years in the majors with six Seth King, SS different teams. Last season he was named Coach of the Year for the Mountain Shane Belliston, CF West Conference. The 46-year-old coach is in his third year at BYU and has a Jeff Hiestand, DH 76-63-1 record. He is assisted by David Eldredge, now in his fourth year at Other Letterwinners Returning from 2001: BYU. Eldredge was one of three finalists named for last year’s head-coach Cameron Coughlan, 5-11, Jr., 2B/OF vacancy at the University of Hawai`i. Pitching coach Mike Karpel is in his third Top Returning Pitchers from 2001: year with BYU. Graduate assistant Nate Mathis is in his first year on the BYU Ryan Adams, 6-3, Sr., RHP, 6-2, 4.10 staff, succeeding Hank Taylor who joined the U.S. Military Academy this season Scott Koffman, 6-2, RHP, Soph., 3-1, 7.44 at West Point as a member of its baseball staff. Jeff Mousser, 6-2, RHP, Soph.,3-0, 6.38 Jeff Stone, 6-1, Sr., LHP, 5-5, 6.09 First Full Year in New Ballpark at Home This is BYU’s first full season at Miller Park, named in honor of Larry H. and Gail Miller, who made a significant financial contribution toward the facility. The baseball field is built on the site the original field was constructed on in 1969 and is named Larry H. Miller Field. The baseball portion seats 2,204 (675 in the lower bowl) and mirrors a back-to-back concept with the adjoining soft- ball field and a shared press box. Both fields have lights. The field measures 400 feet in center, 388 in the alleys and remains at 345 down the lines. BYU played its first night games in Provo with the opening of Miller Park. www.byucougars.com BYU Baseball Release Page 3 Carson, the man with the bat and the arm Cougars on Missions BYU junior Matt Carson was named second-team pre-season All-America by Player, Pos., Year @ BYU Place of Service Cortland Andrews, LHP, 2000 Guatemala Baseball America.