PROVO, Utah – The BYU baseball team will begin its 2019 season with a three-game series against Northwestern in Mesa, Arizona, starting Friday, Feb. 15, before playing Cal in Tempe, Arizona, on Monday, Feb. 18.
All games will be streamed live on BYU Baseball’s Facebook page with live stats available here. Fans can listen to BYU Radio and ESPN 960 for live action of game one on Friday starting at 6 p.m. MT. ESPN 960 will broadcast the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. MT, and BYU Radio will broadcast Saturday’s second game. The Cal game will also air live on BYU Radio and ESPN 960 at 11 a.m. MT on Monday.
Led by head coach Mike Littlewood in his seventh season at BYU, the Cougars return 2018 All-WCC First Team honorees Brock Hale, a senior outfielder with a .368 career average, and senior right-handed pitcher Jordan Wood, who boasted a 2.66 ERA with 63 strikeouts last season.
Other top returnees include senior Keaton Kringlen, a 2017 All-WCC awardee who will see time at first base and in the outfield, and 2018 Freshman All-American pitcher Drew Zimmerman, who will move to a starting role after excelling in relief for the Cougars last year.
BYU also welcomes three players – infielder Jackson Cluff, outfielder Danny Gelalich and pitcher Easton Walker – back from missions and have added 18 new players to the roster.
The Cougars are playing Northwestern for the first time since 2003; the Wildcats hold a 2-0 advantage in the previous two games. Northwestern went 17-32 overall, 6-18 in the Big Ten, in 2018.
The Cal Golden Bears lead the series against BYU, 12-8, including a 1-0 win in Berkeley last season. Cal went 32-22 in 2018, including 16-14 in the Pac-12.