San Diego State Series

League-leading BYU plays at pre-season favorite San Diego State in a three-game series beginning Thursday.

The Cougars, 10-9 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference, play games at 6 p.m. PST on Thursday and Friday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday against San Diego State, 9-7 and 0-0.

Scheduled to start for BYU on the mound are Nate Fernley (6-0, 1.74), Jeff Stone (0-3, 8.10) and Ryan Adams (4-1, 2.53).

"We are coming along, but we are striking out way too much," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "I like the way our young pitchers have thrown. Our starters are taking us deep into every game to gives us a chance to win.

"Everybody knows San Diego State has good talent and tradition, so we'll have to play our best."

Fernley improved his record to 6-0 and reduced his ERA from 1.98 to 1.74 with his seven innings and five strikeouts in the 21-0 opening victory at New Mexico last week.

Teammate Kainoa Obrey improved his batting average from .278 to .328 after the UNM series. The Cougars improved their batting average from .272 to .284. Obrey was among four BYU players to make significant jumps in their averages. Doug Jackson vaulted from .308 to .353, Ty Haguewood jumped from .300 to .346, and Jeff Hiestand went from .235 to .292.

The BYU-SDSU games will be broadcast live locally over KSRR Radio (1400 AM) on Thursday and Saturday, with Friday updates happening during the Utah Jazz game. All of the games can be heard live on the Internet at goaztecs.fansonly.com/sports/m basebl/sdsu-m-basebl-sched.html

Next week the Cougars are scheduled to open the home season against Mesa State in games that have been moved to the field nearby Utah Valley State College while the finishing touches are completed at BYU's Miller Park.