If BYU is to play Utah next week, it hinges on the outcome of this weekend's games, including the Cougars' three-game series at the Air Force Academy.
The Cougars, now 26-21 overall and 16-11 in the Mountain West Conference, have three games starting at 2 p.m. each day, beginning Thursday at Colorado Springs, Colo. BYU is in third place in the MWC as it readies for next week's conference tourney at Albuquerque, N.M., trailing second-place New Mexico who is 17-10 going into its series at San Diego State.
"We can't take them lightly," said BYU Head Coach Vance Law of the Air Force Academy. "We are not playing a bunch of stiffs, they are athletes."
Likely to start on the mound for the Cougars are Jeff Mousser (5-6, 5.87), Paul Jacinto (8-5, 3.87) and Ken Gravley (4-1, 4.97).
The Cougars are ranked 28th in the nation with a .320 batting average and 20th in runs scored. BYU's Ranger Wiens is 32nd nationally with a .407 batting average and is sixth in doubles. Teammate Kainoa Obrey is ranked 22nd in doubles, while Doug Jackson is ninth in triples.
Cougar catcher Casey Cloward has a current 16-game hitting streak.
Air Force brings a 14-35 record overall and a 2-25 league mark into the series.
All of the BYU-AFA games will be carried live locally over KOVO Radio 960 AM. Friday and Saturday's games are broadcast live on the Internet through links on www.byucougars.com. Live stats are available on all of the games through the same links.