Friday is the season opener for BYU’s baseball team as it has a pair of doubleheaders in series at Stillwater, Okla.
The Cougars, who were 22-36 last season, return all starters as they face Manhattan College (31-20-1 in 2008) on Friday at 1 p.m., CDT, before tangling with host Oklahoma State (44-18) in a game starting at 4 p.m., CDT.
On Saturday, BYU has a rematch with the Jaspers at noon (CDT) and then close this portion of the road trip in a 6:30 p.m. (CDT) contest with OSU, ranked No. 13 by USA Today/ESPN, No. 14 Collegiate Baseball and No. 16 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
On Monday, BYU travels to Texas for an evening game at Waco against No. 8 (Baseball America) Baylor University (No. 15 Collegiate Baseball, No. 17 USA Today/ESPN and No. 19 NCBWA).
Seniors Jordan Muir (2-6, 6.81) and Jake Wortham (4-6, 6.90), a southpaw, are BYU’s probable starting pitchers on Friday against Manhattan and the Cowboys, respectively. On Saturday, juniors Blake Torgerson (6-5, 5.68) and Jeremy Toole (2-1, 4.42), a JC transfer, face the Jaspers and OSU in that order on the mound.
“We had a chance to play a couple of good schools,” said BYU coach Vance Law in explanation of this unique Oklahoma-Texas trip. “I hope our guys are not intimidated. We are very good offensively and while our pitching remains to be seen, I think we are good there as well.”
Links for live stats, live audio and live video for games this weekend can be found on www.byucougars.com.
BYU has been picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference by the MWC Coaches/Media and Baseball America magazine, and fifth by Rivals.com. BYU junior outfielder Sean McNaughton was selected by Baseball America as the MWC's projected Player of the Year.
BYU opens its home season next week against the University of Portland in Provo.
For more information on BYU's baseball series this week, please see the PDF file at the top of this article.