Red Desert Classic This Weekend

The BYU softball team will travel to St. George, Utah to participate in the University of Utah Red Desert Classic Friday and Saturday. On Friday the Cougars will face No. 17 Nebraska at noon and No. 12 Washington at 2 p.m. On Saturday, they will face Southern Utah at noon and Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Prior to the tournament, BYU will face Southern Utah in a doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m.

At Louisville Slugger Classic

The Cougars beat Michigan State, 11-1 and Illinois State 5-2, but lost twice to No. 13 Iowa (8-1, 4-3) and 2-1 to No. 6 Arizona State. The game against ASU and the second one against Iowa each went into extra innings.

BYU Probable Starters

•C -Angie Christiansen - R/R, Sr. (.080, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 RBI)

•1B - Mindy Hanson - R/R, Sr. (.278, 10 hits, 1 run, 8 RBI)

•2B - Kari Pringle - R/R, Jr. (.346, 9 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI)

•SS - Becca Erickson - R/R, Sr. (.237, 9 hits, 5 runs, 2 HR, 8 RBI)

•3B - Tracy Farley - R/R, Sr. (.333, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 RBI)

•RF - Brooke Cadiente - R/L, So. (.318, 14 hits, 7 runs, 2 HR, 11 RBI)

•LF - Oli Keohohou- R/R, Fr. (.359, 14 hits, 18 runs, 6 HR, 15 RBI)

•CF - Liz Smith- L/R, Jr. (.391, 18 hits, 10 runs, 1 RBI)

•DH - Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston - R/R, Jr. (.295, 13 hits, 4 runs, 7 RBI)

•P - Meghann Pricer - R/R, Sr. (2-3, 2.14 ERA, 22 SO)

Team Leaders

After fifteen games, Liz Smith leads the team in batting average (.391), hits (18) and stolen bases (3). Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston leads the team in doubles (5). Oli Keohohou leads the team in homeruns (6), RBI (15), total

bases (35) and runs scored (18).

Scouting Southern Utah

BYU and SUU have already met once this season with SUU winning 7-5. The Thunderbird's record is 4-3, including a 1-0 win over nationally-ranked Oregon State. Kelly Grundy and Emily Cederholm each have nine hits this season. Mandy Flint has a 1.35 ERA in 25.2 innings of work, giving up 23 hits while striking out 20 batters.

Scouting Nebraska

No. 17 Nebraska comes into the tournament with a 7-7 record. Five of its losses have come against top-5 nationally ranked teams. Sophomore shortstop Leigh Suhr was recently named the Big 12 Player of the Week for her performances at the UNLV Classic, Feb. 16-18 .

Scouting Washington

No. 12 Washington is 11-6 on the season, including wins over South Carolina and Georgia. The Huskies tied for fifth place with Michigan in the 24-team NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend.

Scouting Oklahoma State

Oklahoma St. is 5-6 on the season. The Cowgirls endured a five-game losing streak during February, but have won two in a row. Senior leftfielder Amanda Hayes was recently named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for her performance against Ole Miss and Southwest Missouri State.

Preseason Mountain West Conference Coaches' Poll

BYU was picked by the coaches in the Mountain West Conference to

finish fifth in the conference in the preseason poll released Jan. 25. In-state rival University of Utah, where BYU head coach Mary Kay Amicone played and was an assistant coach for seven years, was picked to finish first.

Mountain West Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Utah (5) 25

2. New Mexico (1) 20

3. San Diego State 15

4. Colorado State 11

5. BYU 10

6. UNLV 9

Player/Coach Interviews

Practices are held daily at 4:30 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse Annex. Player or Coach Amicone interviews may be arranged in advance through Shane Bevell, BYU Athletic Media Relations, at (801) 378-8999. Additional information may be obtained through e-mailing Shane at amr-3@byu.edu or by fax at (801) 378-3520.