Baseball cards: BYU Baseball 2003

By W Kolditz

6-0, 190, Jr.

Encinitas, Calif.

2-4, 4.15 ERA, 34 SO

Don''t let Paul Jacinto''s record deceive you. He is one of the Cougars most dominating pitchers this year. Twice this year in Cougar losses Jacinto held opponents to two runs or less. Opponents are only hitting a meager .222 when facing him. In a 3-1 win against UNLV on March 21, Jacinto pitched a complete-game one hitter. The only hit in the game didn''t come until the sixth inning.

6-0, 185, Fr.

Long Beach, Calif.

1-1, 6.52 ERA, 9 SO

Ken Gravley got his first collegiate start in the final game of a three-game series against No. 3 ranked Arizona State on Feb. 8. The true-freshman southpaw held the Sun Devils to four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. Although Gravley received a no-decision for his effort in an eventual BYU loss, the performance earned him a spot in the starting rotation.

6-2, 215, Jr.

Tempe, Ariz.

3-2, 5.21 ERA, 39 SO

Jeff Mousser was the Cougar ace last year finishing 9-4 with a 4.88 ERA. He has shown early on this year that he is still the staff ace. The first three wins for the Cougars this year were wins credited to Mousser. He was selected the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week twice, once after a 6-3 opening day victory against No. 21 Arizona on Jan. 30

6-3, 225, Jr.

Honolulu, Hawaii

.379 BA, 5 HR, 30 RBI

The Kansas City Royals thought enough of Kainoa Obrey to draft him in the 11th round last year even though injuries limited him to only 33 at-bats. The Hawaiian native is out to prove the 11th round isn''t high enough. As the team''s clean-up hitter, Obrey leads the teams in RBIs (30) and is tied for team highs in home runs (5) and doubles (11).

6-3, 195, Jr.

Broomall, Penn.

.305 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBI

In a three-game series against New Mexico March 13-15, no one was harder to get out than Rob Itri. He went eight-for-12 in the series with two doubles, one home run and four RBIs. Entering the series, Itri was hitting a paltry .179. Since then, he has improved his average to .305. Last year Itri hit .325 with five home runs in 62 games. He already has four home runs through 18 games this year.

6-3, 210, Jr.

Merced, Calif.

.396 BA, 1 HR, 15 RBI

Voted by his teammates to be one of three team captains, Ranger Wiens is leading the team with his .396 batting average and 15 stolen bases. Wiens is fast, yet has tremendous power. He displayed his power in the season''s opening game against Arizona on Jan. 30. Wiens went four-for-five in the game with a home run and two doubles.

5-7, 155, Sr.

Kailua, Hawaii

.376 BA, 2 HR, 15 RBI

Doug Jackson became BYU''s all-time triples leader when he hit his 19th career triple against New Mexico on March 13. Since then, Jackson has increased the record to 22 triples. He already has seven triples this year and is on pace to break the team''s record for most triples in a season set at 10 by Gary Daniels in 1990. At 5-7, Jackson is the shortest player on the BYU baseball team.

6-1, 210, Sr.

San Diego, Calif.

.341 BA, 5 HR, 17 RBI

A transfer from the former Ricks College baseball program, Jake Stubblefield hit 23 home runs his freshman year at Ricks in 1998. Although he hasn''t come close to matching his pre-mission home run totals, Stubblefield did hit eight home runs last year and is tied for the team high this year with five. He had a 14-game hitting streak come to an end on March 25 against Southern Utah.

6-2, 195, Jr.

Santa Clara, Utah

.312 BA, 5 HR, 24 RBI

Brock Jacobsen transferred from Dixie State College this year. After his sophomore season at Dixie where he was the 2002 academic athlete of the year, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Jacobsen in the 44th round. He has had several key hits for the Cougars this year. In BYU''s home opener against UNLV on March 20, Jacobsen hit a 400-foot solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game at five.

6-1, 175, Fr.

Yucaipa, Calif.

.278 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI

After being injured much of last season, Clayton Carson still hasn''t made the starting lineup consistently this year. He is the younger brother of former Cougar and New York Yankees 2002 5th round draft pick Matt Carson. Like his brother, Clayton has hitting potential. He demonstrated the potential in a game against New Mexico on March 15. Clayton hit two home runs in the game, one of them a solo home run to tie the game in the ninth inning.

Fourth Year

107-96-1 (.527)

Vance Law played parts of 11 seasons in the major leagues with the Pirates, White Sox, Expos, Cubs and Athletics. In his major league career, Law hit .256 with 71 career home runs. His best year was with the Chicago Cubs in 1988 when he hit .293 with 11 home runs and 78 RBIs. Law was also selected as an all-star in ''88.

Law was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of BYU in the 39th round, primarily as a result of his father''s outstanding pitching career with the Pirates in the ''50s and ''60s. As a Cougar from 1974-78, he was a three time All-Western Athletic Conference shortstop. Law was also a starting guard for the BYU basketball team from 1975-77. Prior to coaching for BYU, Law was the baseball coach for Provo High School. He led the Bulldogs to a 64-55 (.538) record and one state title during his five years with the team.

Law is one of nine active college coaches with major league experience. In his fourth season with BYU, Law has led the Cougars to two-straight Mountain West Conference Tournament titles.