Utah
BASEBALL: The Utah baseball team hosts New Mexico in a three-game series this weekend at Franklin Covey Field. The games will begin at 2 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.Utah is 13-13 with a 1-5 WAC mark, while New Mexico is 11-18 and 2-7 in WAC play.
The top Ute hitter is senior Eric Wallace, who is second in the WAC in home runs with nine and is hitting .307. Sophomore Jed Chrisman leads the team with a .379 batting average and has two home runs and 12 RBIs.
Brandon Page leads the Ute pitching corps with a 3.89 ERA.
Last weekend Utah won one of three games against Rice, the second-ranked team in collegiate baseball.
Utah State
WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS: Utah State fell six spots to No. 18 in the country this week following last week's win at Auburn, 193.925-193.225.
The Aggies were ranked 12th in the NCAA last week with a Regional Qualifying Score of 194.8125. With USU's weekend score, its RQS remained the same.
Utah State is also ranked in the top 25 in all four individual events, 11th on the balance beam with an RQS of 48.7937, 22nd on the floor exercise (48.9125), 23rd on the vault (48.5250) and 24th on the uneven bars with an RQS of 48.6875.
Individually for Utah State, junior Christy Denson (Palestine, Texas) fell to 13th in all-around (39.2187) and is ranked 17th on the beam (9.8750).
Utah State concludes its regular season this weekend as it travels to Fullerton, Calif., to compete in the 1999 Big West Championships Saturday.
Southern Utah
BASEBALL: Southern Utah's baseball team earned a split of a two-game series with Air Force, defeating the Falcons 13-12 Wednesday in Cedar City.
SUU scored two runs in the first to take a 2-0 lead. AFA answered with three runs in the third, thanks in large part to three SUU errors. After Air Force tied the game at 6-6 in the sixth, SUU exploded for four runs in the bottom of the frame, including a two-run home run by junior Phil Downing -- his second two-run home run of the series -- to lead 10-6. SUU added two insurance runs in the seventh and held a 12-6 lead.
The Falcons erupted for six runs in the eighth. Falcon Ryan Carville jacked a three-run shot to cap the inning and the score was tied at 12-12. With a man on first and one out in the bottom of the eighth, SUU's Brian Kruse laced a single to left, moving Luke Geddes to third. An errant throw by Falcon catcher Jason Davis on Kruse's attempt to steal second base allowed Geddes to score and the 'Birds led 13-12.
Air Force threatened in the ninth, with runners at the corners with one out. Falcon Mike Stolley lined to T-Bird first baseman D.J. Penick, who doubled-up the runner at first to end the game.
Downing was 3-for-5 at the plate with six RBIs. Junior hurler Brian Mounce (2-4) pitched two-thirds of an inning for the win, while senior lefty Scott Harrison picked up his first save of the year. AFA's Matt Werner (0-1) took the loss.
SUU improves to 8-23 on the season, while AFA's record stands even at 16-16. SUU opens a four-game series with in-state rival Brigham Young with a doubleheader this Friday. First pitch is slated for noon at Thunderbird Park.
SOFTBALL: DePaul completed a season-sweep of Southern Utah Wednesday afternoon, taking a pair of softball games at Thunderbird Field, 11-2 and 9-1. DePaul improved to 17-10 overall and 4-0 in Mid-Continent Conference play, while Southern Utah dropped to 0-4 in league action.
DePaul scored nine runs in the second inning of the first game on eight singles, two errors and a Shavaughne Desecki triple to break that game open. Jenny Hardy-Roberts and Cami Niko each doubled for SUU. Liza Brown (6-5) picked up her second win in as many days against the Thunderbirds, while Audrey Jensen (2-7) was charged with the loss.
In the second game the Blue Demons went with the long ball, as Terpstra, Karen Stewart and Liza Brown all hit home runs. DePaul scored five in the second and four in the third to seal the win. Hardy-Roberts doubled again in the nightcap for SUU. Nicole Terpstra (8-2) notched up the win for the Blue Devils while Jennie Kerr (1-15) took the loss.
Southern Utah travels to Valparaiso this weekend for a four-game set with the Crusaders, while DePaul is at Eastern Illinois on Sunday.