PROVO -- Chad Rocco's two-run homer was the difference Wednesday as Mesa State defeated BYU, 6-4, to even the series at 2-2.

Rocco's one-out blast to right-center was the second of four hits in the three-run fifth inning which chased Sean Noorda from the mound. The Mavericks had taken a 2-0 lead in the third inning due to a lead-off triple by Landon Wareham to right field.

BYU, now 14-12, scored in the bottom of the third from a lead-off double by D.J. Jackson who was singled home by fellow freshman Cameron Coughlan's hit also to right field. Coughlan scored BYU's second run in the sixth when he was doubled in by Ty Haguewood.

BYU's final run came in the eighth inning from freshman Matt Carson's third homer of the season. Rocco also scored in the ninth for MSC on a passed ball. Carson kept his hitting streak alive at nine games with two hits in the contest.

"We lacked intensity today, something we can't afford even in a non-conference game," said BYU Coach Vance Law.

Mesa State improves to 16-12. The Cougars have a final non-league game this Tuesday when they host the University of Southern Colorado.

Next up for the Cougars is archrival Utah in 1 p.m. single games on Thursday and Friday and a noon finale on Saturday, all in Provo. Fans presenting a ticket stub from the BYU-Southern Illinois NIT game last Monday will be admitted free to a BYU-Utah baseball game.

The Automated ScoreBook
                   Mesa State College at Brigham Young Univ.
                   Mar 22, 2000 at Provo, Utah (Cougar Field)
Mesa State College 6 (16-12)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SCHENA cf................  4  0  0  1   0  1  6  0   0
ROCCO ss.................  3  2  1  2   2  0  2  2   0
MORELAND 3b..............  3  2  2  0   0  0  0  2   0
 PORTER ph/3b............  2  0  2  0   0  0  1  1   0
FINNEY 1b................  4  0  1  1   0  1  3  1   2
 KESLER 1b...............  1  0  0  0   0  1  4  0   0
WEINBRECHT dh............  5  0  3  1   0  1  0  0   2
BRANIN rf................  2  0  0  0   1  1  2  0   1
HELMSTAEDTER lf..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  3  0   0
 BERKLEY lf..............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BONACQUISTA c............  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
 PIETRACK c..............  0  0  0  0   1  0  4  0   0
WAREHAM 2b...............  4  2  2  0   0  2  0  2   2
HERMAN p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 GILPATRICK p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 35  6 11  5   4 10 27 10   8
Brigham Young Univ. 4 (14-12)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
COUGHLAN, Cameron 2b.....  4  1  1  1   0  1  0  0   0
HAGUEWOOD, Ty 1b.........  3  1  2  1   0  0  5  0   0
 PETERSON, Craig ph/1b...  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
CARSON, Matt rf..........  4  1  2  1   0  0  2  0   0
DAVIES, Michael c........  4  0  1  0   0  0  8  2   0
 BELLISTON, Shane pr.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CLOWARD, Casey c........  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
PERRY, Tyler 3b..........  3  0  0  0   1  1  1  3   2
ROCK, David dh...........  3  0  1  1   0  1  0  0   0
 WHITLEY, Aaron ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
KING, Seth ss............  4  0  0  0   0  1  2  1   2
GREENE, Nick lf..........  3  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
 DAY, Nick ph............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
JACKSON, DJ cf...........  4  1  1  0   0  0  4  0   0
NOORDA, Sean p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 REX, Matt p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GRAY, Rusty p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 CRUMP, Todd p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  4  8  4   1  5 27  7   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Mesa State College.. 002 030 001 -  6 11  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 001 002 010 -  4  8  2
-------------------------------------------
E - ROCCO; WAREHAM; BERKELY; COUGHLAN; GREENE. DP - Mesa State 1. LOB - Mesa State 8;
BYU Cougars 5. 2B - WEINBRECHT; COUGHLAN; HAGUEWOOD; DAVIES; JACKSON. 3B -
WAREHAM. HR - ROCCO(3); CARSON(3). SH - BRANIN. SF - SCHENA. CS - ROCCO.
Mesa State College     IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HERMAN..............  5.0  4  1  1  0  1 18 18
GILPATRICK..........  4.0  4  3  1  1  4 17 18
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NOORDA, Sean........  5.0  8  5  3  1  5 22 24
REX, Matt...........  2.0  1  0  0  1  2  6  7
GRAY, Rusty.........  1.0  1  0  0  1  1  3  5
CRUMP, Todd.........  1.0  1  1  0  1  2  4  5
Win - HERMAN (4-2).  Loss - NOORDA (2-3).  Save - GILPATRICK (1).
PB - CLOWARD.
Umpires - Home:Randy Upton  1st:Kevin Newby  3rd:Travis Roberts
Start: 1:01   Time: 2:07   Attendance: 327

Rivalry week gets started with a Wednesday game against Mesa State before BYU hosts Utah in a three-game baseball series.

The Cougars, now 14-11 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference, host Mesa State, 15-10, on Wednesday at 1 p.m.. BYU hosts Utah, 11-14 and 4-2, on Thursday and Friday at 1 p.m. and on Saturday at noon.

BYU remains atop the Mountain West standings, while Utah is in third place after sweeping UNLV last weekend in Salt Lake City. The Cougars earned a sweep at UNLV two weeks ago and won two of three games last weekend in Provo to open the home season.

Before the Utes come to town, BYU will play host to Mesa State at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Utah also hosts the Division II Mavericks in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday.

While Wednesday's Cougar starter is still being decided, BYU Coach Vance Law will continue his rotation for the Utes. On Thursday and Friday, Jeff Stone (5-2, 6.15) and Micah Mangrum (4-3 3.99) will start. James Ray (2-2, 5.62) is scheduled to start Saturday.

"Utah is playing well right now and we are, too, so it should be a good series," said Law. "We've been starting slow in some games and I don't want us to get complacent. It's a bad habit if a team thinks it can turn it on and off at will. We just need to be consistent and do what our abilities allow. I'm encouraging our team to keep going and not have hindsight."

The current BYU hitting-streak-leader is freshman Matt Carson with eight games. Carson was named the MWC player of the week prior to the series with AFA, then continued his pace with three singles and a game-winning triple in BYU's newly extended ball park.

Aaron Whitley continues to lead the Cougars with his .460 batting average, followed by Craig Peterson at .411 and Nick Day at .408. BYU is batting .322 as a team, compared to .283 for its opponents.

Radio KSRR (1400 AM) will broadcast each game of the Utah series. The Cougars lost the opener at Mesa State earlier this season in a three-game series in Grand Junction, Colo. Utah and BYU are scheduled to meet again at the end of April in Salt Lake City.

Ticket prices for BYU's games are $3 for students/faculty/staff, $5 for general admission, $10 for a family pass, or public Cougar Cards ($25 individual, $60 family) and BYU All Sport Cards ($20) are good for season admission and are available through the Marriott Center Ticket Office (378-BYU1).