But it would be a nice capper on a bounce-back year for the Utes.

Utah trails the second-place Cougars by two games entering their three-game series. A sweep would move the Utes up to second place, and give them an above .500 record in the regular season for the first time since 2002.

"We just want to play well and get ready for the tournament," said Utah coach Bill Kinneberg.

Either way, it's been a tremendous two months for the Utes.

Utah started the season 2-12. During that stretch, the Utes weren't awful. Kinneberg said his team just missed out on a few key plays - a hit with runners on base, a clutch pitch, or an important putout in the field.

"I'm really proud of our team," Kinneberg said. "We have played good baseball all year. Once we got our lineup figured out, they've played very well. They've been a tremendous group to coach."

Second baseman Corey Shimada, who hit a three-run home run in the ninth to help the Utes to a win over Air Force on Sunday, leads the Utes with a .358 batting average. Jay Brossman has 47 RBIs and Nate Burnham has been strong in the leadoff spot. Kinneberg also credits a deep pitching staff for helping the Utes to a 12-9 conference record.

Utah won a nonconference game against BYU at Franklin Covey Field in March. The Utes and Cougars are similarly built with their team speed and power in the middle of their lineups. One big difference between the two teams is that the Cougars have the conference's top pitcher in Jesse Craig.

The series is Thursday-Saturday at BYU.

SUU still alive

Despite some unexpected personnel losses that have hurt the team's overall talent level, Southern Utah's baseball team is in position to qualify for the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.

The Thunderbirds are tied with Valparaiso and Centenary for third place entering the final week of the regular season. SUU closes the season with a four-game series with Valparaiso. Four teams qualify for the conference tournament, so one of the three teams tied for third will miss out.

SUU coach David Eldredge said he lost three players he was counting on to the Major League Baseball draft last summer, and three others for various reasons.

"We have a lot of young kids," Eldredge said. "We had a tough start, but we've played better toward the end."

Lacrosse teams at nationals

Westminster's lacrosse team will compete in the Men's College Lacrosse Association's national championship this week. The Griffins, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, received a first-round bye and will play in the quarterfinals in Dallas on Wednesday. Westminster faces the winner of the Fort Lewis-Emory College game. The Griffins were the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference Division B champions.

BYU was the Division A champions and will play on Thursday in Dallas.

aaragon@sltrib.com