PORTLAND, Oregon (Feb. 17 2007)--J.D. Stambaugh sealed the, 4-3, victory for the BYU in the nightcap, while the Cougars lost the earlier game, which proved to be a defensive battle, 2-1.

The Cougars, 3-2, and the Portland Pilots, 2-3, finally hit the field on Saturday to play a doubleheader after Thursday and Friday's games were rained out.

In the nightcap Stambaugh came up big in the victory for BYU, picking up the save while striking out four batters and only giving up one hit. Kasey Ko knocked in the winning run to give the Cougars the 4-3 victory over Portland.

BYU got off to a fast start in the first inning as center fielder Leon Johnson hit a lead-off single and then stole second. Second baseman Kent Walton then hit a stand up double to bring Johnson around to score and give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

BYU Sophomore pitcher Jordan Muir looked sharp in the first two innings retiring the side in the bottom of the second.

In the top of the third the Cougars couldn't get anything going offensively as Pilots' pitcher Given Kutz retired the side.

The bottom of the third was all Muir again, as he struck out the first two batters before giving up a single to second baseman Brandon Howard. Muir bounced back though and forced the next batter to fly out to left field.

Walton came up for BYU in the top of the fourth inning and cracked a lead-off double to start the inning. Apana Nakayama then hit a blooper infield single to put runners on the corners for BYU.

Third baseman Steve Parker was up next, and hit a line drive single to bring Walton around to score and advance Nakayama to second. Right fielder Jonathan Cluff was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs for BYU. Ko then hit a double to bring in Nakayama and Parker, while Jonathan Cluff was caught out at third. The Pilots' pitcher Kutz then regrouped and struck out two straight Cougars, but not before BYU was able to take a 4-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Muir came out and struck out the first Portland batter, but then proceeded to load the bases. Catcher Paul Crowder was up next and ripped a line drive into right field that would bring around two and put Portland on the board two and make the score 4-2. With runners of first and third right fielder Cory Wiltshire hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score one and bring the Pilots to within one, 4-3. Muir finally got out of the inning after shortstop C.J. Cullen popped out to Walton.

BYU was not able to answer Portland's offensive outburst in the top of the fifth as they were retired in order. In the bottom of the fifth The Cougars defense stepped up and they were able to retire the side.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Muir got into a little trouble after giving a leadoff walk and a double, but luckily the leadoff base runner was thrown out, and there was a man on second. Muir then issued another walk to catcher Crowder, to put a man on first and second. BYU Coach Vance Law then pulled Muir and replaced him with true freshman Brad Kidd. Kidd came into the game and was un-phased by the situation and calmly struck out Wiltshire to end the ending.

The Cougars continued to be stifled by Pilots' pitcher Kutz in the top of the seventh, who retired the side once again, to give him 11 consecutive batters retired.

After giving up a leadoff single to Cullen in the bottom of the seventh, Kidd was pulled and replaced by Stambaugh. Catcher J.T. Musso made a very heads up play when facing the next batter as he picked off the base runner at first. Stambaugh proceeded to strike out the next two batters to end the inning.

The top of the eighth proved to be too reminiscent for the Cougars as once again Portland's ace retired the side, to give him 14 consecutive batters retired.

Stambaugh came out and showed some pitching prowess of his own striking out two and forcing a ground out to make quick work of the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Pilots' decided to replace their Kutz in the top of the ninth with Lefty Chris Siegfried, who faced Nakayama to start the inning. Nakayama hit a single to get things going, before Parker popped out. Nakayama was subsequently throwing out trying to steal.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth clinging to a 4-3 lead, the Cougars gave up a leadoff single to pinch hitter Eric Brown, then with Crowder up they forced him into a double play. Pinch hitter Adam Kerr then came to the plate and flew out to center field to end the game.

In the opening game, the Pilots drew first blood against the Cougars in the second inning after the left fielder Justin Pierce drew a leadoff walk after he was hit by a pitch, and then was advanced to third by a Jesse Rodgers' double, and then scored the run off a sacrifice fly by right fielder Wiltshire.

The Cougars finally recorded their first hit in the third inning as Walton hit a single to left, and right fielder Cluff, who was on first thanks to a walk, made a great hustle play to advance to third. The inning came to a close when the next batter Nakayama popped out to second baseman Brandon Howard.

Pitcher Jesse Craig finally settled down in the top of the third striking out the lead off hitter and continuing on to retire the side.

In the fourth the Cougars Mike McKeever got a leadoff single and then advanced to second after Steve Parker was hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch by Pilots pitcher Ari Ronick advanced the runners to second and third, Vargas hit a grounder between the shortstop and second baseman to score McKeever and Parker who rounded third was caught out at home to end the inning.

Going into the fifth with the score tied 1-1, both defenses stepped up Ronick retired the side, and the Cougars gave up one hit before turning a double play to close the bottom of the inning.

In the top of the seventh with the score still tied 1-1 and with one out BYU catcher Musso hit a single up the middle to bring the go ahead run to the plate. The Pilots then brought in their closer Josh Roberts who struck out Dan Vargas and Johnson to end the inning.

The Pilots came out in the bottom of the seventh and the leadoff hitter, Wiltshire hit a single up the middle. He was then advanced to second by a sacrifice bunt by Cullen. Craig then issued a walk to Howard and pinch-hitter Kerr subbed in for Billy Krause and hit the game winning double.

Roberts picked up the win, and Craig got the loss for the Cougars.

BYU next plays on Thursday at the Service Academy Tournament in Millington, Tenn., when it opens against host Memphis.

Brigham Young at Portland
Feb 17, 2007 at Portland, Ore. (Joe Etzel Field)
Brigham Young 1 (2-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon cf.........  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  1  0  0  0   2  0  1  0   0
WALTON, Kent 2b..........  3  0  1  0   0  0  2  2   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana lf.......  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   3
MC KEEVER, Mike dh.......  3  1  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  3  0  0  0   0  3  9  1   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  1   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  3  0  1  0   0  1  3  0   1
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  3  0  1  1   0  1  1  4   0
CRAIG, Jesse p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
Totals................... 24  1  4  1   3  8 19 11   6
Portland 2 (1-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HOWARD, B 2b.............  3  0  0  0   0  2  3  2   0
KRAUSE, B cf.............  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 KERR, A ph..............  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
MEIER, D dh..............  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
POWELL, C 1b.............  2  0  0  0   1  0  5  0   1
 ARBAYO, J pr............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ALLAN, J 1b.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
PIERCE, J lf.............  1  1  1  0   1  0  0  1   0
RODGERS, J 3b............  3  0  2  0   0  1  0  1   0
GALE, R c................  3  0  0  0   0  0  9  0   4
WILTSHIRE, C rf..........  2  1  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
CULLEN, C ss.............  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
RONICK, A p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 ROBERTS, J p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 23  2  7  2   2  3 21  6   8
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 100 0 -  1  4  0
Portland............ 010 000 1 -  2  7  1
-----------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.
E - POWELL, C(1). DP - BY 1. LOB - BY 6; POR 8. 2B - KERR, A(1). HBP -
PARKER; HOWARD, B; PIERCE, J. SH - CULLEN, C(1). SF - WILTSHIRE, C(1). SB -
PIERCE, J(1).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CRAIG, Jesse........  6.1  7  2  2  2  3 23 29
Portland               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
RONICK, A...........  6.1  4  1  0  3  6 22 26
ROBERTS, J..........  0.2  0  0  0  0  2  2  2
Win - ROBERTS, J (1-0).  Loss - CRAIG (0-1).  Save - None.
HBP - by CRAIG (PIERCE, J); by RONICK, A (PARKER); by CRAIG (HOWARD, B). PB -
GALE, R(1).
Umpires - HP: Kendall Snyder  1B: Mik Henderson  3B: John Black
Start: 10:00 AM   Time: 2:00   Attendance:
Brigham Young starters: 14/cf JOHNSON, L.; 8/rf CLUFF; 9/2b WALTON; 24/lf NAKAYAMA;
33/dh MC KEEVER; 22/1b KO; 5/3b PARKER; 10/c MUSSO; 13/ss VARGAS; 35/p CRAIG;
Portland starters: 1/2b HOWARD, B; 8/cf KRAUSE, B; 28/dh MEIER, D; 34/1b POWELL, C;
13/lf PIERCE, J; 20/3b RODGERS, J; 18/c GALE, R; 29/rf WILTSHIRE, C; 35/ss CULLEN,
C; 32/p RONICK, A;
Brigham Young 1st - JOHNSON, L. grounded out to p. CLUFF walked. WALTON flied
out to rf. NAKAYAMA popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 1st - HOWARD, B struck out looking. KRAUSE, B grounded out to ss.
MEIER, D singled to left field. POWELL, C reached on a fielder's choice; MEIER, D
out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - MC KEEVER grounded out to 3b. KO struck out swinging.
PARKER walked. MUSSO struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 2nd - PIERCE, J hit by pitch. RODGERS, J singled; PIERCE, J advanced
to third. GALE, R grounded out to p; RODGERS, J advanced to second. WILTSHIRE, C
flied out to cf, SAC, RBI; RODGERS, J advanced to third; PIERCE, J scored. CULLEN, C
grounded out to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - VARGAS flied out to rf. JOHNSON, L. grounded out to 2b.
CLUFF walked. WALTON singled to left field; CLUFF advanced to third. NAKAYAMA fouled
out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Portland 3rd - HOWARD, B struck out looking. KRAUSE, B grounded out to 2b.
MEIER, D flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - Dropped foul ball, E3. MC KEEVER singled to center field.
KO struck out swinging. PARKER hit by pitch; MC KEEVER advanced to second. PARKER
advanced to second; MC KEEVER advanced to third on a passed ball. MUSSO popped up to
2b. VARGAS singled to left field, RBI; PARKER advanced to third, out at home lf to
c; MC KEEVER scored, unearned. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Portland 4th - POWELL, C lined out to lf. PIERCE, J singled to right center.
PIERCE, J stole second. RODGERS, J struck out swinging. GALE, R grounded out to 2b.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - JOHNSON, L. struck out swinging. CLUFF lined out to 2b.
WALTON lined out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 5th - WILTSHIRE, C grounded out to p, bunt. CULLEN, C singled to
second base. HOWARD, B grounded into double play ss to 1b; CULLEN, C out on the
play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - NAKAYAMA grounded out to p. MC KEEVER struck out
swinging. KO struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 6th - KRAUSE, B grounded out to p. MEIER, D grounded out to 3b.
POWELL, C walked. ARBAYO, J pinch ran for POWELL, C. PIERCE, J walked; ARBAYO, J
advanced to second. RODGERS, J singled to shortstop; PIERCE, J advanced to second;
ARBAYO, J advanced to third. GALE, R flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3
LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - ALLAN, J to 1b for ARBAYO, J. PARKER grounded out to 2b.
MUSSO singled to center field. ROBERTS, J to p for RONICK, A. VARGAS struck out
swinging. JOHNSON, L. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 7th - WILTSHIRE, C singled up the middle. CULLEN, C out at first 1b
to 2b, SAC, bunt; WILTSHIRE, C advanced to second. HOWARD, B hit by pitch. KERR, A
pinch hit for KRAUSE, B. KERR, A doubled to center field, RBI; HOWARD, B advanced to
third; WILTSHIRE, C scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Game Two
Brigham Young at Portland
Feb 17, 2007 at Portland, Ore. (Joe etzel field)
Brigham Young 4 (3-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon cf.........  4  1  1  0   0  1  3  0   0
WELLS, Stephen lf........  4  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
WALTON, Kent 2b..........  4  1  2  1   0  1  3  2   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  1  1  1   0  0  1  1   1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  3  0  1  2   0  0  8  0   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  3  0  0  0   0  1  8  3   0
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  2   1
MUIR, Jordan p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KIDD, Brad p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 STAMBAUGH, J.D. p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  4  7  4   0  6 27  8   2
Portland 3 (1-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HOWARD, B 2b.............  4  0  1  0   0  1  4  1   0
KRAUSE, B cf.............  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  0   1
MEIER, D dh..............  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
POWELL, C 1b.............  2  1  1  0   1  1  6  1   1
 ALLAN, J dh.............  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
PIERCE, J lf.............  3  1  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
RODGERS, J 3b............  3  1  2  0   0  0  2  0   0
 BROWN, E ph.............  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
CROWDER, P c.............  3  0  1  2   1  0  7  1   0
WILTSHIRE, C rf..........  2  0  0  1   0  2  2  0   2
 KERR, A ph..............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
CULLEN, C ss.............  3  0  1  0   0  1  1  3   1
KUTZ, G p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 SIEGFRIED, C p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  3  8  3   2  9 27  7   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 300 000 -  4  7  0
Portland............ 000 300 000 -  3  8  0
-------------------------------------------
DP - BY 1. LOB - BY 2; POR 5. 2B - WALTON 2(4); RODGERS, J(1). HBP - CLUFF;
PIERCE, J. SF - WILTSHIRE, C(1). CS - NAKAYAMA(1); POWELL, C(1).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MUIR, Jordan........  5.2  6  3  3  2  4 21 25
KIDD, Brad..........  0.1  1  0  0  0  1  2  2
STAMBAUGH, J.D......  3.0  1  0  0  0  4  8  8
Portland               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
KUTZ, G.............  8.0  6  4  4  0  5 29 30
SIEGFRIED, C........  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  3  3
Win - MUIR (2-0).  Loss - KUTZ, G (0-2).  Save - STAMBAUGH (2).
HBP - by KUTZ, G (CLUFF); by MUIR (PIERCE, J).
Umpires - HP: Mik Henderson  1B: John Black  3B: Kendall Snyder
Start: 12:30 PM   Time: 2:15   Attendance: 401
Brigham Young starters: 14/cf JOHNSON, L.; 1/lf WELLS; 9/2b WALTON; 24/dh NAKAYAMA;
5/3b PARKER; 8/rf CLUFF; 22/1b KO; 10/c MUSSO; 13/ss VARGAS; 12/p MUIR;
Portland starters: 1/2b HOWARD, B; 8/cf KRAUSE, B; 28/dh MEIER, D; 34/1b POWELL, C;
13/lf PIERCE, J; 20/3b RODGERS, J; 33/c CROWDER, P; 29/rf WILTSHIRE, C; 35/ss
CULLEN, C; 5/p KUTZ, G;
Brigham Young 1st - JOHNSON, L. singled to catcher, bunt. WELLS grounded out
to 1b unassisted; JOHNSON, L. advanced to second. WALTON doubled to left center,
RBI; JOHNSON, L. scored. NAKAYAMA grounded out to p; WALTON advanced to third.
PARKER out at first 1b to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 1st - HOWARD, B grounded out to 1b unassisted. KRAUSE, B singled to
right field. MEIER, D popped up to 2b. POWELL, C struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - CLUFF grounded out to ss. KO flied out to rf. MUSSO flied
out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 2nd - PIERCE, J flied out to cf. RODGERS, J grounded out to ss.
CROWDER, P grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - VARGAS flied out to cf. JOHNSON, L. struck out swinging.
WELLS lined out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 3rd - WILTSHIRE, C struck out looking. CULLEN, C struck out
swinging. HOWARD, B singled to right field. KRAUSE, B lined out to lf. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - WALTON doubled down the lf line. NAKAYAMA singled to
pitcher; WALTON advanced to third. PARKER singled to left field, RBI; NAKAYAMA
advanced to second; WALTON scored. CLUFF hit by pitch; PARKER advanced to second;
NAKAYAMA advanced to third. KO singled to shortstop, advanced to second, 2 RBI;
CLUFF advanced to second, out at second ss to 2b; PARKER scored; NAKAYAMA scored.
MUSSO struck out swinging. VARGAS struck out looking. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Portland 4th - MEIER, D struck out swinging. POWELL, C singled to left field.
PIERCE, J hit by pitch; POWELL, C advanced to second. RODGERS, J singled to center
field; PIERCE, J advanced to second; POWELL, C advanced to third. CROWDER, P singled
to right center, 2 RBI; RODGERS, J advanced to third; PIERCE, J scored; POWELL, C
scored. WILTSHIRE, C flied out to cf, SF, RBI; RODGERS, J scored. CULLEN, C popped
up to 2b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - JOHNSON, L. popped up to ss. WELLS popped up to 2b.
WALTON flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 5th - HOWARD, B grounded out to 1b unassisted. KRAUSE, B lined out
to 3b. MEIER, D flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - NAKAYAMA grounded out to 2b. PARKER fouled out to 3b.
CLUFF struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 6th - POWELL, C walked. PIERCE, J flied out to rf. POWELL, C out at
second c to ss, caught stealing. RODGERS, J doubled to left center. CROWDER, P
walked. KIDD to p for MUIR. WILTSHIRE, C struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - KO flied out to lf. MUSSO grounded out to ss. VARGAS
popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 7th - CULLEN, C singled to center field. STAMBAUGH to p for KIDD.
CULLEN, C out at first c to 1b, picked off. HOWARD, B struck out. KRAUSE, B struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - JOHNSON, L. popped up to 1b. WELLS fouled out to 3b.
WALTON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 8th - MEIER, D struck out looking. ALLAN, J to dh for POWELL, C.
ALLAN, J struck out looking. PIERCE, J grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - ALLAN, J to 1b. SIEGFRIED, C to p for KUTZ, G. NAKAYAMA
singled to right field. PARKER popped up to c, bunt. NAKAYAMA out at second c to 2b,
caught stealing. CLUFF struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 9th - BROWN, E pinch hit for RODGERS, J. BROWN, E singled through
the right side. CROWDER, P grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; BROWN, E out on
the play. KERR, A pinch hit for WILTSHIRE, C. KERR, A lined out to cf. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

A change in the pitching rotation this week will give Cougar senior Jesse Craig an opportunity for more outings.

The Cougars, 2-1, start a three-game series at the University of Portland, 0-2, on Friday. Craig (0-0. 11.25), the normal opening-day starter, will take the mound this Saturday in preparation for his twice-a-week appearances.

"We are trying to get him (Craig) as many starts as we can, so we are preparing him to pitch twice a week," said BYU Coach Vance Law.

A seven-inning game on Saturday at 10 a.m., starts a doubleheader that day, weather-permitting. Thursday's scheduled game was rained out.

Lefty Jake Wortham (0-1, 8.31) is scheduled to pitch for the Cougars on Friday. Fellow sophomore Jordan Muir (1-0, 1.50), who was selected as MWC Pitcher of the Week last week, is scheduled to start Saturday's seven-inning game. Craig will pitch in Saturday's game at 1 p.m. All of the Portland-BYU games will be carried on the Internet via livestats and live audio.

"We are hoping our guys have gotten the jitters eliminated from their game with last week's series," said Law. "We are concentrating on how we play. I was pleased with how we didn't panic when we got behind. Our new players like (Steve) Parker and (Jonathan) Cluff were not intimidated."

Following the three-game series at Portland, BYU returns home to prepare for a three-game series at the Service Academy Spring Classic in Tennessee where it will face Memphis, Missouri and Akron.

Fans can also download BYU baseball wallpaper for their computer screens by clicking here.

For more information on BYU's baseball team for this week, click on the PDF link at the top of this page.