LAS -- For the second-straight game, BYU couldn't hold onto an early lead, falling 11-5 to UNLV in the rubber match-up of a three-game series on Saturday.

The Cougars scored two runs in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. BYU picked up four-straight singles with Ryan Chambers picking up his only hit and RBI in the series. After a wild pitch with the bases loaded moved everybody up a base, the Cougars stranded runners on first and second with one out.

In the eighth, BYU again missed an opportunity for a big inning. After five-straight hits and a walk scored three, the Cougars left the bases loaded with one out.

"We hit some balls hard that would have started a few things, but they shut us down," said BYU head coach Vance Law. "Jumping to an early lead, I thought that was going to spur us on. But UNLV is a very good hitting ball club, and they were lacing line drives off everybody we put out there. They are one of the better hitting teams we have ever faced in my tenure at BYU."

With the loss, the Cougars fall to 14-24 and 4-8 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels improve to 22-11 and 9-3.

UNLV starting pitcher David Seccombe (5-1) picked up his fifth win after going seven and a third with five runs on 10 hits and seven strikeouts. At one point, Seccombe went through 15 batters without allowing a hit.

C.J. Ebarb helped the Rebels score six runs in the seventh inning with a two-run single. The sophomore catcher finished 2-for-5 with three RBI.

BYU starting pitcher Justin Su'a (2-2) received his second loss in the game. Su'a pitched four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.

Ben Saylor and Rob Itri both went 2-for-4 with a RBI. Brandon Taylor had a nine-game hitting streak end with a 0-for-5 day.

The Cougars hope to turn their season around with a final stretch of 13 home games in their final 19 appearances. BYU begins a three-game series against San Diego State on Thursday.

"We're just kind of in a strange funk," Law said. "We're going to fight through it and hopefully get things turned around by next week against the Aztecs."

Brigham Young Univ. at UNLV
Apr 10, 2004 at Las Vegas (Earl E. Wilson)
Brigham Young Univ. 5 (14-24,4-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  5  0  1  1   0  2  2  1   3
TAYLOR, Brandon ss.......  5  0  0  0   0  1  2  3   0
ITRI, Rob dh.............  5  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   2
HIESTAND, Jeff lf........  3  1  1  1   1  0  1  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf/1b........  5  1  2  0   0  3  0  1   3
LUCAS, Blair 3b/2b.......  4  0  1  1   0  1  0  7   0
LAW, Tim 1b..............  3  1  1  0   0  0 13  1   1
 KNELL, Kory ph/rf.......  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
WILKES, Adam c...........  3  1  1  0   1  0  3  0   0
VEST, Wade 2b............  2  0  1  0   1  1  2  4   0
 BILLS, Kevin ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WIENS, Ranger 3b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SU'A, Justin p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BEUS, Lance p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BARRETT, Joshua p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 37  5 11  4   3  8 24 18   9
UNLV 11 (22-11,9-3 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KOWALSKI dh..............  3  1  0  1   1  0  0  0   0
WHITE ss.................  4  1  2  2   0  0  2  2   0
JOHNSON cf...............  5  3  3  0   0  0  3  0   1
NIELSEN rf...............  3  0  0  0   1  1  3  0   0
RUIZ 2b..................  4  1  1  1   1  0  2  3   0
GILL 1b..................  4  2  2  1   1  0  8  0   0
SOTO 3b..................  2  1  2  0   2  0  1  1   0
EBARB c..................  5  1  2  3   0  1  7  1   4
D'ANGELO lf..............  3  1  0  0   1  0  1  0   4
SECCOMBE p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 PUPO p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 33 11 12  8   7  2 27  8   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 020 000 030 -  5 11  1
UNLV................ 011 030 60X - 11 12  0
-------------------------------------------
E - TAYLOR. DP - BYU Cougars 1; UNLV 1. LOB - BYU Cougars 9; UNLV 9. 2B -
WHITE(8); JOHNSON(14); RUIZ(12). 3B - ITRI. HBP - HIESTAND; WHITE; NIELSEN;
SOTO. SF - KOWALSKI(3). SB - WHITE(4); JOHNSON(6); GILL(1).
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SU'A, Justin........  4.0  7  5  5  3  2 17 22
BEUS, Lance.........  2.1  3  3  3  1  0 10 11
BARRETT, Joshua.....  1.2  2  3  2  3  0  6 11
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SECCOMBE............  7.1 10  5  5  2  7 31 33
PUPO................  1.2  1  0  0  1  1  6  8
Win - SECCOMBE (5-1).  Loss - SU'A (2-2).  Save - None.
WP - BARRETT 2; SECCOMBE(11). HBP - by SU'A (NIELSEN); by SU'A (WHITE); by
BARRETT (SOTO); by PUPO (HIESTAND). BK - SU'A.
Umpires -
Start: 2:00 PM   Time: 2:38   Attendance: 880
Game notes:
ID-238192
SU'A faced 4 batters in the 5th.
Game: Game Three-of-Three
 Play-by-Play
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 020 000 030 -  5 11  1
UNLV................ 011 030 60X - 11 12  0
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 22/cf CHAMBERS; 3/ss TAYLOR; 21/dh ITRI; 16/lf
   HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 6/3b LUCAS; 1/1b LAW; 24/c WILKES; 5/2b VEST;
   27/p SU'A;
UNLV starters: 12/dh KOWALSKI; 7/ss WHITE; 45/cf JOHNSON; 36/rf NIELSEN;
   4/2b RUIZ; 46/1b GILL; 6/3b SOTO; 5/c EBARB; 21/lf D'ANGELO; 24/p
   SECCOMBE;
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   CHAMBERS struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. TAYLOR flied out to
   rf. ITRI singled up the middle. HIESTAND walked; ITRI advanced to second.
   SAYLOR struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV - inning 1
   KOWALSKI lined out to 2b. WHITE popped up to 1b. JOHNSON grounded out to
   3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   LUCAS struck out swinging. LAW singled down the lf line. WILKES singled
   to left field; LAW advanced to second. VEST singled to third base, bunt;
   WILKES advanced to second; LAW advanced to third. CHAMBERS singled to
   center field, RBI; VEST advanced to second; WILKES advanced to third; LAW
   scored. CHAMBERS advanced to second; VEST advanced to third; WILKES
   scored on a wild pitch. TAYLOR struck out looking. ITRI grounded out to
   p. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV - inning 2
   NIELSEN hit by pitch. RUIZ hit into double play 3b to 2b to 1b; NIELSEN
   out on the play. GILL singled up the middle. SOTO singled to right field;
   GILL advanced to second. EBARB singled to left field, RBI; SOTO advanced
   to second; GILL scored. D'ANGELO reached on a fielder's choice; EBARB out
   at second 3b to ss. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   HIESTAND flied out to cf. SAYLOR singled to right field. LUCAS flied out
   to rf. LAW grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV - inning 3
   KOWALSKI grounded out to 1b unassisted. WHITE hit by pitch. JOHNSON
   singled, advanced to third; WHITE advanced to third, out at home cf to 1b
   to 2b to 3b to c. JOHNSON scored on a balk. NIELSEN struck out looking. 1
   run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   WILKES grounded out to 2b. VEST struck out swinging. CHAMBERS struck out
   swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV - inning 4
   RUIZ grounded out to 3b. GILL walked. SOTO singled to left field; GILL
   advanced to second. EBARB struck out swinging. D'ANGELO reached on a
   fielder's choice; SOTO out at first 3b to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   TAYLOR grounded out to 3b. ITRI popped up to lf. HIESTAND lined out to
   cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV - inning 5
   KOWALSKI walked. WHITE doubled down the rf line, RBI; KOWALSKI scored.
   JOHNSON singled to right field; WHITE advanced to third. JOHNSON stole
   second; WHITE stole home. NIELSEN walked. BEUS to p for SU'A. RUIZ
   reached on a fielder's choice; NIELSEN out at second 2b to ss; JOHNSON
   advanced to third. GILL grounded out to 1b unassisted, RBI; RUIZ advanced
   to second; JOHNSON scored. SOTO walked. EBARB grounded out to 2b. 3 runs,
   2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   SAYLOR struck out swinging. LUCAS lined out to 2b. LAW flied out to cf. 0
   runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV - inning 6
   D'ANGELO grounded out to ss. KOWALSKI grounded out to p. WHITE grounded
   out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   WILKES flied out to rf. VEST walked. CHAMBERS hit into double play 2b to
   ss to 1b; VEST out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV - inning 7
   JOHNSON doubled to right field. NIELSEN grounded out to ss; JOHNSON
   advanced to third. RUIZ doubled down the lf line, RBI; JOHNSON scored.
   GILL singled to center field; RUIZ advanced to third. BARRETT to p for
   BEUS. GILL stole second. SOTO walked. EBARB singled to left center, 2
   RBI; SOTO advanced to second; GILL scored; RUIZ scored. EBARB advanced to
   second; SOTO advanced to third on a wild pitch. D'ANGELO walked. KOWALSKI
   flied out to lf, SAC, RBI; SOTO scored. WHITE singled to left center,
   advanced to second, advanced to third, RBI; D'ANGELO advanced to second,
   advanced to third, scored on an error by ss, unearned; EBARB scored.
   JOHNSON grounded out to 3b. 6 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   TAYLOR grounded out to ss. ITRI tripled down the rf line. HIESTAND
   singled to right field, RBI; ITRI scored. SAYLOR singled to shortstop;
   HIESTAND advanced to second. LUCAS singled down the rf line, RBI; SAYLOR
   advanced to third; HIESTAND scored. PUPO to p for SECCOMBE. KNELL pinch
   hit for LAW. KNELL singled up the middle, RBI; LUCAS advanced to second;
   SAYLOR scored. WILKES walked; KNELL advanced to second; LUCAS advanced to
   third. BILLS pinch hit for VEST. BILLS lined out to 2b. CHAMBERS grounded
   out to 2b. 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
UNLV - inning 8
   SAYLOR to 1b. LUCAS to 2b. KNELL to rf. WIENS to 3b for BILLS. NIELSEN
   flied out to cf. RUIZ walked. GILL out at first 1b to p; RUIZ advanced to
   second. SOTO hit by pitch. SOTO advanced to second; RUIZ advanced to
   third on a wild pitch. EBARB flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 9
   TAYLOR lined out to ss. ITRI popped up to 3b. HIESTAND hit by pitch.
   SAYLOR struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

After being involved in three-straight sweeps and ending on the winning side only once, BYU looks to rebound with a three-game series at UNLV beginning Thursday.

The Cougars' record fell to 13-22 and 3-6 in the Mountain West Conference after being swept by New Mexico last week. Besides sweeping a three-game series at the University of Utah, BYU has lost seven games since a six-game winning streak ended in the Pepsi-Johnny Quik Classic championship game at Fresno, Calif.

The series in Las Vegas will conclude a nine-game road trip for the Cougars who have played 32 of their first 35 games on the road. BYU will conclude the season by playing 13 of its final 19 games at home beginning with a three-game series against San Diego State on April 15.

Patrick Wells (4-3, 5.37) will get the opening-series start for the Cougars on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (PST). Paul Jacinto (0-7, 5.68), who pitched a complete-game seven hitter last week but failed to pick up his first win in a 1-0 loss to New Mexico, will start on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (PST). Justin Su'a (2-1, 4.72) will start in Saturday's game at 2 p.m. (PST).

Entering the UNLV series with a .245 team batting average, Jeff Hiestand leads BYU with a .312 percentage. In conference play, Brandon Taylor and Ryan Chambers lead the team with a .425 and .400 batting averages.

The Cougars are 0-3 against UNLV this year after being swept at home by the Rebels in March. The last BYU win against UNLV came in the MWC Tournament on May 24, 2002. Since then, the Cougars have lost nine straight to the Rebels.

UNLV enters the series with a 20-10 record. The Rebels are tied with San Diego State in the MWC with a 7-2 conference record and are four games ahead of fourth-place BYU in the standings.

All three BYU-UNLV games can be listened to live on KOVO 960 AM and Saturday's game is also available on DirectTV and the Dish Network through the BYU Radio channel and over the Internet. All three games can also be followed live with Gametracker and live audio. Links to the webcasts and audio casts can be found on BYU baseball's schedule page at www.byucougars.com.