PROVO -- A six RBI performance from Brandon Taylor catapulted BYU to a 12-4 victory over New Mexico on Friday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

Taylor finished a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-6 on the night. His two-run double in the second gave the Cougars a 5-1 lead, all the runs they would need for the victory. The sophomore shortstop capped the night with a three-run blast over the left field scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth, his ninth of the year.

"(Taylor) has a lot more power than he's shown," said BYU head coach Vance Law. "I don't think he realizes how much potential he has."

The win snaps a four-game losing streak against New Mexico as BYU improves to 20-26 and 10-10 in the Mountain West Conference. The Lobos fall to 19-24-1 and 15-8 in the MWC.

"We needed a win back," said BYU pitcher Bryce Burger. " Last night was a downer. How sweet is it to take one from New Mexico? It's huge. We needed it to stay in the conference race."

Nick Lemon (2-3) picked up his first win as a starter, allowing four runs on four hits through five innings. The junior transfer struck out five while walking five in his longest start of the season.

"The only think I mentioned to the players yesterday is we were flat," Law said. We needed to come in today and play inspired baseball from the first pitch. It really helped us to have Lemon throw strikes without the accustomed wildness we've seen from him."

In the first inning, Kevin Bills got the Cougar bats started with a solo home run to right field, his first of the season. Ben Saylor gave BYU a 2-0 first inning lead with his first of three RBI singles in the game. The Cougars knocked out 17 hits in the game compared to New Mexico's six, but only three BYU players picked up at least one RBI.

Burger (0-3) relieved Lemon in the sixth, pitching three innings of scoreless baseball. The senior shut New Mexico's hitters down, allowing only two hits while striking out two.

Ryan Chambers extended his hitting streak to nine-straight games with a 2-for-6 performance. The longest streak this year by BYU is 10 games with Ben Saylor and Wade Vest accomplishing the feat.

The Lobos scored their first run in the first inning on a single by Joe Salas. Lemon held New Mexico scoreless through the next three innings before the Lobos scored three runs in the fifth without the luxury of a hit.

Game three of the three-game series is noon on Saturday at Miller Field. Bryce Searle (0-1, 12.15) is scheduled to get the start for BYU against Cooper Eddy (4-3, 5.60). The start will be the first for Searle since February 6 in a 5-4 loss to Pacific. Searle has started two games this year.

KOVO 960 AM will broadcast the game live. The broadcast can also be picked up on the BYU Radio channel on DirecTV and the Dish Network as well as the Internet. Live stats are also available for the game. Links to the audiocast and webcast can be found on BYU baseball's schedule page at www.byucougars.com.

New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ.
May 07, 2004 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
New Mexico 4 (19-24-1,15-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
YOUNG cf.................  4  1  0  0   1  1  1  0   2
SPITALERI dh.............  5  1  0  1   0  1  0  0   0
MADER ss.................  3  1  2  1   1  0  3  1   0
SALAS rf.................  4  0  2  1   0  0  1  0   0
MURRAY lf................  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   2
 HAYMORE ph/lf...........  2  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
STOVALL 1b...............  3  0  0  0   1  1 10  0   2
BARBA 2b.................  2  0  1  0   0  1  1  1   0
 FOOTE ph/2b.............  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   2
RUSSELL 3b...............  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  4   0
GRADY, J. c..............  2  1  0  0   2  2  6  2   0
HERRERA p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GAARDER p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SMITH, J. p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 LETZ p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 33  4  6  3   5  8 24  8   8
Brigham Young Univ. 12 (20-26,10-10 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  6  2  2  0   0  1  1  0   0
BILLS, Kevin lf..........  5  3  2  1   0  2  2  0   2
TAYLOR, Brandon ss.......  6  3  4  6   0  0  1  3   0
HIESTAND, Jeff dh........  4  2  2  0   1  0  0  0   2
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  6  0  3  3   0  2  0  0   1
WIENS, Ranger 3b.........  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   3
LAW, Tim 1b..............  4  0  1  0   1  0 10  2   2
WILKES, Adam c...........  4  1  1  0   1  1  8  1   2
VEST, Wade 2b............  5  1  2  0   0  2  3  5   2
LEMON, Nick p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 BURGER, Bryce p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 HEID, Tyler p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 43 12 17 10   3  8 27 13  14
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 100 030 000 -  4  6  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 240 100 23X - 12 17  3
-------------------------------------------
E - BARBA; RUSSELL; TAYLOR 2; VEST. LOB - New Mexico 8; BYU Cougars 14. 2B -
SALAS; BILLS; TAYLOR; HIESTAND. HR - BILLS(1); TAYLOR(9). HBP - BILLS;
HIESTAND; WIENS 2. SF - MADER. SB - MADER; CHAMBERS; HIESTAND 2. CS -
TAYLOR.
New Mexico             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HERRERA.............  3.2  9  7  2  2  3 21 25
GAARDER.............  2.2  4  2  1  1  3 13 14
SMITH, J............  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  3  4
LETZ................  1.0  3  3  3  0  2  6  7
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LEMON, Nick.........  5.0  4  4  3  5  5 19 25
BURGER, Bryce.......  3.0  2  0  0  0  2 11 11
HEID, Tyler.........  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Win - LEMON (2-3).  Loss - HERRERA (3-6).  Save - None.
WP - LETZ; LEMON 2. HBP - by HERRERA (HIESTAND); by HERRERA (WIENS); by SMITH,
J. (WIENS); by LETZ (BILLS). PB - GRADY, J. 2.
Umpires - HP: Tony Sender  1B: Jason Rogers  3B: Rich Padilla
Start: 7:03 pm   Time: 2:59   Attendance: 1850
Game notes:
Game 2 of 3
Utah won 8-7 in game one against Air Force and the second one 12-0.
Play-by-Play 
New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
May 07, 2004 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 100 030 000 -  4  6  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 240 100 23X - 12 17  3
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico starters: 5/cf YOUNG; 9/dh SPITALERI; 4/ss MADER; 10/rf SALAS;
   17/lf MURRAY; 34/1b STOVALL; 6/2b BARBA; 3/3b RUSSELL; 15/c GRADY, J.;
   2/p HERRERA;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 22/cf CHAMBERS; 11/lf BILLS; 3/ss TAYLOR;
   16/dh HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 8/3b WIENS; 1/1b LAW; 24/c WILKES; 5/2b
   VEST; 14/p LEMON;
New Mexico - inning 1
   YOUNG grounded out to 2b. SPITALERI struck out swinging. MADER walked.
   MADER advanced to second on a wild pitch. SALAS doubled down the rf line,
   RBI; MADER scored. MURRAY struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   CHAMBERS grounded out to 1b unassisted. BILLS homered to right field,
   RBI. TAYLOR grounded out to 3b. HIESTAND doubled to left field. SAYLOR
   singled to right field, RBI; HIESTAND scored. WIENS grounded out to 3b. 2
   runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 2
   STOVALL grounded out to ss. BARBA singled up the middle. RUSSELL reached
   on a throwing error by ss, advanced to second; BARBA out at second ss
   unassisted. GRADY, J. walked. YOUNG grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1
   error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   LAW grounded out to 1b unassisted. WILKES grounded out to 2b. VEST
   singled to shortstop. CHAMBERS singled to left field; VEST advanced to
   third. BILLS reached on a fielder's choice; CHAMBERS advanced to second
   on an error by 3b, advanced to third; VEST scored, unearned. TAYLOR
   doubled to left center, 2 RBI; BILLS scored, unearned; CHAMBERS scored,
   unearned. HIESTAND hit by pitch. SAYLOR singled to right field, RBI;
   HIESTAND advanced to third; TAYLOR scored, unearned. WIENS reached on a
   fielder's choice; SAYLOR out at second 3b to 2b. 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 error,
   2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 3
   SPITALERI out at first 1b to p. MADER singled to pitcher. MADER stole
   second. SALAS grounded out to 3b. MURRAY struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   LAW walked. WILKES struck out swinging. VEST singled, bunt; LAW advanced
   to second. CHAMBERS flied out to cf. BILLS struck out looking. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 4
   STOVALL walked. STOVALL out at first c to 1b, picked off. BARBA struck
   out swinging. RUSSELL grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   TAYLOR singled up the middle. TAYLOR out at second c to ss, caught
   stealing. HIESTAND walked. SAYLOR struck out swinging; HIESTAND stole
   second. WIENS hit by pitch. LAW reached on a fielding error by 2b; WIENS
   advanced to second; HIESTAND scored, unearned. GAARDER to p for HERRERA.
   WILKES fouled out to rf. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 5
   GRADY, J. walked. YOUNG walked; GRADY, J. advanced to second. SPITALERI
   reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second, RBI; YOUNG advanced to
   second on an error by ss, advanced to third on the throw; GRADY, J.
   scored. SPITALERI advanced to third; YOUNG scored on a wild pitch,
   unearned. MADER flied out to lf, SF, RBI; SPITALERI scored. SALAS singled
   to left center. HAYMORE pinch hit for MURRAY. HAYMORE reached on a
   fielder's choice; SALAS advanced to second on a fielding error by 2b.
   STOVALL struck out swinging. FOOTE pinch hit for BARBA. FOOTE reached on
   a fielder's choice; HAYMORE out at second 3b to 2b. 3 runs, 1 hit, 2
   errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   HAYMORE to lf. FOOTE to 2b. VEST struck out swinging. CHAMBERS struck out
   swinging, reached first on a passed ball. BILLS doubled to left field;
   CHAMBERS advanced to third. TAYLOR popped up to 2b. HIESTAND grounded out
   to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 6
   BURGER to p for LEMON. RUSSELL grounded out to 2b. GRADY, J. struck out
   swinging. YOUNG grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   SAYLOR grounded out to 1b unassisted. WIENS grounded out to 3b. LAW
   singled up the middle. WILKES walked; LAW advanced to second. VEST
   reached on a fielder's choice; WILKES out at second ss unassisted. 0
   runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 7
   SPITALERI grounded out to 2b. MADER singled to left field. SALAS flied
   out to cf. HAYMORE singled to right field; MADER advanced to second.
   STOVALL popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   CHAMBERS singled to right field. BILLS struck out swinging; CHAMBERS
   stole second. TAYLOR singled to left field, RBI; CHAMBERS scored. SMITH,
   J. to p for GAARDER. HIESTAND fouled out to ss. TAYLOR advanced to second
   on a passed ball. SAYLOR singled to left field, RBI; TAYLOR scored,
   unearned. WIENS hit by pitch; SAYLOR advanced to second. LAW grounded out
   to 1b unassisted. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 8
   FOOTE out at first 1b to p. RUSSELL grounded out to ss. GRADY, J. struck
   out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   LETZ to p for SMITH, J.. WILKES singled up the middle. VEST struck out
   swinging. CHAMBERS flied out to lf. WILKES advanced to second on a wild
   pitch. BILLS hit by pitch. TAYLOR homered to left field, 3 RBI; BILLS
   scored; WILKES scored. HIESTAND singled up the middle. HIESTAND stole
   second. SAYLOR struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 3 runs, 3 hits,
   0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 9
   HEID to p for BURGER. YOUNG struck out looking. SPITALERI fouled out to
   2b. MADER flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Aiming to move up the conference ladder, BYU takes on second place New Mexico in a three-game series at Larry H. Miller Field beginning Thursday.

Thursday and Friday's games begin at 7 p.m. with a noon start on Saturday.

The Cougars enter the series after winning four straight including a three-game sweep of Utah last week in Provo. BYU sits five games behind Mountain West Conference leader UNLV and 3 1/2 behind the Lobos with a 9-9 conference record and are 19-25 overall.

New Mexico ended the month of April in 1st place in the conference, but fell in the standings after losing two of three to San Diego State last week, dropping to 14-7 in the conference and 18-23-1 overall. Earlier this year in Albuquerque, the Lobos swept the Cougars in a three-game series. BYU is 61-38-1 all-time versus New Mexico and 4-6 in the last 10 meetings.

Once again, Patrick Wells (5-3, 5.53) is scheduled to start on Thursday and Nick Lemon (1-3, 5.04) on Friday with Saturday's starter to be determined. Against Utah last week, none of the starters received a decision with the bullpen recording all three victories.

Ryan Chambers enters the series carrying a hot bat. The junior outfielder comes in with a seven-game winning streak and has watched his batting average steadily increase to .278 and .366 in conference play. Against Utah, Chambers went 7-for-15 with six RBI, five runs scored and one home run. Largely responsible for Saturday's 14-9 win, Chambers finished with four RBI and went 4-for-6 in the final series game.

All three games will be broadcast live by KOVO 960 AM with veteran broadcaster Brent Norton calling the play-by-play. Saturday's broadcast is also available on the BYU Radio channel on DirecTV and the Dish Network as well as over the Internet. Live stats are available for all three games. Links to the webcasts and audiocast can be found on the BYU baseball's schedule page at www.byucougars.com.

A family pass for individual games is available for $60 to the general public or $50 for Cougar Club members or $30 to BYU students or employees. Individual Cougar Card prices are $30 to the general public or $20 for Cougar Club members or $15 to BYU students or employees through the Cougar Card option. Holders of these cards need to exchange tickets in advance the week of the game to obtain reserve tickets.

Individual game prices are $5 for adults or $4 students/BYU faculty or staff or $2 apiece for groups of 15 or more.