PROVO -- For the second-straight day, Brandon Taylor and Kevin Bills provided the hitting barrage early in BYU's 7-4 victory over New Mexico on Saturday at Larry H. Miller Field.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 21-26 and 11-10 in the Mountain West Conference while New Mexico falls to 19-25-1 and 15-9.

Taylor wears his motto underneath the bill of his hat; "Play hard, have fun." This week, the sophomore shortstop lived his slogan.

After hitting a three-run home run in his final at-bat on Friday, Taylor crushed the first pitch he saw off New Mexico's Cooper Eddy over the left field fence in the first inning for a two-run home run. He finished the day going 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI. Taylor now leads the team with 11 home runs.

"Earlier, I've been guessing a lot on the pitches and ended up swinging at pitches in the dirt," Taylor said. "Adam Wilkes always tells me to hit my pitch, and I guess that's what I did today."

Coming a long way from a 3-for-32 season start, Taylor went 9-for-15 in the series with three home runs, 10 RBI, a triple and a double.

"He's a lot better than I was when I was here," said BYU head coach Vance Law. "He's learning to play the game on the mental side. He just needs to continue to ask questions and work hard, and he'll pick up all the things he needs to know. Physically, he's already there."

Bills also continued his hot hitting, slugging his second homer in as many days in the third inning, a two-run shot to right. The senior from Reno, Nev. Finished the day 2-for-5 with two runs scored.

Picking up his first victory of the season, Bryce Searle (1-1) pitched a strong four innings in his first start since February 6. Searle held the Lobos to one run, a solo home run by Joe Salas in the second. He allowed six hits and struck out one.

Paul Jacinto (2-8) pitched the final four innings for his second save. The senior struck out two and allowed three hits, one being a two-run homer by Garrick Haymore. Jacinto struck out Salas to end the ninth and preserve the victory.

Once again Wade Vest used his speed to generate the Cougars' a run in the sixth inning. After reaching first on an infield single, Vest stole his 13th base and reached third on a ground out by Ryan Chambers. The senior second baseman slid into home on a passed ball.

"The play of the game in my mind was Chambers moving Vest over to third for an eventual run," Law said. "Vest may be the best base runner I've even seen and that's including the major leagues. When Vest is on the bases, I might as well put my hands in my pockets."

Chambers became the third BYU player this year to reach a 10-game hitting streak with his infield single in the third inning joining Vest and Ben Saylor.

The Cougars next travel to San Diego State for a three-game series beginning Wednesday. BYU beat the Aztects in two of three games earlier this season in Provo.

New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ.
May 08, 2004 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
New Mexico 4 (19-25-1,15-9 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
YOUNG cf.................  5  1  2  0   0  0  5  1   2
SPITALERI c..............  5  0  2  0   0  0  4  1   0
MADER ss.................  4  0  0  1   0  0  0  1   1
SALAS dh.................  4  1  1  1   1  1  0  0   0
MURRAY 1b................  4  1  1  0   0  1  7  0   0
DABBS rf.................  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
HAYMORE lf...............  4  1  3  2   0  0  6  0   0
BARBA 2b.................  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  5   1
FOOTE 3b.................  4  0  2  0   0  0  2  1   3
EDDY p...................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PACAS p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  4 11  4   2  3 24  9   9
Brigham Young Univ. 7 (21-26,11-10 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  5  1  1  0   0  0  6  0   0
BILLS, Kevin lf..........  5  2  2  2   0  1  4  0   1
TAYLOR, Brandon ss.......  4  3  3  3   0  1  2  1   0
HIESTAND, Jeff dh........  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  3  0  1  0   1  0  3  0   2
LUCAS, Blair 3b..........  4  0  1  1   0  1  0  2   1
LAW, Tim 1b..............  3  0  0  0   1  0  5  2   1
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  4  0  1  0   0  1  3  0   2
VEST, Wade 2b............  4  1  2  0   0  0  3  3   0
SEARLE, Bryce p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PARSONS, Kalen p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 JACINTO, Paul p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Totals................... 35  7 11  6   3  4 27  9   7
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 010 010 020 -  4 11  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 203 011 00X -  7 11  1
-------------------------------------------
E - MADER; TAYLOR. DP - BYU Cougars 1. LOB - New Mexico 9; BYU Cougars 7. 2B
- SPITALERI; BILLS; LUCAS; CLOWARD; VEST. HR - SALAS(9); HAYMORE(3);
BILLS(2); TAYLOR 2(11). SF - MADER. SB - BILLS; VEST.
New Mexico             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
EDDY................  5.1 11  7  6  2  0 27 29
PACAS...............  2.2  0  0  0  1  4  8  9
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SEARLE, Bryce.......  4.0  6  1  1  1  1 17 18
PARSONS, Kalen......  2.0  3  1  1  1  0  8 10
JACINTO, Paul.......  3.0  2  2  1  0  2 12 12
Win - SEARLE (1-1).  Loss - EDDY (4-4).  Save - JACINTO (2).
PB - SPITALERI.
Umpires - HP: Jason Rogers  1B: Rich Padilla  3B: Tony Sender
Start: 12:05 pm   Time: 2:19   Attendance: 1042
Game notes:
Game 3 of 3
In Friday's games, San Diego State beat UNLV 13-9.
Utah beat Air Force in both games of a doubleheader, 8-7 and 12-0.
Play-by-Play 
New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
May 08, 2004 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 010 010 020 -  4 11  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 203 011 00X -  7 11  1
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico starters: 5/cf YOUNG; 9/c SPITALERI; 4/ss MADER; 10/dh SALAS;
   17/1b MURRAY; 29/rf DABBS; 14/lf HAYMORE; 6/2b BARBA; 12/3b FOOTE; 20/p
   EDDY;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 22/cf CHAMBERS; 11/lf BILLS; 3/ss TAYLOR;
   16/dh HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 6/3b LUCAS; 1/1b LAW; 9/c CLOWARD; 5/2b
   VEST; 26/p SEARLE;
New Mexico - inning 1
   YOUNG singled to second base. SPITALERI grounded into double play 1b to
   ss to 1b; YOUNG out on the play. MADER grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit,
   0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   CHAMBERS grounded out to 2b. BILLS reached on a throwing error by ss.
   TAYLOR homered to left field, 2 RBI; BILLS scored, unearned. HIESTAND
   grounded out to 2b. SAYLOR singled to right field. LUCAS flied out to cf.
   2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 2
   SALAS homered to left center, RBI. MURRAY struck out looking. DABBS flied
   out to cf. HAYMORE singled to left field. BARBA reached on a fielder's
   choice; HAYMORE out at second 3b to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   LAW flied out to cf. CLOWARD grounded out to 3b. VEST flied out to lf. 0
   runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 3
   FOOTE flied out to lf. YOUNG grounded out to 2b. SPITALERI singled to
   left field. MADER flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   CHAMBERS singled to second base. BILLS homered to left field, 2 RBI;
   CHAMBERS scored. TAYLOR singled to left center. HIESTAND grounded out to
   1b unassisted; TAYLOR advanced to second. SAYLOR grounded out to 2b;
   TAYLOR advanced to third. LUCAS doubled to left center, RBI; TAYLOR
   scored. LAW flied out to lf. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 4
   SALAS flied out to cf. MURRAY singled up the middle. DABBS flied out to
   rf. HAYMORE singled up the middle; MURRAY advanced to second. BARBA
   walked; HAYMORE advanced to second; MURRAY advanced to third. FOOTE
   reached on a fielder's choice; BARBA out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 2
   hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   CLOWARD doubled, out at third cf to ss to c to 3b. VEST doubled to right
   center. CHAMBERS flied out to lf; VEST advanced to third. BILLS flied out
   to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 5
   PARSONS to p for SEARLE. YOUNG singled to left field. SPITALERI doubled
   to left field; YOUNG advanced to third. MADER flied out to rf, SF, RBI;
   YOUNG scored. SALAS walked. MURRAY flied out to lf. DABBS popped up to
   2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   TAYLOR homered to center field, RBI. HIESTAND flied out to cf. SAYLOR
   walked. LUCAS flied out to lf. LAW walked; SAYLOR advanced to second.
   CLOWARD flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 6
   HAYMORE grounded out to 2b. BARBA flied out to cf. FOOTE singled to left
   field. YOUNG flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   VEST singled to shortstop. VEST stole second. CHAMBERS grounded out to
   2b; VEST advanced to third. VEST scored on a passed ball. BILLS doubled
   down the lf line. PACAS to p for EDDY. BILLS stole third. TAYLOR struck
   out swinging. HIESTAND walked. SAYLOR flied out to lf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
   errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 7
   JACINTO to p for PARSONS. SPITALERI out at first 1b to p. MADER popped up
   to 2b. SALAS flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   LUCAS struck out swinging. LAW fouled out to 3b. CLOWARD struck out
   looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 8
   MURRAY reached on a throwing error by ss. DABBS struck out looking.
   HAYMORE homered to right field, 2 RBI; MURRAY scored, unearned. BARBA
   flied out to cf. FOOTE singled to right field. YOUNG grounded out to p. 2
   runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   VEST grounded out to 2b. CHAMBERS flied out to cf. BILLS struck out
   swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 9
   SPITALERI flied out to rf. MADER flied out to lf. SALAS struck out
   swinging. 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.