RIVERSIDE -- UC Riverside won its second straight game by doubling up the Cougars in a 4-2 win on Friday.

In his first start for BYU (2-8), Justin Su'a received his first loss, allowing four runs off 10 hits in five and one-third innings. John Martinez picked up his second win for the Highlanders (3-7), and Brian Hoff earned his second save.

After singling to right field, Ben Saylor scored the Cougars' first run in the third inning on a RBI single from Jeff Hiestand. Saylor finished the day 2-for-4, extending his team-leading hitting streak to 10 games.

The Highlanders equaled BYU's output plus one as they took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Louie Hernandez hit an RBI double and then score on a single by left fielder Matt Cunningham.

In the fifth inning, the Cougars threatened to tie the game after a one-out triple by shortstop Brandon Taylor. UC Riverside first baseman Jason Collette single handedly ended the BYU scoring threat, getting Saylor on a groundout and then throwing Taylor out at the plate for the double play. An RBI single by Kevin Bills tied the game in the sixth.

UC Riverside loaded the bases with one out in the seventh and scored two runs on a single by Matt Lawson. The single gave the Highlanders their 4-2 final score.

The same two teams meet again on Saturday for the final game in the three-game series at 1 p.m. (PST). The game isn't available for live stats or web casts. The Cougars then return home before heading to San Jose, Calif., for a three-game series against San Jose State beginning Thursday.

BYU at UC Riverside
Feb 13, 2004 at Riverside, CA (Sports Complex)
    
BYU 2 (2-8)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WIENS, Ranger dh.........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
TAYLOR, Brandon ss.......  4  0  2  0   0  0  3  1   0
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  4  1  2  0   0  0 10  1   0
ITRI, Rob 3b.............  4  1  1  0   0  1  0  2   0
HIESTAND, Jeff rf........  4  0  1  1   0  0  1  1   2
KNELL, Kory lf...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  2  1   1
BILLS, Kevin cf..........  4  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
WILKES, Adam c...........  3  0  1  0   0  0  8  1   1
 CHAMBERS, Ryan ph.......  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
VEST, Wade 2b............  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  4   1
SU'A, Justin p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BEUS, Lance p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 LEMON, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  2 10  2   1  3 24 12   7
UC Riverside 4 (3-7)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Bigler cf................  4  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
Cunningham lf............  4  0  1  1   0  1  1  0   0
Festa 3b.................  4  1  2  0   0  1  1  0   1
Salotti c................  4  0  1  0   0  2  4  0   0
Collette 1b..............  4  1  2  0   0  1 10  2   0
Steinmeyer ss............  4  0  1  0   0  0  4  4   0
Grant rf.................  2  1  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
 Lawson ph...............  1  0  1  2   0  0  1  0   0
Powis 2b.................  1  0  1  0   1  0  1  1   0
Hernandez dh.............  2  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
 Seuss ph................  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
Martinez, J. p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 Hoff p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  4 11  4   1  5 27  9   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 001 000 -  2 10  0
UC Riverside........ 002 002 00X -  4 11  1
-------------------------------------------
E - Steinmeyer(1). DP - BYU 1; UCR 1. LOB - BYU 7; UCR 5. 2B - Hernandez(1).
3B - TAYLOR(1). SH - Powis(1). SB - ITRI(2); HIESTAND(1); WILKES(1);
Cunningham(2).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SU'A, Justin........  5.1 10  4  4  0  2 23 24
BEUS, Lance.........  1.2  1  0  0  1  1  5  6
LEMON, Nick.........  1.0  0  0  0  0  2  3  3
UC Riverside           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Martinez, J.........  8.2 10  2  2  1  3 34 35
Hoff................  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1
Win - Martinez, J. (2-0).  Loss - SU'A (1-1).  Save - Hoff (2).
Umpires - HP: Scott Daniel  1B: Dave Gimby  3B: Dave Diaz
Start: 3:00 pm   Time: 2:17   Attendance: 157
Play-by-Play 
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 001 000 -  2 10  0
UC Riverside........ 002 002 00X -  4 11  1
-------------------------------------------
BYU starters: 8/dh WIENS; 3/ss TAYLOR; 25/1b SAYLOR; 21/3b ITRI; 16/rf
   HIESTAND; 12/lf KNELL; 11/cf BILLS; 24/c WILKES; 5/2b VEST; 27/p SU'A;
UC Riverside starters: 1/cf Bigler; 44/lf Cunningham; 9/3b Festa; 33/c
   Salotti; 24/1b Collette; 20/ss Steinmeyer; 10/rf Grant; 11/2b Powis; 5/dh
   Hernandez; 29/p Martinez, J.;
BYU - inning 1
   WIENS lined out to 1b. TAYLOR singled to right field. SAYLOR singled to
   right center; TAYLOR advanced to second. ITRI infield fly to 2b. HIESTAND
   grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 1
   Bigler fouled out to ss. Cunningham popped up to ss. Festa singled down
   the rf line, out at second rf to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 2
   KNELL struck out. BILLS popped up to cf. WILKES singled down the rf line.
   VEST singled up the middle; WILKES advanced to second. WIENS popped up to
   rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 2
   Salotti grounded out to 1b unassisted. Collette grounded out to p.
   Steinmeyer fouled out to c. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 3
   TAYLOR flied out to cf. SAYLOR singled to right field. ITRI grounded out
   to 2b; SAYLOR advanced to second. HIESTAND singled to center field, RBI;
   SAYLOR scored. HIESTAND stole second. KNELL lined out to 3b. 1 run, 2
   hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 3
   Grant singled to left field. Powis grounded out to 3b, SAC; Grant
   advanced to second. Hernandez doubled to left center, RBI; Grant scored.
   Bigler grounded out to 2b; Hernandez advanced to third. Cunningham
   singled through the left side, RBI; Hernandez scored. Cunningham stole
   second. Festa flied out to rf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU - inning 4
   BILLS grounded out to ss. WILKES flied out to rf. VEST grounded out to
   ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 4
   Salotti singled to right center. Collette singled to right center;
   Salotti advanced to second. Steinmeyer flied out to lf. Grant flied out
   to lf. Powis singled through the left side; Collette advanced to second;
   Salotti advanced to third, out on the play, out at home lf to c. 0 runs,
   3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU - inning 5
   WIENS struck out. TAYLOR tripled to left field. SAYLOR grounded out to 1b
   unassisted; TAYLOR out on the play, out at home 1b to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 0 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 5
   Hernandez grounded out to 2b. Bigler grounded out to ss. Cunningham
   struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 6
   ITRI singled through the right side. HIESTAND flied out to cf. ITRI stole
   second. KNELL fouled out to 1b. BILLS singled to left field, RBI; ITRI
   scored. WILKES fouled out to 1b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 6
   Festa singled to center field. Salotti struck out. Collette singled to
   center field; Festa advanced to second. Steinmeyer singled to pitcher;
   Collette advanced to second; Festa advanced to third. BEUS to p for SU'A.
   Lawson pinch hit for Grant. Lawson singled down the rf line, 2 RBI;
   Steinmeyer advanced to third; Collette scored; Festa scored. Powis
   walked; Lawson advanced to second. Seuss pinch hit for Hernandez. Seuss
   grounded into double play 1b to c to 1b; Powis advanced to second; Lawson
   advanced to third; Steinmeyer out on the play. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors,
   2 LOB.
BYU - inning 7
   Lawson to rf. Seuss to dh. VEST walked. VEST picked off, out at second p
   to 1b to ss. WIENS reached on an error by ss. TAYLOR grounded into double
   play p to ss to 1b; WIENS out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0
   LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 7
   Bigler grounded out to 2b. Cunningham grounded out to 3b. Festa struck
   out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 8
   SAYLOR popped up to ss. ITRI struck out looking. HIESTAND popped up to
   ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UC Riverside - inning 8
   LEMON to p for BEUS. Salotti struck out. Collette struck out. Steinmeyer
   grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 9
   KNELL flied out to lf. BILLS flied out to rf. CHAMBERS to pinch hit for 
   WILKES. CHAMBERS singled through the right side. Hoff to p for Martinez, J.. 
   CHAMBERS stole second. VEST fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

For the first time ever, the Cougars will play a three-game series against UC Riverside in Riverside, Calif., beginning Thursday.

BYU (2-6) is 9-9 all-time against the Highlanders, but have never had a three-game set against the Division 1, Big West Conference team.

The Cougars plan to start Nathan Hess (0-1, 2.35) in Thursday's 3 p.m. (PST) game. Hess is coming off his first save in Tuesday's 11-10 win over Santa Clara. Patrick Wells (1-1, 2.57), the reining MWC Pitcher of the Week, will most likely start in Friday's 3 p.m. (PST) game and Paul Jacinto (0-3, 7.27) looks to get the nod in Saturday's 1 p.m. (PST) game.

Wells was named MWC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete game 3-1 victory over Nevada in the Pacific Invitational. His win was the first of the year for the Cougars who lost 9-5 to St. Mary's and 5-4 to tournament host Pacific. The Cougars also split a pair of games against Santa Clara, losing 9-3 on Monday but coming back to win 11-10 on Tuesday. Brandon Taylor broke out of a 3-for-32 slump in Tuesday's win, belting two home runs and a two-run double.

Leading the Cougars in hitting is Rob Itri with a .346 average. He has a four-game hitting streak going into Thursday's game behind Ben Saylor who has hit safely in all eight games.

The Highlanders, like BYU, have struggled early in the season, posting a 1-7 record. They are coming off a 5-4 loss to Loyola Marymount on Tuesday.

Probable starters for UC Riverside are AJ Shappi (0-0, 2.57) on Thursday, John Martinez (1-0, 6.94) on Friday and Haley Winter (12.00, 0-1) on Saturday. Third baseman Tony Festa leads the team in hitting with a .545 average, 2 home runs and 10 RBI. Nick Salotti and Brett Bigler both have .421 batting averages. The highlanders were ranked No. 34 in Collegiate Baseball's preseason poll. UC Riverside is in a six-game losing streak headed into Thursday's game.

None of the three games are available for live stats or web casts. Following the UC Riverside series, the Cougars return home before heading to a three-game series against San Jose State in San Jose, Calif.