SALT LAKE CITY -- BYU's magic ran out as UNLV stole two straight games, 9-5 and 7-4, and the Mountain West Conference title Saturday at Franklin Covey Field.

With the two losses, the Cougars fall to 39-19-1 on the season. UNLV improved to 34-27. The MWC Championship gives the Rebels an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals next week. BYU will find out if it earns an at-large bid on Monday.

UNLV jumped out to an early lead against BYU pitcher Matt Jensen. Jensen, who has been pitching very well lately, has been sick recently. The Rebels took advantage of the ailing Jensen, jumping out to a 2-0 first-inning lead. Zeke Parraz hit a RBI double and later scored on a single by Ryan Bird. UNLV scored again in the bottom of the third to go ahead 3-0.

In the top of the fourth, the Cougars stormed back to grab the lead. BYU got RBI base hits from Jeff Hiestand, Brandon Taylor and Kory Knell. Apana Nakayama led off the inning with a double and was followed by a single by Hiestand. Taylor tripled to knock in Hiestand. Ben Saylor grounded out to score Taylor. Knell then nailed a solo home run for BYU.

The lead was short-lived for the Cougars as UNLV responded in its side of the fourth inning to retake the lead. Matt Fry hit a two-run homer for the Rebels to go ahead 5-4.

UNLV never fell behind again, out scoring BYU 4-1 over the middle innings. The only run the Cougars managed was on a solo home run by Sean McNaughton in the top of the fifth inning. Rebels' reliever Matt Wagner shut the door on BYU, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Wagner only allowed one hit and got the Cougars to bounce into four double plays.

In game two, BYU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when McNaughton led the game off with a triple and scored on a Marcos Villezcas groundout.

The lead didn't hold long as UNLV scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Rebels sent nine batters to the plate in the inning.

BYU had a good chance to score runs in the top of the fourth when it loaded the bases with only one out. However, the Cougars were unable to score any runs. In the fifth, BYU again put runners on first and second with one out. The Cougars made the most of their opportunity in the fifth when Taylor roped a RBI single with two outs. Saylor followed with a two-run double to tie the game at four.

UNLV responded in its side of the fifth frame to take a 5-4 lead. The Rebels' run came on back-to-back doubles by Chris Bonnell and Bird. UNLV scored again in the sixth frame to widen its lead to 6-4.

The Cougars again squandered an excellent scoring opportunity in the seventh inning when they had runners on first and second base with nobody out. UNLV got a double play before BYU loaded the bases with two outs in the inning. Once again, the Cougars came up empty.

The Rebels added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out RBI single by Parraz to extend their lead to 7-4.

Kyle Tabeek pitched 2 1/3 innings to earn the save for UNLV.

After the tournament, three BYU players were honored on the All-Tournament team. Pitcher Dave Horlacher pitched a complete game on Friday in BYU's 7-2 victory over UNLV. Ryan Chambers homered twice and earned a save while Nakayama batted .615.

Brigham Young Univ. at UNLV
May 28, 2005 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 5 (39-18-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  4  1  2  1   0  0  2  3   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  2   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  1  3  0   0  0  0  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff rf........  2  1  1  1   2  0  2  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  4  1  1  1   0  2  2  3   3
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  4  0  0  1   0  0  9  0   0
KNELL, Kory lf...........  4  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  3  0  0  0   0  1  4  3   0
JENSEN, Matthew p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WOOLF, Mitch p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SU'A, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 33  5  8  5   2  6 24 12   3
UNLV 9 (33-27)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SIBLEY cf................  3  1  2  0   0  0  1  0   0
 KOWALSKI cf.............  2  0  1  0   0  0  3  0   0
CRUZ 3b..................  4  2  1  1   0  1  1  2   0
PARRAZ ss................  3  2  1  1   0  0  4  5   0
BONNELL 1b...............  5  0  1  0   0  0 11  0   1
BIRD rf..................  3  0  2  3   1  1  1  0   0
BERANEK dh...............  4  0  1  1   0  1  0  0   5
TELLAM c.................  4  1  2  0   0  1  5  0   1
 WALKER pr/c.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
LANG 2b..................  3  1  1  0   1  1  0  5   0
FRY lf...................  3  2  1  2   1  0  0  0   0
PUPO p...................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 WAGNER p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 34  9 13  8   3  5 27 14   7
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 410 000 -  5  8  1
UNLV................ 201 213 00X -  9 13  1
-------------------------------------------
E - JENSEN(3); BONNELL. DP - LV 3. LOB - BYU Cougars 3; LV 7. 2B -
NAKAYAMA(18); CRUZ; PARRAZ; BERANEK. 3B - TAYLOR(4). HR - McNAUGHTON(12);
KNELL(7); FRY(7). HBP - PARRAZ 2. SH - CRUZ. SB - NAKAYAMA(2). CS - WALKER.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
JENSEN, Matthew.....  3.1  9  5  5  0  2 18 18  70
WOOLF, Mitch........  1.2  1  3  3  2  3  6  9  41
SU'A, Justin........  3.0  3  1  1  1  0 10 13  41
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
PUPO................  4.1  7  5  5  2  4 20 22  81
WAGNER..............  4.2  1  0  0  0  2 13 13  40
Win - WAGNER (5-3).  Loss - WOOLF (2-4).  Save - None.
WP - JENSEN 2(3); WOOLF(8); SU'A(5). HBP - by WOOLF (PARRAZ); by SU'A (PARRAZ).
Pitches/strikes: JENSEN 70/43; WOOLF 41/19; SU'A 41/27; PUPO 81/50; WAGNER 40/24.
Umpires - HP: Kelly Gonzales  1B: Jason Rogers  2B: Rich Padilla  3B: Joe
Burleson  Start: 3 p.m.   Time: 3:02   Attendance:
WOOLF faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Brigham Young Univ. at UNLV - Play-by-Play
May 28, 2005 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 410 000 -  5  8  1
UNLV................ 201 213 00X -  9 13  1
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA;
16/rf HIESTAND; 3/3b TAYLOR; 25/1b SAYLOR; 12/lf KNELL; 22/cf CHAMBERS; 9/c CLOWARD;
21/p JENSEN;
UNLV starters: 22/cf SIBLEY; 1/3b CRUZ; 10/ss PARRAZ; 11/1b BONNELL; 34/rf BIRD;
18/dh BERANEK; 36/c TELLAM; 5/2b LANG; 2/lf FRY; 20/p PUPO;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - McNAUGHTON singled to right center (2-2). VILLEZCAS
struck out looking (2-2). NAKAYAMA flied out to cf (1-1). HIESTAND walked (3-2);
McNAUGHTON advanced to second. TAYLOR struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 1st - SIBLEY singled to shortstop (3-2). CRUZ flied out to rf (2-2).
PARRAZ doubled to left center, RBI (0-1); SIBLEY scored. BONNELL grounded out to 2b
(0-1); PARRAZ advanced to third. BIRD singled to right field, RBI (0-1); PARRAZ
scored. BIRD advanced to second on a throwing error by p. BERANEK struck out
swinging (0-2). 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - SAYLOR popped up to 3b (1-2). KNELL flied out to rf
(0-0). CHAMBERS popped up to ss (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - TELLAM fouled out to 3b (1-0). LANG singled to right field (1-2).
FRY grounded out to 3b (1-0); LANG advanced to second. LANG out at second c to 2b,
picked off. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - CLOWARD grounded out to p, bunt (0-0). McNAUGHTON
grounded out to 3b (1-0). VILLEZCAS grounded out to 3b (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - SIBLEY singled through the right side (3-1). SIBLEY advanced to
second on a wild pitch. CRUZ reached on a fielder's choice (2-2); SIBLEY out at
third ss to 3b. PARRAZ popped up to 2b (1-0). BONNELL singled to left field (2-0);
CRUZ advanced to second. BIRD singled to right field, RBI (1-0); BONNELL advanced to
second; CRUZ scored. BERANEK flied out to cf (2-2). 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - NAKAYAMA doubled to right center (0-2). HIESTAND
singled up the middle, interference, advanced to second, RBI (2-2); NAKAYAMA scored.
TAYLOR tripled to right center, RBI (0-0); HIESTAND scored. SAYLOR grounded out to
2b, RBI (1-2); TAYLOR scored. KNELL homered to left field, RBI (3-1). CHAMBERS
struck out swinging (1-2). CLOWARD struck out looking (1-2). 4 runs, 4 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 4th - TELLAM singled to right center (2-2). TELLAM advanced to second on
a wild pitch. LANG struck out swinging (3-2). FRY homered to right field, 2 RBI
(2-1); TELLAM scored. WOOLF to p for JENSEN. SIBLEY grounded out to 3b (1-2). CRUZ
struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b (3-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - KOWALSKI to cf for SIBLEY. McNAUGHTON homered to
left field, RBI (1-0). VILLEZCAS grounded out to ss (0-0). NAKAYAMA singled to left
center (2-1). NAKAYAMA stole second. HIESTAND walked (3-2). WAGNER to p for PUPO.
TAYLOR grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (2-1); HIESTAND out on the play.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 5th - PARRAZ hit by pitch (0-0). BONNELL grounded out to 3b (3-1);
PARRAZ advanced to second. BIRD struck out swinging (3-2). BERANEK doubled to left
center, RBI (0-0); PARRAZ scored. BERANEK advanced to third on a wild pitch. TELLAM
struck out swinging (3-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - SAYLOR flied out to cf (0-0). KNELL grounded out to
p (1-2). CHAMBERS struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 6th - LANG walked (3-2). FRY walked (3-0); LANG advanced to second. SU'A
to p for WOOLF. KOWALSKI popped up to ss (0-2). CRUZ doubled down the lf line, RBI
(2-2); FRY advanced to third; LANG scored. PARRAZ hit by pitch (1-2). BONNELL popped
up to ss (0-0). BIRD walked, RBI (3-0); PARRAZ advanced to second; CRUZ advanced to
third; FRY scored. BIRD advanced to second; PARRAZ advanced to third; CRUZ scored on
a wild pitch. BERANEK grounded out to 2b (2-2). 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - CLOWARD grounded out to 2b (1-0). McNAUGHTON flied
out to cf (1-0). VILLEZCAS grounded out to ss (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
UNLV 7th - TELLAM singled to right center (2-2). WALKER pinch ran for TELLAM.
LANG flied out to cf (0-1). WALKER out at second c to ss, caught stealing. FRY
grounded out to 2b (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - WALKER to c. NAKAYAMA singled through the left side
(2-1). HIESTAND grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (3-1); NAKAYAMA out on the
play. TAYLOR struck out looking (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 8th - KOWALSKI singled, bunt (0-0). CRUZ grounded out to p, SAC, bunt
(1-0); KOWALSKI advanced to second. PARRAZ grounded out to ss (1-2). BONNELL flied
out to rf (0-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - SAYLOR flied out to cf (1-0). KNELL reached on a
fielding error by 1b (0-1). CHAMBERS grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-1);
KNELL out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Game Two
Brigham Young Univ. at UNLV (Game 2)
May 28, 2005 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 4 (39-19-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  4  1  1  0   1  1  1  3   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  5  1  2  1   0  0  1  4   1
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  0  2  0   1  0  0  0   1
HIESTAND, Jeff rf........  4  1  0  0   1  2  5  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  5  1  2  1   0  0  0  1   0
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  5  0  4  2   0  0  9  1   1
KNELL, Kory lf...........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   3
NELSON, Casey c..........  4  0  0  0   0  2  6  0   3
PLATT, James p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 BARRETT, Joshua p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38  4 13  4   3  6 24 11  11
UNLV 7 (34-27)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
LANG 2b..................  3  1  1  1   1  0  1  3   0
CRUZ 3b..................  5  1  1  1   0  0  2  2   2
PARRAZ ss................  5  1  2  2   0  0  1  1   1
BONNELL 1b...............  5  1  2  1   0  2  6  1   1
BIRD rf..................  3  0  2  1   0  0  2  0   0
BERANEK dh...............  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
 NAVARRO Jr. p/dh........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 FOLTIN p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
FRY lf...................  4  1  2  0   0  0  2  1   1
WALKER c.................  3  1  1  0   0  2  7  0   0
 SIBLEY ph...............  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
 TELLAM c................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
KOWALSKI cf..............  3  1  1  1   0  0  5  0   0
WAGNER p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HUSEMAN p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 TABEEK p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  7 12  7   1  6 27 10   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 030 000 -  4 13  0
UNLV................ 004 011 01X -  7 12  0
-------------------------------------------
DP - LV 1. LOB - BYU Cougars 11; LV 9. 2B - SAYLOR 2(25); CHAMBERS(20);
CRUZ; PARRAZ; BONNELL; BIRD 2; FRY; KOWALSKI. 3B - McNAUGHTON(5). HBP -
KNELL; LANG; BIRD; NAVARRO Jr.. SH - KOWALSKI.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
PLATT, James........  3.2  6  4  4  1  3 16 19  66
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon  1.2  4  2  2  0  1  9  9  31
BARRETT, Joshua.....  2.2  2  1  1  0  2 10 12  42
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WAGNER..............  3.0  4  1  1  0  0 12 12  35
NAVARRO Jr..........  1.2  7  3  3  0  3 12 12  51
FOLTIN..............  1.1  1  0  0  1  2  5  6  31
HUSEMAN.............  0.2  1  0  0  1  0  2  4  15
TABEEK..............  2.1  0  0  0  1  1  7  8  29
Win - FOLTIN (1-2).  Loss - CHRISTIANSEN (4-2).  Save - TABEEK (8).
WP - BARRETT(3). HBP - by PLATT (BIRD); by HUSEMAN (KNELL); by BARRETT (NAVARRO
Jr.); by BARRETT (LANG). Pitches/strikes: PLATT 66/43; CHRISTIANSEN 31/21;
BARRETT 42/27; WAGNER 35/20; NAVARRO Jr. 51/33; FOLTIN 31/19; HUSEMAN 15/6;
TABEEK 29/19.
Umpires - HP: Joe Burleson  1B: Blake Jensen  2B: Phil Gonzales  3B: Jason
Rogers  Start: 6:15 pm   Time: 2:58   Attendance: 1827
FOLTIN faced 1 batter in the 7th.
Brigham Young Univ. at UNLV (Game 2) - Play-by-Play
May 28, 2005 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 030 000 -  4 13  0
UNLV................ 004 011 01X -  7 12  0
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA;
16/rf HIESTAND; 3/3b TAYLOR; 25/1b SAYLOR; 12/lf KNELL; 22/cf CHAMBERS; 8/c NELSON;
7/p PLATT;
UNLV starters: 5/2b LANG; 1/3b CRUZ; 10/ss PARRAZ; 11/1b BONNELL; 34/rf BIRD; 18/dh
BERANEK; 2/lf FRY; 4/c WALKER; 12/cf KOWALSKI; 30/p WAGNER;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - McNAUGHTON tripled down the rf line (2-0).
VILLEZCAS grounded out to 2b, RBI (1-2); McNAUGHTON scored. NAKAYAMA flied out to rf
(2-0). HIESTAND flied out to cf (2-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 1st - LANG flied out to rf (0-0). CRUZ grounded out to ss (1-1). PARRAZ
grounded out to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - TAYLOR flied out to rf (0-0). SAYLOR singled to
right field (1-0). KNELL flied out to cf (1-0). CHAMBERS doubled down the lf line
(1-1); SAYLOR advanced to third, out at home lf to ss to c. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - BONNELL struck out swinging (2-2). BIRD grounded out to 2b (0-2).
BERANEK struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - NELSON fouled out to 1b (2-2). McNAUGHTON flied out
to cf (1-1). VILLEZCAS singled up the middle (2-1). NAKAYAMA grounded out to 2b
(0-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - FRY doubled to left center (0-0). WALKER singled to left field
(0-1); FRY advanced to third. KOWALSKI out at first 1b to p, SAC, bunt, RBI (1-1);
WALKER advanced to second; FRY scored. LANG grounded out to 3b (0-1). CRUZ doubled
down the lf line, RBI (2-2); WALKER scored. PARRAZ doubled to left field, RBI (0-1);
CRUZ scored. BONNELL singled to left field, RBI (1-2); PARRAZ scored. BIRD hit by
pitch (1-0); BONNELL advanced to second. BERANEK popped up to ss (2-2). 4 runs, 5
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - NAVARRO Jr. to p for BERANEK. /  for WAGNER.
HIESTAND struck out looking (2-2). TAYLOR singled to left field (2-2). SAYLOR
singled to right field (1-1); TAYLOR advanced to second. KNELL singled to right
field (0-1); SAYLOR advanced to second; TAYLOR advanced to third. CHAMBERS reached
on a fielder's choice (2-1); KNELL advanced to second; SAYLOR advanced to third;
TAYLOR out at home p to c. NELSON struck out looking (2-2). 0 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
UNLV 4th - FRY singled to right field (3-1). WALKER struck out looking (2-2).
KOWALSKI reached on a fielder's choice (1-1); FRY out at second ss to 2b. LANG
walked (3-0); KOWALSKI advanced to second. CHRISTIANSEN to p for PLATT. CRUZ
grounded out to p (1-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (2-2). VILLEZCAS
singled to right field (2-1). NAKAYAMA singled to right field (1-2); VILLEZCAS
advanced to second. HIESTAND reached on a fielder's choice (2-2); NAKAYAMA out at
second 1b to ss; VILLEZCAS advanced to third. TAYLOR singled through the left side,
RBI (2-2); HIESTAND advanced to second; VILLEZCAS scored. SAYLOR doubled down the rf
line, 2 RBI (0-1); TAYLOR scored; HIESTAND scored. FOLTIN to p for NAVARRO Jr..
KNELL grounded out to 3b (1-1). 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 5th - PARRAZ grounded out to p (0-1). BONNELL doubled down the lf line
(0-0). BIRD doubled to right field, RBI (2-2); BONNELL scored. NAVARRO Jr. to dh for
FOLTIN. FOLTIN to p. NAVARRO Jr. flied out to rf (1-1). FRY flied out to rf (1-0).
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - CHAMBERS struck out swinging (3-2). NELSON struck
out looking (3-2). McNAUGHTON walked (3-2). VILLEZCAS grounded out to p (0-0). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 6th - WALKER struck out swinging (0-2). KOWALSKI doubled to right field
(2-2). LANG singled to right center, RBI (3-2); KOWALSKI scored. BARRETT to p for
CHRISTIANSEN. CRUZ grounded out to ss (1-1); LANG advanced to second. PARRAZ flied
out to rf (1-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - NAKAYAMA singled to center field (1-0). HUSEMAN to
p for FOLTIN. HIESTAND walked (3-1); NAKAYAMA advanced to second. TAYLOR reached on
a fielder's choice (0-0); HIESTAND out on double play 3b to 2b; NAKAYAMA out on the
play. SAYLOR doubled to center field (3-2); TAYLOR advanced to third. KNELL hit by
pitch (1-0). TABEEK to p for HUSEMAN. CHAMBERS flied out to lf (1-1). 0 runs, 2
hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
UNLV 7th - BONNELL grounded out to 2b (0-0). BIRD doubled to right field
(2-2). NAVARRO Jr. hit by pitch (1-1). FRY flied out to cf (0-0); BIRD advanced to
third. SIBLEY pinch hit for WALKER. SIBLEY struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - TELLAM to c for SIBLEY. NELSON flied out to cf
(1-2). McNAUGHTON flied out to lf (1-2). VILLEZCAS fouled out to 3b (1-1). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 8th - KOWALSKI grounded out to 2b (1-2). LANG hit by pitch (1-0). LANG
advanced to second on a wild pitch. CRUZ flied out to rf (2-2); LANG advanced to
third. PARRAZ singled to right field, RBI (1-2); LANG scored. BONNELL struck out
looking (0-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - NAKAYAMA walked (3-1). HIESTAND struck out swinging
(1-2). TAYLOR flied out to cf (1-2). SAYLOR grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.

Good news and bad news came out of last week's regular season finish at San Diego as BYU readies to play Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Salt Lake City.

The good news: the Cougars earned the No. 2 seed with a solid second-place finish in the league and on Thursday will play the highest remaining seed out of Wednesday's tourney games at 11 a.m.

The bad news: outfielder Adrian Molina is out for the remainder of the season. The junior from San Diego received permission to remain behind from the team last week in order to participate in a family baptism. Molina suffered a broken hand in a car accident when he was knocked unconscious.

BYU, 37-17-1 overall and 21-9 in the MWC, finished two games behind first-place UNLV, who also received a first-round bye in this week's league tourney. The Cougars' starting pitcher for Thursday's game is TBA, depending on the opponent.

Lefty Lance Beus (2-1, 5.50) presents a number of problems for some opponents. Junior Dave Horlacher (5-2, 3.99) has been BYU's starter for the past 14 weekends. The Cougars have three pitchers each with six victories: Matt Jensen (6-1, 2.53), Justin Su'a (6-2, 4.89) and Blake Torgerson (6-2, 6.46).

This year's BYU team has been a part of 13 broken records on the national, league and school scene. Brandon Taylor has three of those records to his credit, Jensen has two, Horlacher, Molina and Casey Cloward each own a record and the Cougar team has set three records.

If BYU wins on Thursday, its next game would be Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. If the Cougars lose on Thursday morning, they would play again that night at 7 p.m. in the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tourney.

The Cougars are hopeful of a good showing at the tourney. The tourney champion gets the league's automatic berth to next week's NCAA Regionals. BYU has submitted a bid to host one of those regionals starting next Thursday. If the Cougars falter in securing the automatic berth, they are hopeful their record is worthy of at at-large selection in tourney action that could start next Friday.

The Cougars have a 13-8 record in the MWC Tournament. BYU lost its first two games last year when the tourney was in Las Vegas; posted a 2-2 mark in 2003 at Albuquerque; won the tourney in 2002 in Provo; won the tourney in 2001 at San Diego; and had a 2-2 record in 2000 at Las Vegas.

A multi-page release can be found by downloading the PDF file at the top of this story, which gives a detailed analysis of the Cougars.