CEDAR -- Behind five solid innings by lefty Patrick Wells, BYU picked up its second win of the season Friday against SUU, 9-2.

Wells (1-2, 7.47), making his fourth start for the Cougars, gave up just one unearned run on five hits while walking three and striking out four. With the win the Cougars improve to 2-9 while the Thunderbirds drop to 6-3.

The Cougars needed to play aggressive on the basepath on the blustery afternoon as Ben Saylor collected BYU's only extra-base hit with a double in the sixth inning. The Cougars took advantage of five stolen bases, four SUU errors and needed just eight hits to push across nine runs.

The Cougars batted through the order in the sixth against T-Bird starter Larry Ellenbrook (2-1, 4.00), getting five runs off three hits, three walks and an error. Patience at the plate paid off for BYU as Austin Carter and Dan Vargas both drew walks with the bases loaded scoring two. Marcos Villezcas also had one of his three RBI on a single to right to push BYU's lead to 8-1.

Leading the way for BYU's hitters was Villezcas who went 3-for-5 while driving in three. His first inning RBI-single was enough to extended his current team-leading hitting streak to four and put the Cougars up early, 1-0. The T-Birds answered in the bottom of the inning with a run to make it 1-1.

Wells worked his way out of a jam in the second inning with runners on second and third with two outs by getting Keli`i Zablan to strike out swinging. Then with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the fourth he got Charlie Hahl to strike out swinging to end the threat without giving up a run. BYU's pitchers stranded 11 SUU runners on the afternoon.

The teams remained tied until the top of the fifth when BYU scored two runs off two SUU errors to put the Cougars up for good, 3-1. Adrian Molina scored the first of two on a single by Carter after reaching on an error. Carter then stole second and scored the eventual game-winner on a fielding error from a Kent Walton grounder.

The Cougar relievers continued to stymie opposing hitters as Jordan Muir and Michael Barrett combined for four innings of work, allowing just one unearned run on two hits and a walk, while striking out three. Muir hasn't allowed a run all season and leads the Mountain West Conference with an ERA of 0.00 to anchor a Cougar bullpen with an ERA of just 2.41.

BYU and SUU meet for the rubber match of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Brigham Young at Southern Utah
Mar 03, 2006 at Cedar City, Utah (Thunderbird Park)
Brigham Young 9 (2-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER dh................  2  3  1  2   3  0  0  0   0
WALTON lf................  5  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
VILLEZCAS ss.............  5  0  3  2   0  0  0  2   3
HIESTAND 1b..............  4  0  0  0   1  0  9  1   2
SAYLOR rf................  5  1  2  0   0  1  2  0   1
JOHNSON, C. 3b...........  5  2  1  0   0  0  1  2   1
MOLINA cf................  5  1  1  1   0  1  4  0   0
MUSSO c..................  2  0  0  0   0  1  4  0   0
 KO ph...................  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 JOHNSON, S. pr..........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 NELSON c................  2  0  0  0   0  0  4  0   1
VARGAS 2b................  3  1  0  1   1  0  1  3   0
WELLS p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 BARRETT p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38  9  8  6   6  3 27  9   8
Southern Utah 2 (6-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Hahl lf..........  4  1  0  0   0  3  2  0   3
 Kolten Jensen lf........  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
Trever Dimick ss.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  1  4   0
 Jacob Romney ph.........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Justin Sotelo cf.........  5  0  1  1   0  1  2  0   0
Amos Burgess rf..........  5  1  2  0   0  0  1  0   3
Jeff Oliverson dh........  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Robbie Richards c........  3  0  0  0   0  1  4  1   2
Chester Wilson 1b........  2  0  1  1   1  1 14  0   0
Greg Marshall 3b.........  2  0  1  0   1  0  0  4   0
 Matt Sanford 3b.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   1
Keli`i Zablan 2b.........  2  0  0  0   1  1  1  3   2
 Levi Swenson 2b.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Larry Ellenbrook p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Dustin Wittwer p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Derrek Ellena p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34  2  7  2   4  7 27 15  11
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 025 001 -  9  8  3
Southern Utah....... 100 000 010 -  2  7  4
-------------------------------------------
E - VILLEZCAS; MUSSO; WELLS; Dimick; Marshall 2; Zablan. DP - BYU 1; SUU 2.
LOB - BYU 8; SUU 11. 2B - SAYLOR; Wilson, C.. HBP - Richards. SF - Wilson,
C.. SB - CARTER 2; WALTON; JOHNSON, C.; VARGAS; Hahl; Wilson, C.; Marshall.
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WELLS...............  5.0  5  1  0  3  4 21 24  98
BARRETT.............  3.0  1  1  0  0  2  9 11  43
MUIR................  1.0  1  0  0  1  1  4  5  17
Southern Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Larry Ellenbrook....  6.0  7  8  3  4  1 27 31 106
Dustin Wittwer......  2.0  0  0  0  1  1  7  8  31
Derrek Ellena.......  1.0  1  1  1  1  1  4  5  21
Win - WELLS (1-2).  Loss - Ellenbrook (2-1).  Save - None.
WP - WELLS. HBP - by BARRETT (Richards). BK - MUIR. Inherited runners/scored:
None. Pitches/strikes: WELLS 98/58; BARRETT 43/25; MUIR 17/11; Ellenbrook
106/63; Wittwer 31/18; Ellena 21/12.
Umpires - Home:Randy Upton  1st:Mike Andrews
Start: 1:05 pm   Time: 2:52   Attendance: 93
Game: SUUBYU2
Brigham Young at Southern Utah - Play-by-Play
Mar 03, 2006 at Cedar City, Utah (Thunderbird Park)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 025 001 -  9  8  3
Southern Utah....... 100 000 010 -  2  7  4
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 6/dh CARTER; 9/lf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 32/1b
   HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 5/3b JOHNSON, C.; 1/cf MOLINA; 22/c MUSSO; 13/2b
   VARGAS; 4/p WELLS;
Southern Utah starters: 2/lf Hahl; 7/ss Dimick; 32/cf Sotelo; 20/rf Burgess;
   10/dh Oliverson; 27/c Richards; 28/1b Wilson, C.; 4/3b Marshall; 21/2b
   Zablan; 24/p Ellenbrook;
Brigham Young - inning 1
   CARTER walked (3-2). CARTER stole second. WALTON flied out to cf (2-1).
   VILLEZCAS singled to right field, RBI (1-2); CARTER scored. HIESTAND
   lined out to rf (1-1). SAYLOR grounded out to 2b (1-0). 1 run, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 1
   Hahl reached on a fielding error by p, bunt (1-1). Dimick flied out to cf
   (1-2). Hahl stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by c.
   Sotelo grounded out to 2b, RBI (2-2); Hahl scored, unearned. Burgess
   flied out to rf (0-0). 1 run, 0 hits, 2 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 2
   JOHNSON, C. grounded out to ss (2-1). MOLINA grounded out to 3b (1-1).
   MUSSO flied out to cf (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 2
   Oliverson grounded out to 2b (1-0). Richards fouled out to 1b (2-2).
   Wilson, C. walked (3-1). Marshall singled up the middle (1-1); Wilson, C.
   advanced to second. Marshall advanced to second; Wilson, C. advanced to
   third on a wild pitch. Zablan struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 3
   VARGAS grounded out to 1b unassisted (2-2). CARTER grounded out to 3b,
   bunt (0-1). WALTON grounded out to 2b (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
   LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 3
   Hahl struck out swinging (3-2). Dimick grounded out to 1b unassisted
   (3-2). Sotelo singled through the right side (0-0). Burgess reached on a
   fielder's choice (2-1); Sotelo out at second 3b to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 4
   VILLEZCAS singled to shortstop (1-1). HIESTAND grounded into double play
   ss to 1b (0-1); VILLEZCAS out on the play. SAYLOR singled up the middle
   (0-0). JOHNSON, C. grounded out to 3b (1-2). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
   LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 4
   Oliverson popped up to rf (1-2). Richards struck out looking (3-2).
   Wilson, C. doubled to right field (3-2). Marshall walked (3-1). Marshall
   stole second; Wilson, C. stole third. Zablan walked (3-2). Hahl struck
   out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 5
   MOLINA reached on a throwing error by 2b, advanced to second (0-0). MUSSO
   struck out swinging (3-2). VARGAS grounded out to 2b (1-1); MOLINA
   advanced to third. CARTER singled through the right side, RBI (1-0);
   MOLINA scored, unearned. CARTER stole second. WALTON reached on a
   fielding error by 3b (3-1); CARTER scored, unearned. WALTON stole second.
   VILLEZCAS grounded out to p (1-0). 2 runs, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 5
   Dimick out at first 1b to p (3-2). Sotelo grounded out to p, bunt (0-1).
   Burgess singled to right center (0-2). Oliverson singled up the middle
   (0-0); Burgess advanced to second. Richards flied out to lf (0-0). 0
   runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 6
   HIESTAND flied out to lf (1-0). SAYLOR doubled to left center (0-1).
   JOHNSON, C. singled to center field (2-1); SAYLOR advanced to third.
   MOLINA popped up to 2b (0-1). KO pinch hit for MUSSO. KO walked (3-1);
   JOHNSON, C. advanced to second. JOHNSON, S. pinch ran for KO. VARGAS
   walked, RBI (3-2); JOHNSON, S. advanced to second; JOHNSON, C. advanced
   to third; SAYLOR scored. CARTER walked, RBI (3-1); VARGAS advanced to
   second; JOHNSON, S. advanced to third; JOHNSON, C. scored. WALTON reached
   on a fielding error by 3b, advanced to second (0-0); CARTER advanced to
   third; VARGAS scored, unearned; JOHNSON, S. scored, unearned. VILLEZCAS
   singled through the right side, RBI (1-2); WALTON advanced to third;
   CARTER scored, unearned. HIESTAND flied out to lf (2-2). 5 runs, 3 hits,
   1 error, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 6
   NELSON to c for JOHNSON, S.. BARRETT to p for WELLS. Wilson, C. struck
   out looking (3-2). Marshall grounded out to 2b (2-1). Zablan grounded out
   to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 7
   Wittwer to p for Ellenbrook. SAYLOR grounded out to 1b unassisted (3-1).
   JOHNSON, C. grounded out to 3b (0-0). MOLINA struck out swinging (0-2). 0
   runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 7
   Hahl struck out swinging (2-2). Dimick fouled out to c, bunt (0-0).
   Sotelo grounded out to ss (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 8
   Sanford to 3b for Marshall. Swenson to 2b for Zablan. NELSON reached on a
   throwing error by ss (2-2). VARGAS reached on a fielder's choice (3-2);
   NELSON out at second ss to 2b. VARGAS stole second. CARTER walked (3-2).
   WALTON reached on a fielder's choice to second base (0-0); CARTER
   advanced to second; VARGAS advanced to third. VILLEZCAS grounded into
   double play p to c to 1b (1-1); VARGAS out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1
   error, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 8
   Burgess singled through the left side (3-1). Oliverson reached on a
   fielder's choice (3-1); Burgess advanced to second on a fielding error by
   ss. Richards hit by pitch (1-1); Oliverson advanced to second; Burgess
   advanced to third. Wilson, C. flied out to cf, SF, RBI (0-0); Burgess
   scored, unearned. Sanford grounded into double play 3b to 1b (1-2);
   Oliverson out on the play. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 9
   Jensen to lf for Hahl. Ellena to p for Wittwer. HIESTAND walked (3-0).
   SAYLOR struck out swinging (1-2). JOHNSON, C. reached on a fielder's
   choice (1-2); HIESTAND out at second ss to 2b. JOHNSON, C. stole second.
   MOLINA singled through the left side, RBI (1-1); JOHNSON, C. scored.
   NELSON grounded out to 3b (2-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 9
   MUIR to p for BARRETT. Swenson flied out to cf (0-0). Jensen walked
   (3-2). Romney pinch hit for Dimick. Romney singled through the right side
   (0-0); Jensen advanced to second. Romney advanced to second; Jensen
   advanced to third on a balk. Sotelo struck out swinging (1-2). Burgess
   flied out to cf (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

For the first time this season BYU's baseball team will be playing in Utah when it starts a three-game series Thursday against Southern Utah.

All the games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m., in Cedar City and will also be played on Friday and Saturday.

The probable BYU starters on the mound for BYU are Jesse Craig (0-3, 5.62), Patrick Wells (0-2, 10.97) and Brandon Christiansen (1-0, 6.00).

BYU Coach Vance Law juggled his lineup to produce the first victory in nine games in California last Saturday and he looks for continued progress in this series.

"We gave some of our younger players the opportunity and they may get more opportunities," said Law. "This is a big series for us to build confidence through getting some wins.

"Our pitchers' records don't indicate the good performances they have had and we have played reasonably well defensively."

Following the series with SUU, now 5-2, BYU travels next week for a three-game series at Cal-Riverside before returning to open the home season in Provo.

For more information on BYU's baseball team for this week, click on the PDF link at the top of this page.