PROVO -- Jeff Hiestand led a 12-hit offensive assault by BYU as it defeated New Mexico State 10-3 Friday after a two-hour rain delay made for a late start.

Hiestand went 3-for-4 on the soggy evening as he drove in three of the Cougars' 10 runs. So far the NMSU series has been good for the slugger, who has struggled this season to match his plate production of 2005. In the series Hiestand is 4-for-7 with four RBI.

Pitching was once again no problem for the Cougars as right-handed starter Jesse Craig (1-5, 3.82) went six innings while allowing no runs on three hits and walked just two. He helped BYU improve its record to 6-12, while the Aggies fell to 10-15.

Craig finally got the run support that he has lacked previous to this game. Craig improved his team-leading strikeout count to 32 on the season. Cougar relievers combined for three runs in three innings to hold on to the lead and give the Cougars their second win in as many games and guarantee a series win.

BYU sent 48 batters to the plate against six different Aggie pitchers while collecting 12 hits and 11 walks.

The Cougars used 17 different batters in the game, allowing some of the younger players some valuable experience on the field and at the plate.

Austin Carter led off the game with a bunt right down the first base line for a hit. After moving over to third on an out by Marcos Villezcas, Carter scored on an RBI double to center by Hiestand, putting the Cougars up early 1-0 in the bottom of the first. The bunt set the tone for the next few innings as BYU stole five bases while scoring five runs.

With BYU leading, Craig got into a jam in the top of the third with two runners on and one out but the Cougars turned another double play, this one of the one-six-three variety, to end the inning. The Cougars have turned 16 double plays this year with Villezcas in the middle of 14 of them.

The Cougars broke the game wide open in the bottom of the third as they scored four runs. Leading off, Kent Walton reached on a fielding error by Aggie shortstop Abe Aguirre before stealing second, the Cougars's second of the night. Villezcas then drew a walk on a full count to bring up Hiestand with no outs.

Down in the count 1-2, Hiestand smoked a two-run triple down the right field line to put the Cougars up 3-0 with no outs. He then scored from third on a sac fly by center fielder Andrian Molina.

After Blake Crosby walked, Casey Nelson poked single into shallow right, scoring Ben Saylor from third to put the Cougars up 5-0 before being retired.

BYU wrecked havoc on the basepaths all night against the Aggies' pitchers, stealing five bases and drawing multiple thrown from the mound. In the third alone BYU stole three bases, including two coming from Saylor.

Craig had NMSU hitters on edge all night as he got a couple of right handers to chase some nasty sliders for his fifth and sixth strikeouts in the top of the fifth. He continued to stymie the hitters as he pitched through the sixth without allowing any runs and striking out his seventh batter.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Cougars loaded up the bases again and collected to runs off of walks when Aggie pitchers combined for five walks.

The Cougars managed to get at least one runner on base in each of the innings they batted, including batting through the order in the bottom of the third. They were never retired in order by the Aggies.

BYU put the game thoroughly out of reach as they scored runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings. Freshman Dane Nielsen collected his first collegiate hit and RBI in the eighth on a deep double off the center field wall.

The Aggies made some noise of their own in the top of the eighth as they scored three runs on four hits off of Cougar reliever Anthony Bingham before being retired, but it wasn't enough as Bingham struck out three in the inning to end any threat.

BYU and NMSU will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. for the final game of the three game series at Larry H. Miller Park.

New Mexico State U. at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar. 17,2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
New Mexico State U. 3 (10-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Rodden, Vince cf.........  3  0  1  0   0  0  3  0   0
 Vincent, Joey ph/cf.....  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Aguirre, Abe ss..........  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  3   1
 Uhl, Jeremy ph/ss.......  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   3
Hopkins, Luke 1b.........  3  0  1  0   0  1  6  1   0
 Rodriguez, Jason rf.....  2  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   0
Harvey, Adam c...........  3  0  1  0   0  2  2  0   0
 Quade, Marcus c.........  2  1  1  0   0  0  0  1   1
Maytubby, Derek dh.......  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
Long, Jason 2b...........  3  1  1  0   0  1  0  3   0
Fields, Patrick lf.......  4  1  1  1   0  3  3  0   1
Montgomery, Mark rf/1b...  2  0  1  2   2  1  6  0   0
Godinez, Joseph 3b.......  3  0  0  0   1  2  0  1   2
Smith, Dillon p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Askew, Bennett p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Vanham, Riley p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Romo, Beto p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Brown, Dustin p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Andarakes, Jeremy p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 35  3  8  3   3 13 24  9  10
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (6-12)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Austin dh........  3  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   4
 NIELSEN, Dane ph........  2  0  1  1   1  0  0  0   1
WALTON, Kent lf..........  3  1  1  1   1  1  1  0   0
 WORTHAM, Jake ph/lf.....  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  3  1  0  1   2  0  3  3   0
 VARGAS, Daniel ss.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  1  3  3   0  0  6  0   3
 KO, Kasey ph/1b.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  3  2  1  0   1  0  1  0   2
 VAUGHN, John ph/rf......  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  2  0  0  1   0  1  0  0   0
 JOHNSON, Seth ph/cf.....  0  1  0  0   2  0  1  0   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  1  1  1  0   2  0  0  1   0
 JOHNSON, Chris 3b.......  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
NELSON, Casey c..........  4  2  2  1   1  0 13  0   0
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  2  0  0  0   1  0  1  1   0
 JOHNSON, Jason 2b.......  2  0  1  1   0  1  0  1   0
CRAIG, Jesse p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 WOOLF, Mitch p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BINGHAM, Anthony p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARNES, Clayton p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35 10 12  9  11  3 27  9  14
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U.. 000 000 030 -  3  8  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 104 022 01X - 10 12  2
-------------------------------------------
E - Aguirre; Montgomery; JOHNSON, C.; CRAIG. DP - NMS Aggies 1; BYU Cougars
2. LOB - NMS Aggies 10; BYU Cougars 14. 2B - Uhl; Fields; NIELSEN; WORTHAM;
HIESTAND 2; NELSON. 3B - HIESTAND. HBP - Vincent; Long; KO. SF - MOLINA. SB
- CARTER; WALTON; SAYLOR 2; CROSBY.
New Mexico State U.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Smith, Dillon.......  2.1  4  5  4  4  2 11 16
Askew, Bennett......  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  3  3
Vanham, Riley.......  1.2  2  2  2  2  0  6  8
Romo, Beto..........  0.1  1  2  1  4  0  2  6
Brown, Dustin.......  1.0  2  0  0  0  0  5  5
Andarakes, Jeremy...  2.0  2  1  1  1  1  8 10
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CRAIG, Jesse........  6.0  3  0  0  2  7 21 23
WOOLF, Mitch........  1.0  0  0  0  1  2  3  6
BINGHAM, Anthony....  1.0  4  3  3  0  3  7  7
BARNES, Clayton.....  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  4  4
Win - CRAIG (1-5).  Loss - Smith, D (2-3).  Save - None.
HBP - by WOOLF (Long); by WOOLF (Vincent); by Andarakes (KO).
Umpires - HP: Al White  1B: Randy Upton  3B: Bradley Hungerford
Start: 9:03 pm   Time: 3:35   Attendance: 455
Game notes:
Game 2 of 3
Romo faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Brown faced 1 batter in the 7th.
New Mexico State U. at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Mar. 17,2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U.. 000 000 030 -  3  8  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 104 022 01X - 10 12  2
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U. starters: 1/cf Rodden; 7/ss Aguirre; 8/1b Hopkins; 17/c Harvey;
34/dh Maytubby; 4/2b Long; 11/lf Fields; 26/rf Montgomery; 18/3b Godinez; 35/p
Smith, D;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 6/dh CARTER; 9/lf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 32/1b
HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 1/cf MOLINA; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 35/p
CRAIG;
New Mexico State U. 1st - Rodden singled down the lf line. Aguirre grounded
into double play ss to 1b; Rodden out on the play. Hopkins struck out looking. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - CARTER singled, bunt. CARTER stole second. WALTON
struck out looking. VILLEZCAS grounded out to 2b; CARTER advanced to third. HIESTAND
doubled to right center, RBI; CARTER scored. SAYLOR flied out to cf. 1 run, 2
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 2nd - Harvey singled up the middle. Maytubby flied out to
rf. Long grounded out to 2b; Harvey advanced to second. Fields struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - MOLINA struck out swinging. CROSBY singled to right
field. CROSBY stole second. NELSON grounded out to ss. BANKS walked. CARTER out at
first 1b to p, bunt. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 3rd - Montgomery struck out looking. Godinez walked.
Rodden reached on a throwing error by p; Godinez advanced to second. Aguirre
grounded into double play p to ss to 1b; Rodden out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits,
1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - WALTON reached on a fielding error by ss. WALTON
stole second. VILLEZCAS walked. HIESTAND tripled down the rf line, 2 RBI; VILLEZCAS
scored; WALTON scored, unearned. SAYLOR walked. MOLINA flied out to lf, SF, RBI;
HIESTAND scored. SAYLOR stole second. CROSBY walked; SAYLOR stole third. Askew to p
for Smith, D. NELSON singled to center field, RBI; CROSBY advanced to second; SAYLOR
scored. BANKS flied out to rf; CROSBY advanced to third. CARTER grounded out to 2b.
4 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 4th - Hopkins flied out to lf. Harvey struck out
swinging. Maytubby grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - Vanham to p for Askew. WALTON singled to right
field. VILLEZCAS grounded into double play ss to 1b; WALTON out on the play.
HIESTAND doubled to left field. SAYLOR flied out to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 5th - Long struck out looking. Fields struck out
swinging. Montgomery walked. Godinez reached on a fielder's choice; Montgomery out
at second 3b to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - MOLINA grounded out to 1b unassisted. CROSBY
walked. NELSON walked; CROSBY advanced to second. BANKS grounded out to ss; NELSON
advanced to second; CROSBY advanced to third. Romo to p for Vanham. NIELSEN pinch
hit for CARTER. NIELSEN walked. WALTON walked, RBI; NIELSEN advanced to second;
NELSON advanced to third; CROSBY scored. VILLEZCAS walked, RBI; WALTON advanced to
second; NIELSEN advanced to third; NELSON scored. HIESTAND flied out to rf. 2
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 6th - JOHNSON, C. to 3b for CROSBY. JOHNSON, J. to 2b for
BANKS. Rodden grounded out to ss. Aguirre reached on a fielding error by 3b. Hopkins
singled up the middle; Aguirre advanced to second. Harvey struck out swinging.
Maytubby grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - SAYLOR singled up the middle. JOHNSON, S. pinch hit
for MOLINA. JOHNSON, S. walked; SAYLOR advanced to second. Brown to p for Romo.
JOHNSON, C. flied out to cf. NELSON flied out to lf. JOHNSON, J. singled to right
field, advanced to second on a fielding error by rf, advanced to third, RBI;
JOHNSON, S. scored, unearned; SAYLOR scored. NIELSEN flied out to rf. 2 runs, 2
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 7th - JOHNSON, S. to cf. WOOLF to p for CRAIG. Long hit
by pitch. Fields struck out looking. Montgomery walked; Long advanced to second.
Godinez struck out looking. Vincent pinch hit for Rodden. Vincent hit by pitch;
Montgomery advanced to second; Long advanced to third. Uhl pinch hit for Aguirre.
Uhl reached on a fielder's choice; Vincent out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - Vincent to cf. Uhl to ss. Rodriguez to rf for
Hopkins. Quade to c for Harvey. Montgomery to 1b. WORTHAM pinch hit for WALTON.
WORTHAM doubled to center field. Andarakes to p for Brown. VILLEZCAS flied out to
rf. KO pinch hit for HIESTAND. KO hit by pitch. VAUGHN pinch hit for SAYLOR. VAUGHN
grounded out to 3b; KO advanced to second; WORTHAM advanced to third. JOHNSON, S.
walked. JOHNSON, C. grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 8th - WORTHAM to lf. VARGAS to ss for VILLEZCAS. KO to
1b. VAUGHN to rf. BINGHAM to p for WOOLF. Rodriguez struck out looking. Quade
singled to right field. Maytubby struck out swinging. Long singled to right field;
Quade advanced to second. Fields doubled down the rf line, RBI; Long advanced to
third; Quade scored. Montgomery singled to left field, 2 RBI; Fields scored; Long
scored. Godinez struck out looking. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - NELSON doubled to center field. JOHNSON, J. struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b; NELSON advanced to third. NIELSEN doubled to
left field, RBI; NELSON scored. WORTHAM flied out to lf. VARGAS fouled out to p.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 9th - BARNES to p for BINGHAM. Vincent flied out to rf.
Uhl doubled to right field. Rodriguez struck out swinging. Quade flied out to cf.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

After 15 games on the road, BYU baseball begins its home season Tuesday in a rare non-league game against Utah at Larry H. Miller Field.

This is the first of four games on tap this week for the Cougars who seek to improve on a 4-11 record. A BYU win in any of the four games this week would give Cougar Coach Vance Law his 200th victory in his seventh season at the helm.

The Utes bring a 7-8 record into Tuesday's 6 p.m. game where Cougar righthander Matt Jensen (0-2, 9.82) is scheduled to start on the mound. Admission is now free to the BYU-Utah game.

All four games this week will be broadcast live on KOVO Radio (960 AM) with Brent Norton calling the play by play.

Following the game with the Utes, BYU then hosts New Mexico State, 10-12, in non-conference games Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m., and again on Saturday at 1 p.m.

BYU's probable pitching rotation for the New Mexico State series is Patrick Wells (1-3, 6.53), Jesse Craig (0-5, 4.60) and Brandon Christiansen (3-0, 3.68).

"We are looking forward to playing in a more comfortable environment," said Law of BYU's 67-25 (.728) record in five years at Miller Park. "Now that we are at home it gives our players more class time, too."

Following this week's games, BYU hosts four more games next week before traveling to San Diego for a mid-season league tournament the end of the month.

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