PROVO -- Eighteen BYU hits weren't enough to beat Northern Colorado as UNC got a first inning home run and never looked back Saturday in 11-7 Cougar loss.

"We got off to a rocky start today and never could catch up," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We had 18 hits and that's normally enough."

All-conference player Jeff Hiestand, who has struggled while batting just .190 so far this season, broke out offensively in the game as he batted 2-for-5 with a double and a home run.

Casey Nelson also added his second home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth as he hit 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, but it was too little too late for the Cougars who allowed 14 hits. With the loss BYU moves to 9-14 on the season while UNC improves to 8-16.

Coach Law said that key to the Bears' success was the Cougar pitchers' lack of control. "We didn't have command of the strike zone," said Coach Law. The Cougars walked eight batters and hit three.

Looking to make up for yesterday's loss, former Utah Ute Seth Tartler hit a lead-off home run to left center and UNC added two more runs to give the Bears a first-inning 3-0 lead.

The second inning didn't look any better for the Cougars as starter Brandon Christiansen (3-1, 5.60) let in two more runs before being relieved by Jordan Muir. One more run put the Bears up 6-0 after two. Christiansen went only one and two-thirds innings while collecting up the loss.

"He's been one of our best pitchers this year," said Coach Law on Christiansen's performance. "It just wasn't his day today. His breaking ball was just rolling, it wasn't effective."

BYU had an answer for the Bears in the bottom of the second in the form of two runs on five singles to close the scoring gap to 6-2.

In the fifth UNC added two runs to distance itself from BYU 8-3. With two runners on, lefty Chris Highmark came in looking to provide some relief for the Cougars with two outs, but three runs off of two doubles put the Bears up 11-3. Highmark saw the majority of the innings for BYU, going three and two-thirds innings and allowing just one run while striking out three.

BYU put two runners on in the bottom of the fifth before Stetson Banks singled to score Blake Crosby from second base. They weren't able to score any more and the score was 11-4 after five full.

In the sixth and seventh innings Highmark retired the side in order as he settled into a groove.

Leading off in the bottom of the seventh, Marcos Villezcas single sharply into right with no outs. Next up Chris Johnson, pinching hitting in the number six spot in the lineup, walked to put two runners on base before the Bears brought in Evan Linn to relieve Eric Maydew. Maydew did end up with the win as he pitched four innings while allowing three runs on five hits while striking out three and walking one.

Pinch-hitting right-handed, against the southpaw Linn, switch-hitting Kasey Ko poked an RBI single through the left side to score Villezcas before Casey Nelson singled to center to score Chris Johnson from second and make the score 11-6.

Speaking on the progress his team has made so far this season Coach Law said, "I'm never satisfied with where we're at, but guys are playing hard. Guys are starting to feel more comfortable. We have a lot of guys who play with a high level of intensity."

BYU travels to San Diego to play in the first-ever mid-season Mountain West Conference tournament Wednesday through Saturday. The Cougars will play four games, one each against UNLV, TCU, Utah and New Mexico.

Univ. No. Colorado at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar 25, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Univ. No. Colorado 11 (9-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Seth Tartler cf..........  6  2  3  1   0  1  1  0   1
Zach Brockman lf.........  6  2  2  0   0  1  1  0   1
Brennan Garr 3b..........  5  2  1  0   1  1  1  0   0
Zach Harris dh...........  5  3  3  4   1  0  0  0   0
Devin Warner rf..........  4  0  1  1   1  0  5  0   0
Kevin Sandberg 1b........  3  1  2  3   2  1  9  0   0
Adam Symons ss...........  3  0  2  2   1  0  3  5   1
John Ray c...............  3  0  0  0   1  1  6  2   3
Chad Clark 2b............  3  1  0  0   1  0  1  1   5
Matt Collins p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Eric Maydew p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Evan Linn p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Tyler Pearson p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38 11 14 11   8  5 27  9  11
Brigham Young Univ. 7 (8-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Seth cf.........  6  0  2  0   0  1  4  0   2
WALTON, Kent lf..........  4  0  0  1   1  1  0  1   2
 CARTER, Austin ph.......  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  6  0  2  0   0  2  5  0   5
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  5  1  2  1   0  1  7  0   2
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  1  2  0   1  1  3  5   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  2  1  1  0   1  0  1  0   0
 JOHNSON, Chris 3b.......  1  1  0  0   1  1  0  1   1
BARNES, Clayton dh.......  3  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KO, Kasey ph............  2  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
NELSON, Casey c..........  5  2  3  2   0  0  6  1   0
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  5  0  2  2   0  1  1  3   2
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p...  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BINGHAM, Anthony p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HIGHMARK, Chris p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ANDREWS, Cortland p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 44  7 18  7   4  8 27 11  14
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Univ. No. Colorado.. 330 050 000 - 11 14  0
Brigham Young Univ.. 021 010 201 -  7 18  1
-------------------------------------------
E - HIESTAND. DP - UNC Bears 1; BYU Cougars 2. LOB - UNC Bears 11; BYU
Cougars 14. 2B - Garr; Sandberg; Symons; HIESTAND. 3B - Tartler. HR -
Tartler(1); HIESTAND(1); NELSON(2). HBP - Symons; Ray; Clark.
Univ. No. Colorado     IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Matt Collins........  2.0  7  3  3  3  1 12 15
Eric Maydew.........  4.0  5  3  3  1  3 17 18
Evan Linn...........  0.1  2  0  0  0  1  3  3
Tyler Pearson.......  2.2  4  1  1  0  3 12 12
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon  1.1  6  6  6  2  0 10 13
MUIR, Jordan........  2.1  3  0  0  3  1  8 12
BINGHAM, Anthony....  0.2  2  4  2  2  1  4  6
HIGHMARK, Chris.....  3.2  3  1  0  1  3 13 15
ANDREWS, Cortland...  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  3  3
Win - Maydew (1-4).  Loss - CHRISTIANSEN (3-1).  Save - None.
HBP - by CHRISTIANSEN (Symons); by MUIR (Ray); by HIGHMARK (Clark).
Umpires - HP: Randy Upton  1B: Jeff Richardson  3B: Blyden Loutensock
Start: 1:11 pm   Time: 3:34   Attendance: 1429
Collins faced 3 batters in the 3rd.
Maydew faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Univ. No. Colorado at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Mar 25, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Univ. No. Colorado.. 330 050 000 - 11 14  0
Brigham Young Univ.. 021 010 201 -  7 18  1
-------------------------------------------
Univ. No. Colorado starters: 18/cf Tartler; 7/lf Brockman; 8/3b Garr; 22/dh Harris;
23/rf Warner; 28/1b Sandberg; 3/ss Symons; 5/c Ray; 6/2b Clark; 19/p Collins;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 26/cf JOHNSON, S.; 9/lf WALTON; 25/rf SAYLOR; 32/1b
HIESTAND; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 30/3b CROSBY; 11/dh BARNES; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 31/p
CHRISTIANSEN;
Univ. No. Colorado 1st - Tartler homered to left field, RBI. Brockman singled
to second base. Garr flied out to cf. Harris walked; Brockman advanced to second.
Warner singled to right field, RBI; Harris advanced to second; Brockman scored.
Sandberg walked; Warner advanced to second; Harris advanced to third. Symons hit by
pitch, RBI; Sandberg advanced to second; Warner advanced to third; Harris scored.
Ray popped up to ss. Clark reached on a fielder's choice; Symons advanced to second;
Sandberg out at third 3b unassisted. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, S. struck out swinging, out at first c to
1b. WALTON flied out to rf. SAYLOR singled up the middle. HIESTAND reached on a
fielder's choice; SAYLOR out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 2nd - Tartler singled through the left side. Brockman
flied out to rf. Garr doubled to right field; Tartler advanced to third. Harris
singled to left field, 2 RBI; Garr scored; Tartler scored. MUIR to p for
CHRISTIANSEN. Warner walked; Harris advanced to second. Sandberg singled to left
field, RBI; Warner advanced to second, out at second lf to c to ss; Harris scored.
Symons flied out to cf. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - VILLEZCAS singled to right field. CROSBY grounded
into double play ss to 1b; VILLEZCAS out on the play. BARNES singled to left field.
NELSON singled to right field; BARNES advanced to second. BANKS singled through the
left side, RBI; NELSON advanced to second; BARNES scored. JOHNSON, S. singled to
pitcher; BANKS advanced to second; NELSON advanced to third. WALTON walked, RBI;
JOHNSON, S. advanced to second; BANKS advanced to third; NELSON scored. SAYLOR
grounded out to 2b. 2 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 3rd - Ray hit by pitch. Clark grounded into double play 2b
to ss to 1b; Ray out on the play. Tartler tripled to right field. Brockman struck
out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - HIESTAND homered to left field, RBI. VILLEZCAS
walked. CROSBY walked; VILLEZCAS advanced to second. Maydew to p for Collins. BARNES
flied out to lf. NELSON flied out to ss. BANKS flied out to rf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 4th - Garr grounded out to ss. Harris singled to right
center. Warner flied out to cf. Sandberg walked; Harris advanced to second. Symons
walked; Sandberg advanced to second; Harris advanced to third. BINGHAM to p for
MUIR. Ray struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - JOHNSON, S. fouled out to 3b. WALTON flied out to
rf. SAYLOR singled to right field. HIESTAND struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 5th - Clark walked. Tartler flied out to rf. Brockman
singled, bunt; Clark advanced to second. Garr walked; Brockman advanced to second;
Clark advanced to third. Harris singled up the middle, 2 RBI; Garr advanced to
second; Brockman scored; Clark scored. HIGHMARK to p for BINGHAM. Warner flied out
to rf. Dropped foul ball, E3. Sandberg doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI; Harris
scored, unearned; Garr scored, unearned. Symons doubled to left center, RBI;
Sandberg scored, unearned. Ray walked. Clark grounded out to 2b. 5 runs, 4 hits,
1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - VILLEZCAS struck out looking. CROSBY singled to
shortstop. BARNES singled up the middle; CROSBY advanced to second. NELSON fouled
out to 1b. BANKS singled up the middle, RBI; BARNES advanced to second; CROSBY
scored. JOHNSON, S. grounded out to p. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 6th - JOHNSON, C. to 3b for CROSBY. Tartler grounded out
to ss. Brockman flied out to rf. Garr struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - WALTON grounded out to ss. SAYLOR struck out
swinging. HIESTAND flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 7th - Harris grounded out to ss. Warner flied out to cf.
Sandberg struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - VILLEZCAS singled to right field. JOHNSON, C.
walked; VILLEZCAS advanced to second. Linn to p for Maydew. KO pinch hit for BARNES.
KO singled to left field, RBI; JOHNSON, C. advanced to second; VILLEZCAS scored.
NELSON singled to center field, RBI; KO advanced to second; JOHNSON, C. scored.
BANKS struck out swinging. Pearson to p for Linn. JOHNSON, S. flied out to rf.
WALTON struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 8th - Symons singled up the middle. Ray grounded into
double play 3b to 2b to 1b; Symons out on the play. Clark hit by pitch. Tartler
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - SAYLOR flied out to rf. HIESTAND doubled to left
field. VILLEZCAS grounded out to ss; HIESTAND advanced to third. JOHNSON, C. struck
out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. No. Colorado 9th - ANDREWS to p for HIGHMARK. Brockman grounded out to
ss. Garr flied out to rf. Harris fouled out to c. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - KO lined out to ss. NELSON homered to left field,
RBI. BANKS grounded out to ss. JOHNSON, S. singled up the middle. CARTER pinch hit
for WALTON. CARTER singled through the right side; JOHNSON, S. advanced to second.
SAYLOR struck out looking. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

A rematch Tuesday between BYU and Southern Utah has been rescheduled until Wednesday at 3 p.m., due to snow and a wet field at Miller Park.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday evening and will be the first meeting between the two baseball teams in Provo this season.

BYU, 7-12 overall, hosts Southern Utah, 9-6, with the Cougars holding a 2-1 advantage from games earlier this month in Cedar City.

"They are a much improved team and have a couple of pitchers who can give us fits," said BYU Coach Vance Law.

While BYU's pitcher is unannounced for Tuesday, the Cougars will use their regular rotation later in the week when Northern Colorado, 7-14, starts a three-game series on Thursday. Patrick Wells (2-3, 5.27) and Jesse Craig (1-5, 3.82) will take the mound in the 7 p.m. games on Thursday and Friday. Brandon Christiansen (3-0, 4.24) is schedule to pitch on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Cougars have won seven of their last 11 games and gave Law his 200th victory last week. None of this week's games will be broadcast over KOVO Radio, but all will be carried live via the CSTV video link on byucougars.com.

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