SALT LAKE -- Jeff Hiestand crushed two home runs Thursday to give BYU an 8-7 victory over Utah at Franklin Covey Field.

The Cougars, now 28-26, two-games above .500 for the first time this season, rebounded from a 4-0 deficit behind Hiestand's homers to down the Utes, now 27-24 overall and 9-11 in the Mountain West Conference. With the victory, BYU remains in the hunt for second place in the league with a 12-8 record.

Hiestand's first homer came in the fourth and his second off a change-up was the game-winning RBI in the ninth, both lead-off swats.

"His home runs were key," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "His first one helped us take the momentum back away from Utah. He had two huge hits. I am really proud of our team's blue-collar effort."

After going two and two-thirds innings through the Ute lineup, BYU pitcher Jordan Muir started struggling with a walk and a hit batsman. Muir took care of the walk by fielding Tyler Kmetko's attempted sacrifice bunt to throw out Adam Frank at third.

Just when it appeared the third inning was over, Austin Carter got turned around and dropped a fly ball on the left field warning track. That error allowed the Utes to score the first two of four unearned runs. Ensuing hits down the line, a double to left by Jay Brossman and a triple off the right field wall by John Welsh drove in two more runs.

Hiestand hit his 10th homer, a blast to right field to lead off the five-hit fourth. With two outs and two on, BYU returned the favor to Utah, scoring one off Stetson Banks' bloop single to right and another off Carter's stroke to the same field, making it 4-3 Utah.

Ryan Khoury's sac-fly gave the Utes a two-run margin in the fourth.

Ben Saylor extended his hitting streak to five games with a triple to start the fifth off the top of the right field wall. Brossman had difficulty fielding Kasey Ko's slap to first, which scored Saylor to pull the Cougars within one. Blake Crosby then flew into a double play to right, which resulted in a diving catch by Joe Mozeleski. Mozeleski bounced up and threw to second where Ko had failed to tag.

Utah regained it's two-run advantage when lead-off batter Bret Baldwin walked, advanced to third on Brossman's single and scored on a 463 double play in the fifth.

In the sixth, Carter hit a one-out gap triple to right to score Casey Nelson, making it 6-5 Utah. When Marcos Villezcas walked to put men on the corners, it chased Josh Cooper from the mound. Saylor was the first to face Mike McCord and stroked a single to the right side to knot the game six-all, with Cougars still on the corners. Utah escaped with a 363 double play even though Saylor tried to lure a delay coming back to first.

Nelson hit a two-out double to score pinch-runner Dan Vargas in the seventh after McCord was replaced by Brian Lane on the hill. Nelson's double was the 13th hit for the Cougars. Crosby drew a walk off Lane before he was replaced by Vargas, who gave BYU its first lead of the game, 7-6.

Baldwin tied the game with a one-out homer off the left field foul pole in the seventh.

With the score knotted at seven, BYU turned to ace reliever Joshua Barrett in the eighth. He enticed Khoury to foul out to the catcher with two Utes aboard to end the inning.

With a two-two count, Utah lost on a check-swing appeal and Hiestand drilled his second homer of the day, his 11th overall, to right to lead off the ninth. Walton extended his hitting streak to six games with a triple to right with one out. Vargas' hard-liner put Khoury to the turf for the second out to snuff out a possible insurance run.

Barrett then grabbed his third victory of the season, retiring the Utes in the bottom of the ninth.

The two teams are tied 1-1 in league action this season, but Utah has a 2-1 advantage counting the non-conference win last March in Provo and a MWC victory in San Diego at the Preseason Tournament. Both teams play again on Friday and Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Brigham Young Univ. at Univ. of Utah
May 18, 2006 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 8 (28-26,12-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Austin lf........  5  1  2  2   0  0  1  0   0
 JOHNSON, Seth lf........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  0  1  0   1  1  1  3   2
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  5  1  2  1   0  0  5  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  2  2  2   1  1  4  0   1
KO, Kasey dh.............  5  0  0  1   0  0  0  0   2
WALTON, Kent cf..........  5  0  2  0   0  1  3  0   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  3  1  2  0   1  0  1  0   1
 VARGAS, Daniel pr.......  1  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
NELSON, Casey c..........  5  2  3  1   0  0  7  0   1
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  4  0  2  1   0  1  4  2   1
MUIR, Jordan p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BARRETT, Josh p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 41  8 16  8   3  4 27  7   9
Univ. of Utah 7 (27-24,9-11 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KHOURY ss................  3  1  0  1   0  1  4  2   3
KMETKO 2b................  4  1  0  0   0  2  1  5   1
 KING ph.................  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BALDWIN dh...............  4  3  2  1   1  0  0  0   0
BROSSMAN 1b..............  5  1  2  1   0  1 13  2   1
WELSH cf.................  4  0  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
KEMP 3b..................  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  3   1
MOZELESKI rf.............  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
FRANK c..................  2  1  0  0   2  1  2  2   0
SHIMADA lf...............  2  0  1  0   2  1  3  0   0
 TUMMOLO lf..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
COOPER p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 McCORD p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 LANE p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DEVORE p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 32  7  7  4   5  6 27 16   6
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 312 101 -  8 16  1
Univ. of Utah....... 004 110 100 -  7  7  1
-------------------------------------------
E - CARTER(2); BROSSMAN(6). DP - BYU Cougars 1; Utah Utes 2. LOB - BYU
Cougars 9; Utah Utes 6. 2B - NELSON(12); BROSSMAN(16). 3B - CARTER(4);
SAYLOR(2); WALTON(3); WELSH(2). HR - HIESTAND 2(11); BALDWIN(3). HBP -
KHOURY. SH - MOZELESKI(3). SF - KHOURY(2).
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MUIR, Jordan........  7.0  6  7  3  4  5 26 32
BARRETT, Josh.......  2.0  1  0  0  1  1  6  8
Univ. of Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
COOPER..............  5.1 11  6  6  2  4 27 29
McCORD..............  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  3  3
LANE................  0.1  2  1  1  1  0  3  4
DEVORE..............  2.1  2  1  1  0  0  8  8
Win - BARRETT (3-0).  Loss - DEVORE (3-4).  Save - None.
HBP - by MUIR (KHOURY). BK - COOPER(1).
Umpires - HP: Blake Jensen  1B: Kelly Gonzales  3B: Mik Hendrickson
Start: 11:36 am   Time: 2:57   Attendance: 370
Brigham Young Univ. at Univ. of Utah - Play-by-Play
May 18, 2006 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 312 101 -  8 16  1
Univ. of Utah....... 004 110 100 -  7  7  1
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 6/lf CARTER; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR; 32/1b
HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 9/cf WALTON; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 12/p MUIR;
Univ. of Utah starters: 2/ss KHOURY; 29/2b KMETKO; 8/dh BALDWIN; 18/1b BROSSMAN;
1/cf WELSH; 16/3b KEMP; 22/rf MOZELESKI; 10/c FRANK; 3/lf SHIMADA; 27/p COOPER;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - CARTER grounded out to 3b, bunt. VILLEZCAS singled
to center field. SAYLOR popped up to lf. HIESTAND walked; VILLEZCAS advanced to
second. KO flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 1st - KHOURY struck out looking. KMETKO struck out looking.
BALDWIN singled to left center. BROSSMAN reached on a fielder's choice; BALDWIN out
at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - WALTON grounded out to 2b. CROSBY singled to left
field. NELSON flied out to cf. CROSBY advanced to second on a balk. BANKS struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 2nd - WELSH fouled out to 2b. KEMP lined out to rf. MOZELESKI
lined out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - CARTER grounded out to 2b. VILLEZCAS grounded out
to 3b. SAYLOR grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 3rd - FRANK walked. SHIMADA struck out looking. KHOURY hit by
pitch; FRANK advanced to second. KMETKO reached on a fielder's choice, bunt; KHOURY
advanced to second; FRANK out at third p to 3b. BALDWIN reached on an error by lf,
advanced to second; KMETKO scored, unearned; KHOURY scored, unearned. BROSSMAN
doubled down the lf line, RBI; BALDWIN scored, unearned. WELSH tripled down the rf
line, RBI; BROSSMAN scored, unearned. KEMP lined out to cf. 4 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - HIESTAND homered to right field, RBI. KO grounded
out to 2b. WALTON struck out swinging. CROSBY singled to right center. NELSON
singled to left field; CROSBY advanced to second. BANKS singled to right field, RBI;
NELSON advanced to third; CROSBY scored. CARTER singled to right field, RBI; BANKS
advanced to third; NELSON scored. VILLEZCAS struck out swinging. 3 runs, 5 hits,
0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 4th - MOZELESKI flied out to rf. FRANK walked. SHIMADA singled
through the right side; FRANK advanced to third. KHOURY flied out to lf, SF, RBI;
FRANK scored. KMETKO flied out to cf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - SAYLOR tripled to right field. HIESTAND struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b. KO reached on an error by 1b, RBI; SAYLOR scored.
WALTON singled to left field; KO advanced to second. CROSBY lined into double play
rf to ss; KO out on the play. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 5th - BALDWIN walked. BROSSMAN singled to right field; BALDWIN
advanced to third. WELSH grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; BROSSMAN out on
the play; BALDWIN scored. KEMP grounded out to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - NELSON singled to left field. BANKS grounded out to
3b; NELSON advanced to second. CARTER tripled to right center, RBI; NELSON scored.
VILLEZCAS walked. McCORD to p for COOPER. SAYLOR singled through the right side,
RBI; VILLEZCAS advanced to third; CARTER scored. HIESTAND grounded into double play
1b to ss to 1b; SAYLOR out on the play. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 6th - MOZELESKI grounded out to 2b. FRANK struck out swinging.
SHIMADA walked. KHOURY flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - KO lined out to 1b. LANE to p for McCORD. WALTON
grounded out to ss. CROSBY walked. VARGAS pinch ran for CROSBY. NELSON doubled to
left field, RBI; VARGAS scored. BANKS singled to second base; NELSON advanced to
third. DEVORE to p for LANE. BANKS out at second p to 1b to ss, picked off. 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 7th - VARGAS to 3b. KMETKO struck out swinging. BALDWIN homered
down the lf line, RBI. BROSSMAN fouled out to 2b. WELSH lined out to ss. 1 run, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - CARTER flied out to lf. VILLEZCAS grounded out to
2b. SAYLOR flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 8th - BARRETT to p for MUIR. KEMP singled to center field.
MOZELESKI grounded out to p, SAC; KEMP advanced to second. FRANK flied out to rf.
SHIMADA walked. KHOURY popped up to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - TUMMOLO to lf for SHIMADA. HIESTAND homered to
right field, RBI. KO lined out to lf. WALTON tripled to right field. VARGAS lined
out to ss. NELSON popped up to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 9th - JOHNSON, S. to lf for CARTER. KING pinch hit for KMETKO.
KING flied out to rf. BALDWIN lined out to lf. BROSSMAN struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.