PROVO -- It took six innings to recapture the lead Tuesday as BYU defeated Utah Valley State, 12-8, in the first of three baseball games between them.

The Cougars, now 11-6 as they start the Mountain West Conference season on Thursday at UNLV, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning. That lead over UVSC, now 5-11, came when Austin Hall drew a base off four straight balls. He then stole second and scored when fellow freshman Steve Parker singled to right field.

UVSC roared back with a six-run third inning which sent Cougar ace Jesse Craig early to the showers. The Wolverines loaded the bases on Craig, then Derrick Thomas hit his 2-1 offering up the middle to clear the bases with two out. Craig loaded the bases again that inning with two more Wolverines scoring to take a 6-1 lead.

Freshman lefty Blaine Howell, who went on to become the winning pitcher in snaring his first decision of the season, relieved Craig. He surrendered a run in the fourth, courtesy of Thomas again, as UVSC went up 7-1 before BYU came alive.

In the bottom of the fourth, Cougar designated hitter Jason Johnson blasted a long ball over the centerfielder, driving in two runs, but slipping in rounding second, so had to forego a sure triple as he scrambled back to the bag for a double.

"It was a 3-1 pitch in a bunt situation, so I was surprised when the coaches signaled a hit and run," said Jason Johnson. "We had a big rally in the dugout and everyone was determined."

Jason Johnson's double made it a 7-3 game with no outs and sent pitcher Bryan Smith packing. J.T. Musso's triple on the next play came off eventual loser Dan Christensen and scored Jason Johnson. Musso was signaled home after rounding third and the throw from right field was on target, but Thomas dropped the ball at the plate and Musso was ruled safe, bring the score to 7-6.

Musso got the scoring going again in the sixth as BYU took the lead. He scored off Leon Johnson's single up the middle.

"Leon slashed in a bunt situation," said BYU Coach Vance Law, citing change of bunt plays by both Johnsons as keys in the victory in front of a season-high1,094 fans at Larry H. Miller Field.

Musso walked to lead off the sixth, advanced to second when Danny Vargas' sac bunt put him aboard on an error, causing Christensen to leave the game. Vargas and Leon Johnson were driven in by Hall with the game-winning RBI on his two-run single to left center, making the score 9-7.

Vargas scored the final of BYU's runs in the three-run seventh when he crushed the first homer in six games for the Cougars, off a 2-0 pitch from Ryan Chadwick.

"They scored six runs off one of our best pitchers," said Law. "It was a frustrating evening. I warned our team never to take UVSC lightly. I think we relaxed a bit after the first inning and it put us in the hole. We showed a lot of courage and determination to get back in the game."

Utah Valley State at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar 13, 2007 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Utah Valley State 8 (5-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Tyler Garretson cf.......  4  2  1  0   1  0  2  0   0
Adam Openshaw 1b.........  3  0  0  0   1  0  8  2   0
Dan Bulow dh.............  3  1  0  0   2  1  0  0   1
Derrick Thomas c.........  4  2  1  4   1  0  6  2   0
Eli Slesk ss.............  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  2   2
Jace Brinkerhoff 3b......  4  1  2  1   0  1  3  2   0
Austin Heaps lf..........  4  0  3  2   0  1  0  0   1
Dick Bargewell rf........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  1   2
 Scott Croshaw rf........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Keiki Albino 2b..........  4  1  1  0   0  1  2  3   0
Bryan Smith p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
 Dan Christensen p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ryan Chadwick p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Turreal Moore p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 34  8  9  7   5  5 24 13   6
Brigham Young Univ. 12 (11-6)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon cf.........  5  1  3  1   0  0  3  0   0
HALL, Austin 2b..........  2  1  1  2   2  1  1  1   0
 BILLS, Thomas ph/1b.....  1  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   1
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  5  0  1  1   0  3  1  3   1
NAKAYAMA, Apana lf.......  4  1  0  0   1  0  2  0   2
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  3  2  1  1   2  0  0  0   1
KO, Kasey 1b.............  2  2  1  1   2  0  8  1   0
 WALTON, Kent pr/2b......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 JOHNSON, Chris ph/2b....  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
JOHNSON, Jason dh........  2  1  1  2   0  1  0  0   0
 FANNING, Collin ph......  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  3  2  1  1   1  1  5  1   0
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  2  2  1  2   0  0  3  5   0
CRAIG, Jesse p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOWELL, Blaine p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 PEREZ, Jacob p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32 12 11 11   8  6 27 13   6
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Utah Valley State... 006 100 100 -  8  9  4
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 503 30X - 12 11  1
-------------------------------------------
E - Garretson; Openshaw; Thomas; Christensen; CLUFF. DP - Wolverines 1; BYU
Cougars 1. LOB - Wolverines 6; BYU Cougars 6. 2B - Thomas; Albino; JOHNSON,
L.(2); CLUFF(2); JOHNSON, J.(2). 3B - MUSSO(1). HR - VARGAS(2). HBP -
Openshaw; Slesk; VARGAS. SH - VARGAS. SB - Garretson; Openshaw; JOHNSON,
L.(11); HALL(2); CLUFF(3). CS - Heaps; HALL; FANNING.
Utah Valley State      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Bryan Smith.........  3.0  3  5  5  4  3 12 16
Dan Christensen.....  2.0  4  4  2  2  2  8 12
Ryan Chadwick.......  1.2  4  3  3  1  1  8  9
Turreal Moore.......  1.1  0  0  0  1  0  4  5
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CRAIG, Jesse........  2.2  5  6  5  2  1 13 16
HOWELL, Blaine......  3.1  2  1  1  2  2 11 14
PEREZ, Jacob........  2.0  2  1  1  1  1  7  8
MICHON, Brandon.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Win - HOWELL (1-0).  Loss - Christensen (1-2).  Save - None.
WP - Smith. HBP - by CRAIG (Slesk); by Christensen (VARGAS); by HOWELL
(Openshaw). BK - Smith.
Umpires - HP: Blake Jensen  1B: Lew Carleton  3B: Jon Clark
Start: 5:04 pm   Time: 3:21   Attendance: 1094
Smith faced 4 batters in the 4th.
Christensen faced 3 batters in the 6th.
Utah Valley State starters: 1/cf Garretson; 12/1b Openshaw; 21/dh Bulow; 17/c
Thomas; 2/ss Slesk; 10/3b Brinkerhoff; 19/lf Heaps; 6/rf Bargewell; 5/2b Albino;
22/p Smith;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 14/cf JOHNSON, L.; 18/2b HALL; 5/3b PARKER; 24/lf
NAKAYAMA; 8/rf CLUFF; 22/1b KO; 7/dh JOHNSON, J.; 10/c MUSSO; 13/ss VARGAS; 35/p
CRAIG;
Utah Valley State 1st - Garretson grounded out to 3b. Openshaw flied out to
lf. Bulow grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, L. flied out to cf. HALL walked. HALL
stole second. PARKER singled through the right side, RBI; HALL scored. PARKER
advanced to second on a balk. NAKAYAMA out at first 1b to p; PARKER advanced to
third. CLUFF grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 2nd - Thomas flied out to cf. Slesk grounded out to ss.
Brinkerhoff singled up the middle. Heaps struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - KO grounded out to 2b. JOHNSON, J. struck out
looking. MUSSO struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 3rd - Bargewell grounded out to ss. Albino doubled down the
rf line. Garretson walked. Openshaw flied out to lf. Bulow walked; Garretson
advanced to second; Albino advanced to third. Thomas doubled to right center, 3 RBI;
Bulow scored; Garretson scored; Albino scored. Slesk hit by pitch. Brinkerhoff
singled to right field, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf, RBI; Slesk
scored; Thomas scored. Heaps singled up the middle, RBI; Brinkerhoff scored,
unearned. HOWELL to p for CRAIG. Bargewell struck out swinging. 6 runs, 4 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - VARGAS grounded out to ss. JOHNSON, L. out at first
1b to p. HALL walked. PARKER struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Utah Valley State 4th - Albino struck out swinging. Garretson singled, bunt.
Openshaw walked; Garretson advanced to second. Openshaw stole second; Garretson
stole third. Bulow walked. Thomas reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Bulow out at
second 1b to ss; Openshaw advanced to third; Garretson scored. Slesk popped up to
2b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - NAKAYAMA walked. NAKAYAMA advanced to second on a
wild pitch. CLUFF doubled to left field, RBI; NAKAYAMA scored. KO walked. JOHNSON,
J. doubled to center field, 2 RBI; KO scored; CLUFF scored. Christensen to p for
Smith. MUSSO tripled to right field, scored on a fielding error by c, RBI, unearned;
JOHNSON, J. scored. VARGAS hit by pitch. JOHNSON, L. singled to left field; VARGAS
advanced to second. HALL struck out swinging. JOHNSON, L. advanced to second; VARGAS
advanced to third on a throwing error by p. PARKER struck out swinging. NAKAYAMA
flied out to cf. 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah Valley State 5th - Brinkerhoff grounded out to 1b unassisted. Heaps
singled to right field. Bargewell grounded into double play p to ss to 1b; Heaps out
on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - CLUFF popped up to 2b. KO walked. FANNING pinch hit
for JOHNSON, J.. FANNING singled to right field, advanced to second; KO advanced to
second, out at third rf to 3b. FANNING out at third c to 3b, caught stealing. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 6th - Albino grounded out to 2b. Garretson flied out to cf.
Openshaw hit by pitch. Bulow grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - MUSSO walked. VARGAS reached on a fielding error by
1b, SAC, bunt; MUSSO advanced to second. JOHNSON, L. singled up the middle, RBI;
VARGAS advanced to third; MUSSO scored. Chadwick to p for Christensen. JOHNSON, L.
stole second. HALL singled to left field, 2 RBI; JOHNSON, L. scored; VARGAS scored,
unearned. PARKER struck out swinging; HALL out at second c to ss, caught stealing.
NAKAYAMA grounded out to 2b. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 7th - PEREZ to p for HOWELL. Thomas walked. Slesk singled
to right center; Thomas advanced to third. Brinkerhoff struck out swinging. Heaps
singled to right field, RBI; Slesk advanced to second; Thomas scored. Heaps out at
second c to ss, caught stealing; Slesk advanced to third. Bargewell flied out to cf.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - Croshaw to rf for Bargewell. CLUFF walked. CLUFF
stole second. KO singled to center field, advanced to second on a fielding error by
cf, RBI; CLUFF scored. FANNING grounded out to 2b; KO advanced to third. MUSSO
grounded out to 3b. VARGAS homered to left field, 2 RBI; KO scored. JOHNSON, L.
doubled to right center. Moore, T to p for Chadwick. BILLS pinch hit for HALL. BILLS
grounded out to p. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 8th - WALTON pinch ran for KO. BILLS to 1b. WALTON to 2b.
Albino grounded out to ss. Garretson grounded out to 2b. Openshaw popped up to 2b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - PARKER grounded out to ss. NAKAYAMA fouled out to
3b. CLUFF walked. JOHNSON, C. pinch hit for WALTON. JOHNSON, C. reached on a
fielder's choice; CLUFF out at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Utah Valley State 9th - JOHNSON, C. to 2b. MICHON to p for PEREZ. Bulow
struck out swinging. Thomas popped up to 3b. Slesk grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Senior righthander Jesse Craig is scheduled to start for BYU on Tuesday as it hosts Utah Valley State in a baseball game at 5 p.m.

Craig, who brings a 2-2 record with a 3.69 ERA into the game, is scheduled to also pitch later in the week when the Cougars travel to his hometown to play at UNLV.

The Cougars bring a 10-6 record into Tuesday's contest, while UVSC is 5-10.

This is the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. The Wolverines host the game on May 1 in Orem and the Cougars host the May 15 date in Provo.

BYU holds a 7-2 advantage in the series, having won three of four games against UVSC last season. The Wolverines won game three of the series last season, 13-6, in Orem, but have never won at Larry H. Miller Field.

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