Las Vegas (April 5, 2008)--An eight-run seventh inning lifted BYU to a 21-12 victory Saturday over UNLV.

The victory gave BYU the series advantage over the Rebels and improved its overall record to 14-17 and tied the two teams with 5-4 marks in the Mountain West Conference.

Four UNLV pitchers faced BYU in that seventh inning sparked by home runs from Sean McNaughton, a three-run blast; Dan Vargas, a two-run shot; and by doubles from J.T. Musso, Kent Walton and Steve Parker, his second of the day.

Parker also hit a three-run homer in the sixth to boost BYU up 11-6.

"I knew I got it right off the bat," said Parker of that homer. "We battled back each inning and tried to pick away at their lead."

The Rebels started the game scoring three runs in the first inning.

BYU narrowed the gap to 3-1 when Brandon Relf homered to left field in the third. Bryce Ayoso followed with a solo homer in the third, making the score 3-2.

UNLV touched up Cougar starting pitcher Blake Torgerson for three more runs in the fourth.

"I was wondering how we were going to respond after a tough night last night," said BYU coach Vance Law. "We started out slow and sluggish. When we fell behind, I knew six runs wasn't going to beat us."

In a fashion which pleased Coach Vance Law, BYU answered those runs the next

inning. Walton hit a no-out single, advancing to second on the thow as Relf scored, making the score 6-5.

A passed ball in the sixth inning allowed Ayoso to score for the fourth of an eventual six consecutive scoring innings, and Jonathan Cluff scored on a ground out to take the lead for the first time in the game, 7-6. Relf laced a hit to right field to score J.C. Leach and put the Cougars up 8-6.

Next up for BYU is a Tuesday non-conference game in Provo against the University of Utah at 2 p.m.

BYU at UNLV
Apr 05, 2008 at Las Vegas, NV (Earl E. Wilson)
BYU 21 (14-17,5-4 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WALTON, Kent cf..........  6  3  4  1   0  1  4  1   0
MCNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  6  1  1  3   0  1  1  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  6  3  4  4   0  0  0  1   0
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  4  1  1  2   1  0  1  3   1
 HERMOSILLO, Kiko ph/2b..  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
AYOSO, Bryce dh..........  5  2  3  1   0  0  0  0   1
 NACAPOY, Chad dh........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  4  2  3  0   0  0  1  0   0
 BOWEN, Michael ph/rf....  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 WORTHAM, Jake rf........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
LEACH, J.C. 1b...........  3  2  1  1   1  1  8  1   1
 LAW, Andrew pr/dh.......  2  1  0  0   0  0  1  3   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  6  2  2  3   0  0  3  1   1
RELF, Brandon 2b.........  4  4  4  4   0  0  1  1   0
 BILLS, Thomas 1b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  4  1   0
TORGERSON, Blake p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  2   0
 CASTLEBERRY, Nelson p...  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 51 21 24 20   2  4 27 14   5
UNLV 12 (13-15,5-4 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Sferra, J.J. cf..........  5  2  2  0   0  1  3  0   1
 DiMaggio, Joe lf........  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Wight, Jesse rf..........  3  2  1  0   1  0  0  0   2
Scruggs, Xavier 1b.......  5  1  3  5   0  0  9  0   0
Brenly, Michael c........  5  1  1  1   0  0  4  0   0
Walker, Braden 3b........  4  1  1  3   1  0  1  2   0
Thornton, Ryan lf/cf.....  5  1  1  0   0  2  3  0   4
Beuerlein, Drew dh.......  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Morel, Anthony ss........  3  1  2  0   0  0  1  1   0
 Frierson, Jarred ph/ss..  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  2   0
Resnick, Bryan 2b........  4  2  3  3   0  0  4  3   0
Whitsett, Thomas p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Rinaudo, Steve p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Baca, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Goodman, Michael p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Baca, Marc p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Singer, Stephen p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Kretchmer, Kyle p.......  1  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 42 12 16 12   2  4 27  9   7
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 136 820 - 21 24  2
UNLV................ 300 303 003 - 12 16  0
-------------------------------------------
E - VARGAS; CASTLEBERRY. DP - UNLV 1. LOB - BY 5; UNLV 7. 2B - WALTON;
PARKER 2; MUSSO 2. HR - MCNAUGHTON; PARKER; VARGAS; AYOSO; LEACH; RELF;
SCRUGGS, X.; WALKER, B.; RESNICK, B.. SH - Wight, Jesse; RESNICK, B.. SB -
CLUFF 2.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
TORGERSON, Blake....  5.0 12  9  9  2  2 26 30
CASTLEBERRY, Nelson.  4.0  4  3  3  0  2 16 16
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Whitsett, Thomas....  5.0 10  8  8  0  2 25 25
Rinaudo, Steve......  0.2  3  3  3  1  1  5  6
Baca, Justin........  0.1  1  2  2  1  0  2  3
Goodman, Michael....  0.0  3  3  3  0  0  3  3
Baca, Marc..........  0.0  3  3  3  0  0  3  3
Singer, Stephen.....  2.0  4  2  2  0  0 10 10
Kretchmer, Kyle.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Win - TORGERSON (4-2).  Loss - RINAUDO, S. (0-4).  Save - CASTLEBERRY (1).
WP - WHITSETT, T. 2; Baca, Justin; GOODMAN, M.. BK - SINGER, S.. PB - BRENLY,
M..
Umpires - HP: Dan Perugini  1B: Ray Belfiore  3B: Kevin Sweeney
Start: 2:00 pm   Time: 3:22   Attendance: 447
WHITSETT, T. faced 3 batters in the 6th.
TORGERSON faced 3 batters in the 6th.
Baca, Justin faced 2 batters in the 7th.
GOODMAN, M. faced 3 batters in the 7th.
Baca, Marc faced 3 batters in the 7th.
BYU starters: 9/cf WALTON; 15/lf MCNAUGHTON; 5/3b PARKER; 13/ss VARGAS; 11/dh
AYOSO; 8/rf CLUFF; 35/1b LEACH; 10/c MUSSO; 4/2b RELF; 32/p TORGERSON;
UNLV starters: 2/cf Sferra, J.J.; 21/rf Wight, Jesse; 16/1b SCRUGGS, X.; 18/c
BRENLY, M.; 10/3b WALKER, B.; 37/lf THORNTON, R; 9/dh BEUERLEIN, D; 1/ss MOREL,
A.; 35/2b RESNICK, B.; 38/p WHITSETT, T.;
BYU 1st - WALTON struck out looking. MCNAUGHTON grounded out to p.
PARKER flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 1st - Sferra, J.J. singled to left field. Wight, Jesse out at first
1b to p, SAC, bunt; Sferra, J.J. advanced to second. SCRUGGS, X. singled to
right field; Sferra, J.J. advanced to third. BRENLY, M. reached on a fielder's
choice, RBI; SCRUGGS, X. out at second cf to ss; Sferra, J.J. scored. WALKER,
B. homered to center field, 2 RBI; BRENLY, M. scored. THORNTON, R flied out to
cf. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - VARGAS flied out to cf. AYOSO popped up to 2b. CLUFF singled
to left field. CLUFF stole second. LEACH struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - BEUERLEIN, D singled to center field. MOREL, A. singled,
bunt; BEUERLEIN, D advanced to second. RESNICK, B. grounded out to p, SAC,
bunt; MOREL, A. advanced to second; BEUERLEIN, D advanced to third. SFERRA,
J.J. grounded out to 1b unassisted. Wight, Jesse grounded out to p. 0 runs,
2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - MUSSO popped up to 1b. RELF homered to left field, RBI. WALTON
lined out to ss. MCNAUGHTON grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
UNLV 3rd - SCRUGGS, X. flied out to cf. BRENLY, M. flied out to rf.
WALKER, B. reached on a throwing error by ss. THORNTON, R struck out. 0
runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - PARKER singled to left field. VARGAS grounded into double play
3b to 2b to 1b; PARKER out on the play. AYOSO homered to left field, RBI. CLUFF
flied out to cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 4th - BEUERLEIN, D grounded out to p unassisted. MOREL, A. singled
up the middle. RESNICK, B. singled to right field; MOREL, A. advanced to
second. Sferra, J.J. struck out looking. Wight, Jesse walked; RESNICK, B.
advanced to second; MOREL, A. advanced to third. SCRUGGS, X. singled to left
field, 2 RBI; Wight, Jesse advanced to second; RESNICK, B. scored; MOREL, A.
scored. BRENLY, M. singled to left field; SCRUGGS, X. advanced to second;
Wight, Jesse advanced to third. WALKER, B. walked, RBI; BRENLY, M. advanced to
second; SCRUGGS, X. advanced to third; Wight, Jesse scored. THORNTON, R lined
out to 2b. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 5th - LEACH homered to center field, RBI. MUSSO doubled to center
field. RELF singled to left field, RBI; MUSSO scored. RELF advanced to second
on a wild pitch. WALTON singled, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; RELF
scored. MCNAUGHTON popped up to 2b. PARKER popped up to lf. VARGAS popped up to
2b. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 5th - BEUERLEIN, D grounded out to 2b. MOREL, A. flied out to cf.
RESNICK, B. grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 6th - AYOSO singled to right field. AYOSO advanced to second on a
wild pitch. CLUFF singled to center field. LEACH reached on a fielder's choice;
CLUFF advanced to second; AYOSO advanced to third. RINAUDO, S. to p for
WHITSETT, T.. LEACH advanced to second; CLUFF advanced to third; AYOSO scored
on a passed ball. MUSSO grounded out to ss, RBI; LEACH advanced to third; CLUFF
scored. RELF singled to center field, RBI; LEACH scored. WALTON singled; RELF
advanced to second. MCNAUGHTON struck out. PARKER homered to right field, 3
RBI; WALTON scored; RELF scored. VARGAS walked. Baca, Justin to p for RINAUDO,
S.. AYOSO grounded out to 3b. 6 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 6th - Sferra, J.J. singled to shortstop. Wight, Jesse singled to
center field; Sferra, J.J. advanced to second. SCRUGGS, X. homered to left
field, 3 RBI; Wight, Jesse scored; Sferra, J.J. scored. CASTLEBERRY to p for
TORGERSON. BRENLY, M. grounded out to ss. WALKER, B. grounded out to 3b.
THORNTON, R struck out, out at first c to 1b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 7th - CLUFF singled to center field. CLUFF stole second. CLUFF
advanced to third on a wild pitch. LEACH walked. LAW pinch ran for LEACH.
GOODMAN, M. to p for Baca, Justin. LAW advanced to second on a wild pitch.
MUSSO doubled to left field, 2 RBI; LAW scored; CLUFF scored. RELF singled up
the middle, RBI; MUSSO scored. WALTON doubled to left field; RELF advanced to
third. Baca, Marc to p for GOODMAN, M.. MCNAUGHTON homered to center field, 3
RBI; WALTON scored; RELF scored. PARKER doubled to center field. VARGAS homered
to left field, 2 RBI; PARKER scored. SINGER, S. to p for Baca, Marc. AYOSO
singled up the middle. BOWEN pinch hit for CLUFF. BOWEN fouled out to 3b. LAW
to dh. LAW flied out to lf. LAW pinch ran. MUSSO grounded out to 2b. 8 runs,
8 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 7th - BOWEN to rf. LAW to 2b. BILLS to 1b for RELF. BEUERLEIN, D
grounded out to ss. FRIERSON, J. pinch hit for MOREL, A.. FRIERSON, J. grounded
out to 2b. RESNICK, B. singled, advanced to second on a throwing error by p.
Sferra, J.J. flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 8th - DiMAGGIO, J. to lf for Sferra, J.J.. THORNTON, R to cf.
FRIERSON, J. to ss. BILLS grounded out to ss. WALTON singled up the middle.
MCNAUGHTON popped up to ss. PARKER doubled to center field, RBI; WALTON scored.
HERMOSILLO pinch hit for VARGAS. PARKER advanced to third on a balk. HERMOSILLO
singled up the middle, RBI; PARKER scored. NACAPOY to dh for AYOSO. NACAPOY
flied out to cf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 8th - HERMOSILLO to 2b. LAW to ss. Wight, Jesse out at first 1b to
p. SCRUGGS, X. lined out to ss. BRENLY, M. grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - KRETCHMER, K to p for SINGER, S.. BOWEN struck out looking.
LAW flied out to lf. MUSSO grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
UNLV 9th - WALKER, B. flied out to cf. WORTHAM to rf for BOWEN.
THORNTON, R singled to shortstop. KRETCHMER, K to p for BEUERLEIN, D. /  for
KRETCHMER, K. KRETCHMER, K singled to left field; THORNTON, R advanced to
third. FRIERSON, J. struck out. RESNICK, B. homered to left field, 3 RBI;
KRETCHMER, K scored; THORNTON, R scored. DiMAGGIO, J. grounded out to ss. 3
runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

A game Wednesday at Southern Utah University precedes BYU's baseball team returning to Mountain West Conference action.

The Cougars, 12-15 overall and 3-3 in the MWC, play the T-Birds, 10-11, in Cedar City at 2 p.m., on Wednesday en route to Las Vegas. The bus ride continues as BYU has a three-game series starting Thursday at UNLV at 7 p.m. (PDT).

BYU is looking to end a five-game losing streak and get back to a more regular pitching rotation. Freshman Tyler Westensee (1-2, 6.20) gets the nod to start at SUU against former Cougar lefty Alec Reichle (0-4, 8.28).

Southpaw Jake Wortham (2-1, 7.38) and Jordan Muir (2-2, 4.89) will start the first two games at UNLV, with Saturday's starter yet to be announced.

The Cougars are also hopeful their bats will come back to life, as Sean McNaughton leads the team with a 10-game hitting streak. Fellow outfielder Kent Walton went hitless for the second time this season in the middle of the three-game series at Oral Roberts.

For more information, please see the multi-page release in the above PDF.