PROVO -- Kent Walton's walk-off single scored fellow senior Dan Vargas to give the BYU baseball team a 14-13 victory and series sweep over UNLV Saturday.

Walton's shot down the third base line at the bottom of the ninth was his second hit of the day in five at bats, preserving a Cougar victory on Senior Day on a sunny afternoon at Larry H. Miller Field.

“That was a big base hit that Kent got for us,” said BYU head coach Vance Law. “He was showing signs in a few good at bats in the game with decent swings and he made good contact with the ball. We’re glad for him that he finished like this for his last day on our home field.”

Just when the Cougars thought the game was over with two outs and a 13-8 lead in the ninth inning, the Rebel bats came alive to tie the score. UNLV collected six straight hits to gradually cut at the lead and tied the score when reserve Joe DiMaggio drove in three runs on a deep double to centerfield just out of the reach of a diving Sean McNaughton.

Tied at 13-all, Vargas looped a rightfield single and eventually advanced to third base following two outs. With a full count, Walton’s hit down the line hopped over the outstretched Rebel third baseman’s glove to bring Vargas home for the win.

“Walton came up huge for us,” said BYU senior rightfielder Michael Bowen. “That was a fantastic play and he showed why he’s always been a reliable hitter.”

Bowen also had a solid afternoon going 3-for-4 from the plate with six RBI. Vargas was 3-for-4 at the plate and scored two runs, while Stetson Banks went 3-for-6 with two runs. BYU out-hit the Rebels in shootout fashion, 17-15.

“Bowen had a huge year for us,” Law said. “He’s come a long way over the past few years and he’s been a great help for us this year in right field. He had a great outing today.”

The BYU pitchers had a busy day as five hurlers were used, including three in the ninth inning. Kevin Sloan picked up the win after Jeremy Toole, Brandon Michon, Jordan Muir and Jared Miller took their turns.

After the Rebels scored two runs in the opening inning, BYU responded with three. McNaughton came in on a balked pitch, followed by a Bowen double that scored Walton and Steve Parker for an early 3-2 lead.

UNLV once again got the upper hand in the third inning with four runs to jump ahead 6-3 as the Cougars came back with two runs to trim the Rebel lead to 6-5. The Rebels got two more in the fourth before senior catcher J.T. Musso bulleted the ball to shortstop Vargas to snag a runner to end the inning with UNLV ahead 8-5.

The Cougars enjoyed a big fifth inning to tie the score up at eight-all after Bowen knocked a ball just over the right field fence for a two-run homer to bring in Parker, who had just hit a triple to center field just out of the reach of UNLV’s J.J. Sferra. Musso followed that with a single to score senior Kasey Ko from third.

BYU took the lead with a powerful sixth inning with three runs to go up 11-8. McNaughton scored Vargas on an RBI single before Parker brought in McNaughton. Bowen had another RBI that scored Banks. The Cougars extended the lead in the seventh when a Vargas single brought in Andrew Law and Banks scored Musso for a 13-8 lead.

BYU improves to 27-21 on the year and 14-8 in the Mountain West Conference, while UNLV falls to 25-27 overall and 9-12 in league play. The Cougars will play at the University of Washington this Tuesday and Wednesday before the MWC Tournament May 19-23 in Fort Worth, Texas.

“This was another big win for our team,” Law said. “It’s always good to end on a strong note before the conference tournament. The two games in Washington will be just as critical, so we need to show up and play well.”

UNLV at BYU
May 09, 2009 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
UNLV 13 (25-27,9-12 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SFERRA, J.J. cf..........  5  0  0  0   1  1  4  0   0
FRIERSON, Jarred 3b......  4  0  0  0   1  1  0  4   1
 FULLER, Trent ph/3b.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
THORNTON, Ryan dh........  5  2  0  0   1  0  0  0   5
WIGHT, Jesse 1b..........  5  4  4  3   0  0  9  3   0
ROUNDY, Rance rf.........  3  2  2  0   1  0  2  0   0
BERKE, Scott lf..........  5  1  3  2   0  2  1  0   0
MOREL, Anthony ss........  4  2  2  1   0  1  4  4   2
RESNICK, Bryan 2b........  4  2  2  1   0  1  3  2   0
CLAUS, Chad c............  3  0  1  2   0  1  3  0   0
 KRETCHMER, Kyle ph......  1  0  1  3   0  0  0  0   0
 DiMAGGIO, Joe pr/c......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
URLAUB, Jeff p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 BACA, Marc p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GOODMAN, Michael p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PETERS, Tanner p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 39 13 15 12   4  7 26 15   8
BYU 14 (27-21,14-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  5  2  2  1   0  0  2  0   0
BANKS, Stetson cf........  6  2  3  1   0  0  1  0   1
WALTON, Kent dh..........  5  1  2  1   1  0  0  0   1
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  3  2  1   1  1  0  4   0
BOWEN, Michael rf........  4  1  3  6   1  0  5  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  2  1  0  1   1  0  7  0   0
 BILLS, Thomas ph/1b.....  1  0  0  0   1  1  3  0   1
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  5  1  2  0   0  1  1  3   2
MUSSO, J.T. c............  4  1  0  1   1  0  7  1   2
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  4  2  3  1   0  0  1  2   0
TOOLE, Jeremy p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MILLER, Jared p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SLOAN, Kevin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 40 14 17 13   6  3 27 11   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV................ 204 200 005 - 13 15  2
BYU................. 302 033 201 - 14 17  1
-------------------------------------------
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - FRIERSON, J. 2(18); VARGAS(3). DP - Rebels 1. LOB - Rebels 8; Cougars 8.
2B - WIGHT, Jesse(12); KRETCHMER, K(5); BOWEN(14); LAW, An.(12). 3B -
PARKER(3). HR - WIGHT, Jesse(8); BOWEN(6). HBP - FULLER, T.; RESNICK, B.;
VARGAS. SH - ROUNDY, R.(4); CLAUS, Chad(5); McNAUGHTON(2). SF - MOREL,
A.(2). SB - THORNTON, R(12); McNAUGHTON(6); BOWEN 3(11). CS - BERKE,
Scott(3).
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
URLAUB, Jeff........  5.0 12 11  9  3  1 25 29  90
BACA, Marc..........  2.0  3  2  2  1  1  9 10  26
GOODMAN, Michael....  1.0  0  0  0  2  1  3  5  26
PETERS, Tanner......  0.2  2  1  1  0  0  3  4  17
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
TOOLE, Jeremy.......  3.1  9  8  6  3  3 18 24 100
MICHON, Brandon.....  4.2  0  0  0  0  3 12 13  55
MUIR, Jordan........  0.2  6  5  5  0  1  8  8  33
MILLER, Jared.......  0.0  0  0  0  1  0  0  2   7
SLOAN, Kevin........  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   3
Win - SLOAN (1-0).  Loss - PETERS, T. (5-6).  Save - None.
WP - URLAUB, Jeff(3); BACA, Marc(5); MILLER, J.(1). HBP - by TOOLE (RESNICK,
B.); by URLAUB, Jeff (VARGAS); by MILLER, J. (FULLER, T.). BK - URLAUB, Jeff
2(2); TOOLE(2). Pitches/strikes: URLAUB, Jeff 90/62; BACA, Marc 26/14; GOODMAN,
M. 26/14; PETERS, T. 17/9; TOOLE 100/56; MICHON 55/36; MUIR 33/20; MILLER, J.
7/2; SLOAN 3/2.
Umpires - HP: Jeff Richardson  1B: Keith Bailey  3B: Billy Van Raaphorst
Start: 1:08 pm   Time: 3:27   Attendance: 1675
Weather: 62 degrees, clear
URLAUB, Jeff faced 3 batters in the 6th.
MILLER, J. faced 2 batters in the 9th.
Play-by-Play
UNLV 1st - SFERRA, J.J. grounded out to 2b (1-1). FRIERSON, J. grounded
out to 2b (2-0). THORNTON, R reached on a fielding error by ss (1-2). WIGHT,
Jesse doubled to left field, RBI (0-0); THORNTON, R scored, unearned. ROUNDY,
R. walked (3-2). WIGHT, Jesse interference. WIGHT, Jesse advanced to third on
the throw. BERKE, Scott singled to left field, RBI (2-1); ROUNDY, R. advanced
to second; WIGHT, Jesse scored, unearned. MOREL, A. struck out swinging (3-2).
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON singled up the middle (2-2). BANKS singled to right
field (0-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to third. BANKS out at second p to 1b to ss,
picked off. WALTON walked (3-1). WALTON advanced to second on a balk;
McNAUGHTON scored. PARKER walked (3-2). BOWEN doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI
(1-1); PARKER scored; WALTON scored. KO grounded out to ss (1-0); BOWEN
advanced to third. LAW, An. struck out swinging (0-2). 3 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - RESNICK, B. singled up the middle (2-2). CLAUS, Chad out at
first p to 2b, SAC, bunt (1-1); RESNICK, B. advanced to second. SFERRA, J.J.
grounded out to 2b (3-2); RESNICK, B. advanced to third. FRIERSON, J. walked
(3-2). THORNTON, R flied out to rf (1-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
BYU 2nd - MUSSO flied out to cf (0-0). VARGAS singled up the middle
(1-1). McNAUGHTON grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (0-1); VARGAS out on
the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - WIGHT, Jesse homered down the rf line, RBI (0-2). ROUNDY, R.
singled to left field (0-0). BERKE, Scott struck out looking (2-2). MOREL, A.
singled to center field (0-0); ROUNDY, R. advanced to second. RESNICK, B. hit
by pitch (2-1); MOREL, A. advanced to second; ROUNDY, R. advanced to third.
CLAUS, Chad singled to right center, 2 RBI (3-1); RESNICK, B. advanced to
third; MOREL, A. scored; ROUNDY, R. scored. CLAUS, Chad advanced to second on a
balk; RESNICK, B. scored. SFERRA, J.J. struck out looking (2-2). FRIERSON, J.
grounded out to 1b unassisted (2-2). 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - BANKS singled to left field (0-0). WALTON singled to right
field (0-2); BANKS advanced to second. PARKER reached on a fielder's choice
(1-0); WALTON out at second 1b to ss; BANKS advanced to third. BOWEN singled to
left field, RBI (1-2); PARKER advanced to third; BANKS scored. BOWEN stole
second. KO grounded out to 3b, RBI (2-2); PARKER scored. BOWEN advanced to
third on a wild pitch. LAW, An. flied out to cf (1-1). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 4th - THORNTON, R walked (3-1). THORNTON, R stole second. WIGHT,
Jesse singled to center field, RBI (3-1); THORNTON, R scored. ROUNDY, R.
grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt (0-0); WIGHT, Jesse advanced to second. BERKE,
Scott singled to left field (2-1); WIGHT, Jesse advanced to third. MICHON to p
for TOOLE. MOREL, A. flied out to rf, SF, RBI (1-1); WIGHT, Jesse scored.
BERKE, Scott out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - MUSSO grounded out to 3b, bunt (0-0). VARGAS hit by pitch
(2-2). McNAUGHTON flied out to lf (0-1). VARGAS advanced to second on a balk.
BANKS popped up to rf (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 5th - RESNICK, B. struck out looking (3-2). CLAUS, Chad grounded
out to 3b (2-1). SFERRA, J.J. flied out to rf (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 5th - WALTON flied out to cf (1-0). PARKER tripled to center field
(1-0). BOWEN homered to right field, 2 RBI (1-0); PARKER scored. KO walked
(3-2). LAW, An. singled to center field (0-0); KO advanced to third. MUSSO
reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (0-0); LAW, An. out at second 2b to ss; KO
scored. MUSSO out at second p to 1b to ss, picked off. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 6th - FRIERSON, J. flied out to rf (1-1). THORNTON, R grounded out
to 3b (1-1). WIGHT, Jesse flied out to lf (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 6th - VARGAS reached on a fielding error by 3b, advanced to second
on a throwing error by 3b, advanced to third (0-1). McNAUGHTON singled to
second base, RBI (0-2); VARGAS scored, unearned. McNAUGHTON stole second. BANKS
singled to center field (1-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to third. BACA, Marc to p
for URLAUB, Jeff. WALTON popped up to 2b (0-0). PARKER singled up the middle,
RBI (0-0); BANKS advanced to third; McNAUGHTON scored. BOWEN grounded out to
ss, RBI (1-0); PARKER advanced to second; BANKS scored, unearned. BILLS pinch
hit for KO. BILLS struck out looking (2-2). 3 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 1
LOB.
UNLV 7th - BILLS to 1b. ROUNDY, R. grounded out to 3b (0-0). BERKE,
Scott struck out looking (0-2). MOREL, A. flied out to rf (1-0). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - LAW, An. doubled down the lf line (1-0). LAW, An. advanced to
third on a wild pitch. MUSSO walked (3-1). VARGAS singled to left field, RBI
(0-0); MUSSO advanced to second; LAW, An. scored. McNAUGHTON reached on a
fielder's choice (2-0); VARGAS out at second ss to 2b; MUSSO advanced to third.
BANKS grounded out to 3b, RBI (0-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; MUSSO
scored. WALTON grounded out to 3b (2-0). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
UNLV 8th - RESNICK, B. flied out to cf (3-2). CLAUS, Chad struck out
swinging (2-2). SFERRA, J.J. grounded out to ss (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 8th - GOODMAN, M. to p for BACA, Marc. PARKER struck out swinging
(3-2). BOWEN walked (3-1). BOWEN stole second. BOWEN stole third. BILLS walked
(3-2). LAW, An. popped up to 1b (0-2). MUSSO flied out to cf (1-1). 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 9th - MUIR to p for MICHON. FRIERSON, J. struck out looking (3-2).
THORNTON, R grounded out to ss (2-2). WIGHT, Jesse singled to right field
(2-2). ROUNDY, R. singled to center field (3-2); WIGHT, Jesse advanced to
third. BERKE, Scott singled to left field, RBI (0-1); ROUNDY, R. advanced to
second; WIGHT, Jesse scored. MOREL, A. singled to left field (1-1); BERKE,
Scott advanced to second; ROUNDY, R. advanced to third. RESNICK, B. singled to
left field, RBI (0-1); MOREL, A. advanced to second; BERKE, Scott advanced to
third; ROUNDY, R. scored. KRETCHMER, K pinch hit for CLAUS, Chad. KRETCHMER, K
doubled to left field, 3 RBI (2-1); RESNICK, B. scored; MOREL, A. scored;
BERKE, Scott scored. DiMAGGIO, J. pinch ran for KRETCHMER, K. MILLER, J. to p
for MUIR. SFERRA, J.J. walked (3-2). FULLER, T. pinch hit for FRIERSON, J..
SFERRA, J.J. advanced to second on a wild pitch; DiMAGGIO, J. advanced to
third. FULLER, T. hit by pitch (1-0). SLOAN to p for MILLER, J.. THORNTON, R
flied out to lf (1-1). 5 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 9th - FULLER, T. to 3b. DiMAGGIO, J. to c. PETERS, T. to p for
GOODMAN, M.. VARGAS singled to right field (0-2). McNAUGHTON grounded out to 1b
unassisted, SAC, bunt (2-0); VARGAS advanced to second. BANKS flied out to rf
(3-1); VARGAS advanced to third. WALTON singled down the lf line, RBI (3-2);
VARGAS scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

This weekend is the final chance for BYU to affect the league standings in the Mountain West Conference baseball race.

The Cougars, 24-21 overall and 11-8, host UNLV, 25-24 and 9-9, in the last MWC games of the regular season for BYU. The three-game series with UNLV is also the final homestand for the Cougars.

BYU’s pitching rotation is announced only through the first game on Thursday at 7 p.m., with freshman Nathan Bunch (3-4, 5.86) getting his first start in a league game. Friday’s game is also at 7 p.m.

Prior to Saturday’s game at 1 p.m., seven BYU seniors will be honored: Thomas Bills, Michael Bowen, Kasey Ko, J.T. Musso, Jordan Muir, Dan Vargas and Kent Walton

Thursday and Friday’s games will be televised live by BYUTV and Saturday’s game will be televised live on both BYUTV and KBYU. Subscribers to Dish Network, who get BYU Television can also listen to BYU Radio.

All of the baseball games this week will be at the same time as Cougar softball games in the back-to-back venues at Miller Park.

Next week BYU’s baseball team plays at the University of Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday while the rest of the league teams play each other to determine seeding order at the MWC Championships in two weeks.