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PROVO -- Bryce Ayoso’s double in the eighth inning scored Alex Wolfe for the winning run in a 12-11 BYU victory over UNLV Thursday night.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 9-11 overall and 2-2 in Mountain West Conference play, while the Rebels fall to 14-9 and 0-1.

“I was pleased our offense continued to battle back,” BYU coach Vance Law said. “We swung our bats pretty well.”

Things were quiet on offense in the first inning for both teams until a solo home run by Wolfe gave BYU the 1-0 lead. The sophomore Wolfe led the squad on the night, getting a team-high four hits in five at-bats, homering thus far in each of BYU's four home games.

“Wolfe had a great day,” Law said. “He struggled a little last week at TCU but he was right back at it tonight. He’s got a lot of power.”

Sophomore Stephen Wells held the Rebels with a diving catch in center field in the second inning. In the bottom of the second, another hard-hitting lefty, Ryan Bernal, led off with a solo homer to put BYU up by two.

UNLV came alive in the third inning with R.J. Arnold scoring on an error by Wolfe. A sac fly brought in Richie Jimenez to tie the score at two-all. The Rebels scored twice more before a doubleplay closed out the inning.

Not to be outdone, BYU regained the lead in its next at-bat. Wolfe had a lead-off single and Ayoso got aboard on a walk. He was tagged out in a base-running error on a Bernal single. In the confusion, Bernal was able to run to second. Cluff hit a two-out double to score Wolfe and Bernal. With the score at 4-4, the Cougars got the go-ahead run and brought in one more batter on an error.

“One of the things we really try to teach is when they score, we score,” Law said. “It’s a tribute to our players that they continued to fight and believe in themselves.”

BYU’s Chris Capper struggled in the fourth inning, recording an error and hitting two batters. With the bases loaded, a single followed by a ground out scored two more for the Rebels. Wolfe hit a home run well over 400 feet to bring in Relf and extend the Cougars’ lead to two, 8-6.

In the fifth inning, BYU scored two more runs with a Wells’ double bringing in Cluff. Peters tried to pick off Wells on second and overthrew the ball. The Cougar outfielder made it home after the catcher dropped the ball while attempting to tag him out.

Kevin Sloan, who replaced Capper on the mound in the fifth inning, hit three batters in the sixth and the Rebels were able to score another run. With the bases loaded and a full count, the senior was able to strike out the last hitter. BYU left one batter on base to end the inning.

UNLV scored two runs in the eighth inning to cut the lead to one. One hitter got to first base on an error and Drew Beuerlein hit a home run deep over the right field wall to bring the score to 9-10. The Cougars notched two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out home run by Relf. Wolfe then scored on a double by Ayoso.

The BYU insurance nearly evaporated with UNLV’s Arnold hitting a two-run homer. But pitcher David McKnight was able to finish things up and earn his fourth save of the season in the 12-11 victory.

“It all starts on the mound,” Law said. “If our pitchers can keep us in the game, we have the offense to get the win.”

BYU will continue the series against UNLV at home Friday. The game begins at 6:30 p.m.

UNLV at BYU
Mar 25, 2010 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
UNLV 11 (14-9,0-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
THOMAS, Cash rf..........  6  1  2  2   0  0  4  0   1
FRIERSON, Jarred cf......  4  2  0  2   0  1  0  1   0
BEUERLEIN, Drew 1b.......  4  2  2  3   0  0  7  1   2
BAYARDI, Brandon lf......  5  0  2  1   0  1  0  2   0
KRETCHMER, Kyle dh.......  3  0  1  1   1  0  0  0   0
FEINER, Travis 2b........  5  1  1  0   0  1  3  3   3
CLARK, Nolan c...........  4  2  0  0   0  1  7  1   1
ARNOLD, RJ 3b............  4  2  2  2   0  2  0  1   2
JIMENEZ, Richie ss.......  4  1  2  0   0  0  2  4   0
PETERS, Tanner p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ZUNIGA, Brady p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 39 11 12 11   1  6 24 13   9
BYU 12 (9-11,2-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  5  0  2  0   0  2  0  0   2
RELF, Brandon ss.........  5  2  3  1   0  0  3  3   0
WOLFE, Alex 3b/1b........  5  4  4  3   0  0  1  1   0
AYOSO, Bryce c...........  4  0  1  1   1  1  7  2   0
BERNAL, Ryan 1b..........  4  2  2  1   0  1  9  0   1
 HALL, Austin 3b.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  4  2  3  2   0  1  2  0   0
FRAMPTON, Chase dh.......  4  1  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  3  0  1  2   1  0  1  2   0
WELLS, Stephen cf........  4  1  1  1   0  1  4  0   1
CAPPER, Chris p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 SLOAN, Kevin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 McKNIGHT, David p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38 12 17 11   2  7 27 10   4
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV................ 004 201 022 - 11 12  3
BYU................. 114 220 02X - 12 17  4
-------------------------------------------
E - BAYARDI, B.(2); JIMENEZ, R.(5); PETERS, T.(2); RELF(10); WOLFE(5);
BERNAL(1); CAPPER(1). DP - Cougars 1. LOB - LV 9; Cougars 4. 2B - BEUERLEIN,
D(9); FEINER, T.(3); AYOSO(8); CLUFF(6); WELLS(1). HR - BEUERLEIN, D(4);
ARNOLD, RJ(6); RELF(1); WOLFE 2(5); BERNAL(6). HBP - FRIERSON, J.;
BEUERLEIN, D; KRETCHMER; CLARK, Nolan; JIMENEZ, R.. SH - ARNOLD, RJ(1). SF -
FRIERSON, J.(3). SB - CLUFF 2(6); FRAMPTON(2). CS - THOMAS, Cash(2);
McNAUGHTON(3).
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PETERS, Tanner......  5.0 12 10  7  2  6 26 28
ZUNIGA, Brady.......  3.0  5  2  2  0  1 12 12
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CAPPER, Chris.......  4.1  8  6  4  1  0 19 24
SLOAN, Kevin........  3.2  3  3  2  0  5 15 18
McKNIGHT, David.....  1.0  1  2  1  0  1  5  5
Win - SLOAN (3-0).  Loss - PETERS, T. (2-2).  Save - McKNIGHT (4).
HBP - by CAPPER (CLARK, Nolan); by CAPPER (JIMENEZ, R.); by SLOAN (FRIERSON,
J.); by SLOAN (BEUERLEIN, D); by SLOAN (KRETCHMER). PB - AYOSO(5).
Umpires - HP: Kevin Daugherty  1B: Ray Leible  3B: Asa Howard
Start: 6:33 pm   Time: 2:56   Attendance: 570
Weather: overcast, breezy, 51 degrees
Game notes:
Today's game is not on live audio stream because of BYU women's WNIT
basketball, but the live radio can be heard on the live video feed on
the Internet.
UNLV 1st - THOMAS, Cash singled to pitcher. FRIERSON, J. flied out to
cf. THOMAS, Cash out at second c to ss, caught stealing. BEUERLEIN, D grounded
out to c, bunt. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON struck out swinging. RELF popped up to 2b. WOLFE
homered to right field, RBI. AYOSO struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - BAYARDI, B. grounded out to ss. KRETCHMER walked. FEINER, T.
flied out to cf. CLARK, Nolan grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits,
0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - BERNAL homered to center field, RBI. CLUFF singled up the
middle. CLUFF stole second. FRAMPTON grounded out to ss; CLUFF advanced to
third. NIELSEN walked. WELLS struck out swinging. McNAUGHTON struck out
swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - ARNOLD, RJ singled to left center. JIMENEZ, R. singled
through the right side; ARNOLD, RJ advanced to second. THOMAS, Cash reached on
a throwing error by 3b, advanced to second, RBI; JIMENEZ, R. advanced to third;
ARNOLD, RJ scored. FRIERSON, J. flied out to rf, SF, RBI; THOMAS, Cash advanced
to third; JIMENEZ, R. scored. BEUERLEIN, D doubled to left field, RBI; THOMAS,
Cash scored, unearned. BAYARDI, B. singled to center field, RBI; BEUERLEIN, D
scored. KRETCHMER grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; BAYARDI, B. out on
the play. 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - RELF flied out to rf. WOLFE singled to third base. AYOSO
walked; WOLFE advanced to second. BERNAL singled to center field, advanced to
second; AYOSO advanced to second, out at second cf to ss; WOLFE advanced to
third. CLUFF doubled to right field, 2 RBI; BERNAL scored; WOLFE scored.
FRAMPTON reached on a fielding error by ss; CLUFF advanced to third. FRAMPTON
stole second. NIELSEN singled, advanced to second on a fielding error by lf, 2
RBI; FRAMPTON scored, unearned; CLUFF scored, unearned. WELLS grounded out to
1b unassisted. 4 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 4th - FEINER, T. reached on a fielding error by p. CLARK, Nolan hit
by pitch; FEINER, T. advanced to second. ARNOLD, RJ grounded out to p, SAC,
bunt; CLARK, Nolan advanced to second; FEINER, T. advanced to third. JIMENEZ,
R. hit by pitch. THOMAS, Cash singled to shortstop, RBI; JIMENEZ, R. advanced
to second; CLARK, Nolan advanced to third; FEINER, T. scored, unearned.
FRIERSON, J. grounded out to 1b unassisted, RBI; THOMAS, Cash advanced to
second; JIMENEZ, R. advanced to third; CLARK, Nolan scored. BEUERLEIN, D flied
out to cf. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 4th - McNAUGHTON singled to left field. McNAUGHTON out at second c
to ss, caught stealing. RELF singled to center field. WOLFE homered to center
field, 2 RBI; RELF scored. AYOSO grounded out to ss. BERNAL struck out
swinging. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 5th - BAYARDI, B. grounded out to 2b. KRETCHMER singled to left
field. FEINER, T. doubled to center field; KRETCHMER advanced to third. SLOAN
to p for CAPPER. CLARK, Nolan reached on a fielder's choice; KRETCHMER out at
home 3b to c. ARNOLD, RJ struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
BYU 5th - CLUFF singled to third base. FRAMPTON struck out looking.
CLUFF stole second. NIELSEN grounded out to ss. WELLS doubled to right field,
RBI; CLUFF scored. WELLS advanced to third on a throwing error by p, scored,
unearned. McNAUGHTON flied out to rf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
UNLV 6th - JIMENEZ, R. fouled out to 1b. THOMAS, Cash grounded out to p.
FRIERSON, J. hit by pitch. FRIERSON, J. advanced to second on a passed ball.
BEUERLEIN, D hit by pitch. BAYARDI, B. singled to second base; BEUERLEIN, D
advanced to second; FRIERSON, J. advanced to third. KRETCHMER hit by pitch,
RBI; BAYARDI, B. advanced to second; BEUERLEIN, D advanced to third; FRIERSON,
J. scored. FEINER, T. struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 6th - ZUNIGA, B. to p for PETERS, T.. RELF singled down the rf line.
WOLFE out at first 1b to p; RELF advanced to second. AYOSO flied out to rf;
RELF advanced to third. BERNAL grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
UNLV 7th - CLARK, Nolan struck out looking. ARNOLD, RJ struck out
swinging. JIMENEZ, R. singled through the right side. THOMAS, Cash lined out to
ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - CLUFF struck out swinging. FRAMPTON flied out to rf. NIELSEN
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 8th - FRIERSON, J. reached on a fielding error by 1b. BEUERLEIN, D
homered to right field, 2 RBI; FRIERSON, J. scored, unearned. BAYARDI, B.
struck out swinging. KRETCHMER flied out to rf. FEINER, T. flied out to cf.
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 8th - WELLS grounded out to 2b. McNAUGHTON singled, out at second lf
to ss to 2b. RELF homered to left field, RBI. WOLFE singled to left field.
AYOSO doubled, out at second lf to 3b to 2b, RBI; WOLFE scored. 2 runs, 4
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 9th - WOLFE to 1b. HALL to 3b for BERNAL. McKNIGHT to p for SLOAN.
CLARK, Nolan reached on a fielding error by ss. ARNOLD, RJ homered to left
center, 2 RBI; CLARK, Nolan scored, unearned. JIMENEZ, R. grounded out to ss.
THOMAS, Cash popped up to 2b. FRIERSON, J. struck out looking. 2 runs, 1
hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.

Home again, this time it is BYU’s baseball team’s first league games in Provo as it hosts UNLV in a three-game series starting Thursday.

BYU, 8-11 overall and 1-2 in Mountain West Conference action, hosts UNLV, 14-8, in the Rebels’ first league games.

The probable BYU pitching rotation will be freshman Chris Capper (1-0, 2.16) and sophomore Matthew Neil (2-2, 5.62) for Thursday and Friday’s games which both start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s likely pitcher for the Cougars at Miller Park will be freshman Chunner Nyberg (0-2, 10.12) with a start time of 1 p.m.

The Cougars are fresh off a 5-4 upset over then No. 4 TCU in the final game against the MWC defending champion. Among those to keep an eye on are senior Sean McNaughton, who leads the team with a 12-game hitting streak.

The confines of Miller Park proved friendly earlier this month when BYU won two of three games against Washington. In that three-game series with Washington, the Cougars improved their batting average from .299 to .329 and Alex Wolfe ended up being named the West Region Player of the Week and MWC Player of the Week when he belted three of BYU’s eight homers in that series.