PROVO -- A seven-run fourth inning was too much to overcome for BYU as the Cougars fell to Utah 11-2 Friday at Larry H. Miller Field.

“We’ve been pretty good with two outs,” said BYU head coach Vance Law. “However, we can’t bank on big innings with two outs.”

Alex Wolfe got the scoring started for the Cougars in the bottom of the second after drawing a walk and advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Bernal. Shortstop Austin Hall completed the sequence by driving in Wolfe to tie the game at one apiece.

Senior Sean McNaughton put the Cougars (17-20 overall, 5-9 Mountain West Conference) ahead in the bottom of the third with a single after fouling off four consecutive full-count deliveries from Utah pitcher Rick Anton.

However, the lead was short lived as the Utes struck back in the top of the fourth, taking an 8-2 lead on three hits and two Cougar errors.

In a strong relief effort, senior Brandon Michon momentarily calmed the storm for the Cougars, giving up three hits and striking out two in two-plus innings of work. The Utes added three insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings.

With the victory, the Utes (19-17 overall, 7-7 MWC) evened the baseball portion of the Deseret Duel, with the final and deciding game coming Saturday at Miller Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Utah at BYU
Apr 23, 2010 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Utah 11 (19-17,7-7 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
YAGI, Tyler 2b...........  4  0  1  1   0  0  3  3   2
CORNU, Rick rf...........  3  2  1  1   0  1  1  0   0
KUROCZKO, Nick 3b........  4  2  2  2   1  1  1  3   0
CRON, C.J. 1b............  4  1  2  4   1  0 13  0   0
WALKER, Devin dh.........  5  1  1  0   0  1  0  0   3
GUMESON, Nik lf..........  4  1  2  1   0  1  1  0   2
SHARRAR, Jo Jo c.........  4  1  1  0   1  2  6  2   0
BELTRAN, Michael ss......  4  1  2  1   0  1  2  5   0
BLANC, Cooper cf.........  4  2  1  1   1  1  0  1   0
ANTON, Rick p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 STREICH, Stephen p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 36 11 13 11   4  8 27 15   7
BYU 2 (17-20,5-9 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon 2b.........  5  0  1  0   0  1  3  2   1
NIELSEN, Dane 3b.........  4  1  0  0   0  1  0  2   0
WOLFE, Alex 1b...........  2  0  0  0   1  1  5  1   0
AYOSO, Bryce c...........  4  0  1  0   0  0  9  1   1
McNAUGHTON, Sean dh......  3  1  2  1   1  0  0  0   0
BERNAL, Ryan lf..........  2  0  0  0   1  1  1  0   2
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   3
HALL, Austin ss..........  4  0  1  1   0  2  3  2   0
WELLS, Stephen cf........  3  0  1  0   0  0  4  0   1
 FRAMPTON, Chase ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
ANDERSON, Mark p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 HARDESTY, Shawn p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BIRCH, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  2  6  2   3  8 27 12   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Utah................ 100 700 021 - 11 13  2
BYU................. 011 000 000 -  2  6  2
-------------------------------------------
E - YAGI(6); BELTRAN(10); HALL 2(8). DP - UT 1; Cougars 1. LOB - UT 7;
Cougars 8. 2B - CRON 2(9). HR - CORNU(5); GUMESON(8). HBP - CORNU 2; WOLFE.
SH - GUMESON(3); BELTRAN(8); BERNAL(3). SF - YAGI(2). SB - BLANC(6). CS -
YAGI(5); BELTRAN(5).
Utah                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ANTON, Rick.........  8.0  6  2  2  3  6 29 34 126
STREICH, Stephen....  1.0  0  0  0  0  2  3  3   9
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ANDERSON, Mark......  3.2  6  8  2  2  3 16 21  76
HARDESTY, Shawn.....  1.1  3  0  0  1  0  5  8  27
MICHON, Brandon.....  2.2  3  2  2  1  2 10 11  37
BIRCH, Nick.........  1.1  1  1  1  0  3  5  5  18
Win - ANTON (6-2).  Loss - ANDERSON (1-1).  Save - None.
WP - ANTON(5); HARDESTY(5). HBP - by ANTON (WOLFE); by ANDERSON (CORNU); by
HARDESTY (CORNU). Inherited runners/scored: HARDESTY 2/2; MICHON 1/0; BIRCH 1/0.
Pitches/strikes: ANTON 126/78; STREICH 9/7; ANDERSON 76/45; HARDESTY 27/18;
MICHON 37/24; BIRCH 18/12.
Umpires - HP: Mik Hendrickson  1B: Jason Rogers  3B: John Cortez
Start: 6:05 pm   Time: 2:41   Attendance: 1174
Weather: 48 degrees, overcast
HARDESTY faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Utah 1st - YAGI grounded out to 2b (2-2). CORNU homered to right field,
RBI (3-2). KUROCZKO singled to center field (2-2). CRON flied out to rf (1-1).
WALKER singled to left field (0-0); KUROCZKO advanced to third. GUMESON struck
out looking (1-2). 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 1st - RELF grounded out to 3b (1-1). NIELSEN grounded out to ss
(0-0). WOLFE walked (3-2). AYOSO reached on an error by 2b, out at second cf to
ss (2-0); WOLFE advanced to third. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah 2nd - SHARRAR flied out to cf (1-0). BELTRAN flied out to cf (1-0).
BLANC grounded out to 3b (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - McNAUGHTON singled to shortstop (1-0). BERNAL grounded out to
p, SAC, bunt (0-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to second. McNAUGHTON advanced to third
on a wild pitch. CLUFF struck out swinging (3-2). HALL singled down the rf
line, RBI (0-1); McNAUGHTON scored. WELLS grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-0).
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah 3rd - YAGI singled to right center (0-2). CORNU struck out looking
(2-2). YAGI out at second p to 1b to ss, caught stealing. KUROCZKO struck out
swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - RELF singled to left field (1-1). NIELSEN reached on a
fielder's choice (0-0); RELF out at second 3b to 2b. WOLFE hit by pitch (1-0);
NIELSEN advanced to second. AYOSO popped up to 2b (0-0). McNAUGHTON singled to
left field, RBI (3-2); WOLFE advanced to second; NIELSEN scored. BERNAL walked
(3-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; WOLFE advanced to third. CLUFF struck out
swinging (1-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Utah 4th - CRON walked (3-2). WALKER reached on a fielding error by ss
(1-1); CRON advanced to second. GUMESON grounded out to p, SAC, bunt (0-0);
WALKER advanced to second; CRON advanced to third. SHARRAR walked (3-0).
BELTRAN singled to center field, RBI (2-2); SHARRAR advanced to second; WALKER
advanced to third; CRON scored. BLANC reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (3-2);
BELTRAN advanced to second on a fielding error by ss; SHARRAR advanced to
third; WALKER scored, unearned. YAGI flied out to lf, SF, RBI (1-0); BLANC
advanced to second; BELTRAN advanced to third; SHARRAR scored, unearned. CORNU
hit by pitch (1-0). KUROCZKO singled to left field, 2 RBI (1-1); CORNU advanced
to third; BLANC scored, unearned; BELTRAN scored, unearned. HARDESTY to p for
ANDERSON. KUROCZKO advanced to second on a wild pitch. CRON doubled down the rf
line, 2 RBI (1-2); KUROCZKO scored, unearned; CORNU scored, unearned. WALKER
grounded out to ss (1-2). 7 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - HALL struck out swinging (0-2). WELLS fouled out to lf (3-2).
RELF flied out to rf (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah 5th - GUMESON singled to shortstop (1-2). SHARRAR singled to center
field (0-0); GUMESON advanced to second. BELTRAN out at first p to 2b, SAC,
bunt (1-1); SHARRAR advanced to second; GUMESON advanced to third. BLANC walked
(3-2). YAGI grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (0-0); BLANC out on the
play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 5th - NIELSEN struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b (1-2). WOLFE
struck out looking (2-2). AYOSO singled to right center (1-0). McNAUGHTON
walked (3-2); AYOSO advanced to second. BERNAL struck out swinging (2-2). 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah 6th - CORNU hit by pitch (1-0). MICHON to p for HARDESTY. KUROCZKO
reached on a fielder's choice (1-1); CORNU out at second p to ss. CRON reached
on a fielder's choice (1-0); KUROCZKO out at second 3b to 2b. WALKER struck out
looking (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - CLUFF grounded out to ss (1-1). HALL grounded out to 2b (2-1).
WELLS singled to right field (1-0). RELF reached on a fielder's choice (1-1);
WELLS out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah 7th - GUMESON flied out to cf (0-1). SHARRAR struck out swinging
(1-2). BELTRAN singled to second base (0-0). BELTRAN out at second c to 2b,
caught stealing. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - NIELSEN fouled out to 1b (1-0). WOLFE fouled out to 3b (2-1).
AYOSO grounded out to 2b (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah 8th - BLANC singled to shortstop (1-1). YAGI fouled out to c (1-0).
CORNU flied out to cf (0-0). BLANC stole second. KUROCZKO walked (3-0). CRON
doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI (1-1); KUROCZKO scored; BLANC scored. BIRCH to
p for MICHON. WALKER flied out to rf (0-0). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 8th - McNAUGHTON reached on a throwing error by ss (0-2). BERNAL
grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-2); McNAUGHTON out on the play.
CLUFF grounded out to 3b (3-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Utah 9th - GUMESON homered to left field, RBI (1-1). SHARRAR struck out
looking (3-2). BELTRAN struck out swinging (0-2). BLANC struck out swinging
(2-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - STREICH to p for ANTON. HALL struck out looking (1-2).
FRAMPTON pinch hit for WELLS. FRAMPTON grounded out to ss (0-0). RELF struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.

Standings, bragging rights and pride are on the line this week as BYU's baseball team hosts Utah in the only three games the teams have during the regular season.

On Thursday BYU, now 16-19 overall and 4-8 in the Mountain West Conference, hosts the Utes at 6:30 p.m. Friday's contest starts at 6 p.m., because it is the only game of the three to be televised live by BYUtv. Saturday's tilt starts at 1 p.m.

Utah brings an 18-16 overall record and a 6-6 league mark into the series. In addition to MWC standings, at stake is the baseball portion of the Deseret First Duel. While BYU has claimed the overall Duel with its insurmountable 40-14 lead, the Cougars are hoping to defend the baseball portion of that Duel which they have won the past two years.

"This is a big series and we need to get back on track again and play the way which we are capable," said BYU coach Vance Law.

Law has tweaked BYU's pitching rotation for the series. Sophomore Matthew Neil (3-4, 5.81) will be the Cougars' first pitcher in the rotation. The game two starter has changed to freshman lefty Mark Anderson (1-0, 6.08). Saturday's starter will be freshman Chris Capper (2-0, 5.31).

BYU reliever David McKnight is graduating this week in recreation management. Others graduating this week include former players J.T. Musso, Collin Fanning and Kiko Hermosillo. McKnight is one of 45 players named to the midseason watch list for the sixth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.

For more infomation please see the multi-page PDF document at the top of this page.

Deseret First Duel
Standings to Date
BYU                   44
Utah                  15.5
BYU Points Thus Far
Women's Soccer         6
Football              10
Women's Basketball    10
Men's Basketball      10
Women's Swimming       1
Softball               3
Men's Baseball         3
Men's Tennis           1
Utah Points Thus Far
Women's Volleyball      6
Men's Swimming          1
Women's Gymnastics      6
Women's Tennis          1
Men's Baseball          1.5
Contests Remaining
Softball                1.5
Deseret First Duel Prior Years
2007-08 BYU  (BYU won baseball 38-26 in runs, series tied 2-2)
2008-09 Utah (BYU won baseball, 5 games to 1)
2009-10 BYU (BYU won baseball, 2 games to 1)