PROVO, Utah -- The Cougars passed their final exam Tuesday when Dane Nielsen’s walk-off single scored Austin Hall to give BYU the 7-6 victory in the 11th inning over Utah in game four of the the 2011 Deseret First Duel rivalry series.

Those heroics would not have been possible had it not been for the superb pitching of rubber-arm Matthew Neil. The senior reliever set the Utes down in order in the 10th and 11th to earn his third victory.

"Utah always plays us tough," BYU head coach Vance Law said. "Rarely is there a game that is really lopsided in this series. I was really happy that our guys continued to fight through that."

Dillon Robinson led the Cougars with three RBI and one home run. Seven different pitchers took the mound for BYU in the victory. Desmond Poulson started on the hill and recorded six of the 17 strikeouts for the Cougars.

In inning one, the Utes found success early taking base as their first two batters got on base, but a high fly ball by C.J Cron for Utah led to an impressive double-play by the Cougars that gave the Utes their first two outs but also their first run.

Poulson would strike the next Ute batter out swinging. Andrew Law was second at bat for BYU and doubled to give the Cougars their first man-on-base for the game. Andrew Law scored from the next BYU batter Ryan Bernal, who singled to right center field. At the conclusion of the first inning, the two teams were knotted at one-all.

Both teams were held scoreless through innings two and three despite several close calls. In the bottom of the fourth, Alex Wolfe and Hall singled to give the Cougars two on base with no outs. The next two at-bats resulted in two outs for BYU but a throwing error by the Utes' second baseman loaded the bases for the Cougars. However, on the following play Andrew Law struck out swinging and ended the inning for BYU.

An RBI double by Cron gave Utah the 2-1 advantage in the top of the fifth as the hit brought Michael Beltran home. Chase Frampton doubled down the left line prior to a Jaycob Brugman two-run homer and gave BYU a 3-2 lead heading into the sixth inning.

The Cougars made a pitching change in the top of the sixth inning as Mark Anderson took the mound. Utah tied the game, 3-3, off a throwing error by BYU catcher Wolfe. An impressive play in the field by the Cougars gave Utah its second out of the inning but a Beltran single gave BYU brought Mark Moorman home and gave the Utes a 4-3 lead. With bases loaded for the Cougars and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Wes Guenther took the plate but Guenther grounded out to end the inning.

Utah scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to three runs with the score 6-3. Things began to get exciting in the bottom of the seventh when with a full count and two men on base, freshman Dillon Robinson homered to tie the score at six-all.

In the bottom of 11th inning, Hall hit a double that was dangerously close to a home run but bounced off the back fence. However, it was Hall who would later come home to seal the win for the Cougars.

BYU improves to 19-14, while Utah is now 16-14. The Cougars next host New Mexico on Thursday to start a three-game series.

Utah at Brigham Young U
Apr 19, 2011 at Provo, Utah (Larry H Miller Field)
Utah 6 (16-14)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BROOKS, James ss.........  6  1  1  0   0  2  1  4   3
BELTRAN, Michael 2b......  6  1  3  1   0  2  3  3   0
CRON, C.J. 1b............  4  0  1  2   1  2 10  0   1
COOPER, Shaun lf.........  5  1  2  0   1  3  1  0   0
SHACKELFORD, Austin rf...  5  1  1  0   1  1  1  0   1
GUYMON, Cody c...........  6  0  0  1   0  3 10  1   4
NIELSEN, Trey 3b.........  5  1  2  0   0  2  1  2   0
MOORMAN, Mark dh.........  1  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ALEXANDER, Josh ph......  1  0  1  1   1  0  0  0   0
GREEN, Gavin cf..........  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   2
 RELF, Tyler ph/cf.......  1  0  0  0   1  1  2  0   1
STREICH, Stephen p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 WEST, Luke p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KONDO, Kesley p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ANDERSEN, Tyler p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 42  6 11  5   5 17 31 10  12
Brigham Young Univ. 7 (19-14)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WELLS, Stephen cf........  5  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   3
LAW, Andrew ss...........  6  1  1  0   0  2  2  3   3
BERNAL, Ryan lf..........  3  0  1  1   1  1  1  1   0
 CALDWELL, Kelton ph/lf..  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
FRAMPTON, Chase dh.......  3  1  2  0   0  1  0  0   0
 GUENTHER, Wes ph........  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
 LOPEZ, Bret ph..........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf.......  5  1  1  2   1  2  2  0   3
WOLFE, Alex c............  3  1  1  0   2  0 15  2   0
HALL, Austin 1b..........  4  2  3  0   2  1  9  1   0
ROBINSON, Dillon 3b......  5  1  1  3   1  2  1  1   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  5  0  1  1   1  1  2  0   2
POULSON, Desmond p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ANDERSON, Mark p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PARRY, David p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 MILLER, Jared p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SHUTT, Justin p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MAHONEY, Kolton p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 NEIL, Matthew p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 42  7 11  7  10 10 33  9  16
Score by Innings                       R  H  E
----------------------------------------------
Utah................ 100 012 200 00 -  6 11  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 020 300 01 -  7 11  4
----------------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 2 runners LOB when the game ended.
E - BELTRAN(6); WOLFE(8); POULSON(3); ANDERSON(2); MILLER(1). LOB - Utah 12;
BYU 16. 2B - CRON(14); NIELSEN 2(8); LAW(4); FRAMPTON(1); HALL(7). HR -
BRUGMAN(3); ROBINSON(4). HBP - MOORMAN; BERNAL; WOLFE. SH - MOORMAN(1);
GREEN, Gavin(4). SF - CRON(3). SB - BRUGMAN(8). CS - BERNAL(1).
Utah                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
STREICH, Stephen....  5.1  7  3  3  2  7 23 26
WEST, Luke..........  0.0  0  0  0  2  0  0  2
KONDO, Kesley.......  2.2  2  3  3  4  1 10 15
ANDERSEN, Tyler.....  2.1  2  1  1  2  2  9 11
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
POULSON, Desmond....  5.0  5  2  2  3  6 19 24
ANDERSON, Mark......  0.0  1  2  0  0  0  1  2
PARRY, David........  1.2  3  2  2  0  2  7  8
MILLER, Jared.......  0.0  1  0  0  1  0  1  2
SHUTT, Justin.......  0.1  0  0  0  0  1  1  1
MAHONEY, Kolton.....  2.0  1  0  0  1  4  7  8
NEIL, Matthew.......  2.0  0  0  0  0  4  6  6
Win - NEIL (3-2).  Loss - ANDERSEN (0-1).  Save - None.
WP - POULSON 3(3). HBP - by POULSON (MOORMAN); by STREICH (WOLFE); by KONDO
(BERNAL).
Umpires - HP: Randy Upton  1B: Francisco Flores  3B: Matt Marziale
Start: 6:06 pm   Time: 3:47   Attendance: 1097
Weather: 54 degrees, partly cloudy
Game notes:
This is a non-league game
ANDERSON faced 2 batters in the 6th.
WEST, Luke faced 2 batters in the 6th.
MILLER faced 2 batters in the 7th.
KONDO faced 3 batters in the 9th.
Utah starters: 10/ss BROOKS; 8/2b BELTRAN; 24/1b CRON; 30/lf COOPER; 6/rf
SHACKELFORD; 5/c GUYMON; 9/3b NIELSEN; 18/dh MOORMAN; 40/cf GREEN, Gavin; 22/p
STREICH;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 5/cf WELLS; 6/ss LAW; 10/lf BERNAL; 30/dh
FRAMPTON; 4/rf BRUGMAN; 18/c WOLFE; 26/1b HALL; 3/3b ROBINSON; 16/2b NIELSEN;
19/p POULSON;
Utah 1st - BROOKS singled up the middle. BELTRAN singled to right
center; BROOKS advanced to third. CRON flied out to lf, SF, RBI; BELTRAN out at
second lf to 2b; BROOKS scored. COOPER struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - WELLS flied out to rf. LAW doubled down the lf
line. BERNAL singled to right center, RBI; LAW scored. BERNAL out at second c
to 2b, caught stealing. FRAMPTON struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Utah 2nd - SHACKELFORD struck out swinging. GUYMON grounded out to ss.
NIELSEN doubled to left field. MOORMAN hit by pitch. MOORMAN advanced to
second; NIELSEN advanced to third on a wild pitch. GREEN, Gavin popped up to
ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - BRUGMAN struck out swinging. WOLFE hit by
pitch. HALL walked; WOLFE advanced to second. ROBINSON struck out swinging.
NIELSEN popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah 3rd - BROOKS grounded out to ss. BELTRAN struck out swinging. CRON
walked. COOPER walked; CRON advanced to second. SHACKELFORD walked; COOPER
advanced to second; CRON advanced to third. GUYMON struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - WELLS grounded out to ss. LAW popped up to 2b.
BERNAL walked. FRAMPTON singled to center field; BERNAL advanced to second.
BRUGMAN flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah 4th - NIELSEN fouled out to 1b. MOORMAN reached on a fielding error
by p. MOORMAN advanced to second on a wild pitch. MOORMAN advanced to third on
a wild pitch. GREEN, Gavin struck out swinging. BROOKS grounded out to ss. 0
runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - WOLFE singled to second base. HALL singled
through the left side; WOLFE advanced to second. ROBINSON reached on a
fielder's choice; HALL advanced to second; WOLFE out at third 3b to p. NIELSEN
struck out swinging. WELLS reached on a throwing error by 2b; ROBINSON advanced
to second; HALL advanced to third. LAW struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 3 LOB.
Utah 5th - BELTRAN singled up the middle. CRON doubled to left center,
RBI; BELTRAN scored. COOPER struck out swinging. SHACKELFORD fouled out to 3b.
GUYMON flied out to rf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - BERNAL struck out swinging. FRAMPTON doubled
down the lf line. BRUGMAN homered to left field, 2 RBI; FRAMPTON scored. WOLFE
flied out to lf. HALL struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Utah 6th - ANDERSON to p for POULSON. NIELSEN doubled to left field.
MOORMAN reached on a throwing error by p, SAC; NIELSEN advanced to third. PARRY
to p for ANDERSON. MOORMAN advanced to second; NIELSEN scored on a throwing
error by c, unearned. GREEN, Gavin grounded out to p, SAC; MOORMAN advanced to
third. BROOKS grounded out to 3b. BELTRAN singled to shortstop, RBI; MOORMAN
scored, unearned. RELF, Tyler pinch hit for GREEN, Gavin. CRON struck out
swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - RELF, Tyler to cf. ROBINSON flied out to cf.
WEST, Luke to p for STREICH. NIELSEN walked. WELLS walked; NIELSEN advanced to
second. KONDO to p for WEST, Luke. LAW struck out looking. BERNAL hit by pitch;
WELLS advanced to second; NIELSEN advanced to third. GUENTHER pinch hit for
FRAMPTON. GUENTHER grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Utah 7th - COOPER singled to left center. SHACKELFORD singled to right
field; COOPER advanced to third. GUYMON out at first 1b to p, RBI; SHACKELFORD
advanced to second; COOPER scored. NIELSEN struck out swinging. MILLER to p for
PARRY. ALEXANDER pinch hit for MOORMAN. ALEXANDER singled to center field, RBI;
SHACKELFORD scored. ALEXANDER advanced to second on a throwing error by p.
RELF, Tyler walked. SHUTT to p for MILLER. BROOKS struck out swinging. 2
runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - BRUGMAN grounded out to 1b unassisted. WOLFE
walked. HALL singled to second base; WOLFE advanced to second. ROBINSON homered
to right field, 3 RBI; HALL scored; WOLFE scored. NIELSEN grounded out to ss.
WELLS flied out to cf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah 8th - MAHONEY to p for SHUTT. BELTRAN struck out swinging. CRON
flied out to rf. COOPER singled to right field. SHACKELFORD lined out to ss.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - LAW grounded out to 3b. BERNAL grounded out to
ss. GUENTHER popped up to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah 9th - GUYMON struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. NIELSEN
struck out swinging. ALEXANDER walked. RELF, Tyler struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - BRUGMAN walked. BRUGMAN stole second. WOLFE
intentionally walked. HALL walked; WOLFE advanced to second; BRUGMAN advanced
to third. ANDERSEN to p for KONDO. ROBINSON struck out swinging. NIELSEN popped
up to 2b. WELLS grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Utah 10th - NEIL to p for MAHONEY. BROOKS struck out swinging. BELTRAN
lined out to 2b. CRON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 10th - LAW grounded out to ss. CALDWELL pinch hit
for BERNAL. CALDWELL walked. LOPEZ pinch hit for GUENTHER. LOPEZ grounded out
to 2b; CALDWELL advanced to second. BRUGMAN struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah 11th - CALDWELL to lf. COOPER struck out swinging, out at first c
to 1b. SHACKELFORD lined out to 1b. GUYMON struck out looking. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 11th - WOLFE popped up to ss. HALL doubled to left
field. ROBINSON walked. NIELSEN singled to left field, RBI; ROBINSON advanced
to third; HALL scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

A non-league game with Utah and a three-game conference series with New Mexico will be hosted by BYU’s baseball team starting Tuesday.

Cougar freshman Desmond Poulson (3-0, 6.46) will face Utah senior Stephen Streich (0-1, 7.16) on the mound in Tuesday’s game televised live by BYUtv at 6 p.m. Utah has a 16-13 overall record and moved into second place in the Mountain West Conference at 9-4. BYU is 18-14 overall and 6-5 in the MWC.

For the fourth time in over 50 years, BYU has a non-league game with Utah. Utah won the past three 9-7 in 2008, 8-4 in 2007 and 5-4 in 2006. Next season several non-league games are on tap for BYU vs. Utah.

“Every game is critical this week,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “We are facing a tough Utah team and I won’t discount it because it is non-conference, it’s still Utah. We need to move in the league standings and New Mexico isn’t happy they were swept by Utah. Plus we are dealing with final exams and graduation.”

Four current players including Ryan Bernal, Andrew Law Andrew, Jared Miller and Blake Torgerson are graduating this week. Four former BYU baseball players are also graduating, Sean McNaughton, Brandon Michon, Brandon Relf and Kevin Sloan.

The first two games against New Mexico, 10-27 and 5-7, on Thursday and Friday will also be at 6 p.m., at Miller Park with sophomore righthanders Taylor Cole (3-2, 2.86) and Chris Capper (3-2, 3.62) starting as BYU’s pitchers, respectively. Saturday’s BYU-UNM game stars at 1 p.m.

BYU has clinched the overall Deseret Duel Trophy for the third time, but the baseball portion of the Duel is still in question. Utah’s baseball team holds a 2-1 advantage going into next week’s non-league game on Tuesday in Provo. The Utes have a 26-18 advantage in the run differential, which could play a factor if the two teams tie--the remaining game is worth 1.5 points. Currently BYU leads in the overall Duel points, 29.5 to 22.