PROVO, Utah -- Despite an early lead, the BYU baseball team lost its second consecutive game 7-5 to New Mexico Friday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

The loss pushed the Cougars’ record to 19-16, 6-7 in Mountain West Conference play, while the Lobos improve to 12-27 and 7-7 in league play.

“We’re not accustomed to giving up a lead like that,” BYU head coach Vance Law said. “I think there are a lot of areas we need to work on to be the team we want to be. The thing about baseball is it’s so much less predictable than any other sport. If you get a guy who’s pitching well, it’s anybody’s game. I think we’re a better offensive team than we’re showing right now.”

Among the few positives for the Cougars were esignated hitter Alex Wolfe with two RBI and pitcher Chris Capper recorded eight strikeouts.

For the Lobos, first baseman DJ Peterson and shortstop Alex Allbritton each had two RBI. Jake McCasland pitched seven strikeouts and Gera Sanchez pitched four.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when left fielder Ryan Bernal and center fielder Wes Guenther hit back-to-back doubles. Shortstop Wolfe followed up with a home run to bring in Guenther for a 3-0 BYU lead. Second baseman Dane Nielsen batted in Austin Hall to end scoring for the inning.

New Mexico answered with three consecutive runs at the top of the fifth scored by right fielder Trey Porras on a single from center fielder Sam Wilson, third baseman Quay Grant on a second base throwing error and Wilson on a sacrifice fly from Luke Campbell.

At the bottom of the seventh, Nielsen ran home on an error by New Mexico’s Grant. A BYU strikeout ended the inning.

Starting off the eighth, Lobo Peterson smashed the ball over the left field fence, closing the BYU lead to 5-4. The Lobos proceeded to take a 6-5 lead after a shortstop error sent Grant to second and Allbritton doubled to left center, sending home Grant and John Twichell.

Catcher Mitch Garver ran home at the top of the ninth, putting the Lobos ahead 7-5.

The Cougars and Lobos play the last game of the three-game series Saturday at noon.

New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ.
Apr 22, 2011 at Provo, Utah (Larry H Miller Field)
New Mexico 7 (12-27,7-7 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
STINER, Kyle 2b..........  4  0  0  1   0  1  1  1   2
CAMPBELL, Luke lf........  4  0  1  1   0  0  1  0   0
GARVER, Mitch c..........  5  1  2  0   0  1 13  0   2
PETERSON, DJ 1b..........  4  1  1  2   0  1  2  2   0
TWICHELL, John dh........  4  1  2  0   1  0  0  0   1
PORRAS, Trey rf..........  3  1  1  0   0  2  4  0   0
 WOODCHICK, Ben ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 LIPPERT, Logan rf.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
GRANT, Quay 3b...........  4  2  2  0   0  1  0  0   0
ALLBRITTON, Alex ss......  3  0  2  2   0  1  1  1   2
WILSON, Sam cf...........  4  1  1  1   0  1  3  0   0
McCASLAND, Jake p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  2   0
 MARES, Bobby p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SANCHEZ, Gera p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 37  7 12  7   1  9 27  6   8
Brigham Young Univ. 5 (19-16,6-7 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf.......  4  0  0  0   0  1  2  0   3
LAW, Andrew ss...........  4  0  0  0   0  2  1  4   0
 CALDWELL, Kelton ph.....  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
BERNAL, Ryan lf..........  4  1  1  0   0  2  2  0   0
GUENTHER, Wes c..........  4  1  1  1   0  1  8  1   2
WOLFE, Alex dh...........  4  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   0
HALL, Austin 1b..........  4  1  1  0   0  3  9  1   0
ROBINSON, Dillon 3b......  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  1   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  3  1  2  1   1  0  2  1   0
WELLS, Stephen cf........  3  0  0  0   1  2  2  0   0
CAPPER, Chris 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
Totals................... 34  5  7  4   3 12 27  9   6
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 000 030 031 -  7 12  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 400 100 -  5  7  3
-------------------------------------------
E - GRANT(11); LAW(14); NIELSEN 2(9). LOB - NM 8; BYU 6. 2B - CAMPBELL(2);
ALLBRITTON(7); BERNAL(10); GUENTHER(3). 3B - GARVER(2). HR - PETERSON(4);
WOLFE(5). SH - STINER(5); ALLBRITTON(6); BRUGMAN(2). SF - CAMPBELL(1);
PETERSON(2). SB - ALLBRITTON(4); HALL(14).
New Mexico             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
McCASLAND, Jake.....  6.0  6  5  5  3  7 24 27
MARES, Bobby........  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  4
SANCHEZ, Gera.......  2.0  1  0  0  0  4  7  7
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CAPPER, Chris.......  7.0  7  4  3  1  8 27 31
MILLER, Jared.......  0.1  1  1  1  0  1  2  2
SHUTT, Justin.......  1.0  3  2  2  0  0  6  6
MAHONEY, Kolton.....  0.2  1  0  0  0  0  2  3
Win - MARES (2-4).  Loss - SHUTT (2-3).  Save - SANCHEZ (6).
WP - MARES(6); CAPPER(1); MAHONEY(2). PB - GARVER(5).
Umpires - HP: Bradley Hungerford  1B: John Cortez  3B: Wm. Van Raaphorst
Start: 6:01 pm   Time: 2:38   Attendance: 987
Weather: partly cloudy, 50 degrees
Game notes:
Saturday's game time moved up to noon MT
McCASLAND faced 2 batters in the 7th.
CAPPER faced 1 batter in the 8th.
New Mexico starters: 11/2b STINER; 18/lf CAMPBELL; 10/c GARVER; 33/1b PETERSON;
25/dh TWICHELL; 40/rf PORRAS; 13/3b GRANT; 4/ss ALLBRITTON; 32/cf WILSON; 38/p
McCASLAND;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/rf BRUGMAN; 6/ss LAW; 10/lf BERNAL; 9/c
GUENTHER; 18/dh WOLFE; 26/1b HALL; 3/3b ROBINSON; 16/2b NIELSEN; 5/cf WELLS;
15/p CAPPER;
New Mexico 1st - STINER out at first 1b to p. CAMPBELL flied out to cf.
GARVER grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - BRUGMAN popped up to 2b. LAW struck out
looking. BERNAL struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 2nd - PETERSON struck out swinging. TWICHELL grounded out to
1b unassisted. PORRAS struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - GUENTHER grounded out to 2b. WOLFE grounded
out to p. HALL struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 3rd - GRANT struck out looking. ALLBRITTON singled to left
field. ALLBRITTON stole second. WILSON struck out swinging, out at first c to
1b. STINER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - ROBINSON walked. NIELSEN flied out to cf.
WELLS struck out swinging. BRUGMAN flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 4th - CAMPBELL grounded out to ss. GARVER singled to left
field. PETERSON flied out to rf. TWICHELL popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - LAW struck out swinging. BERNAL doubled to
center field. BERNAL advanced to third on a passed ball. GUENTHER doubled to
right center, RBI; BERNAL scored. WOLFE homered to right field, 2 RBI; GUENTHER
scored. HALL singled to left field. ROBINSON singled to left field; HALL
advanced to second. HALL stole third. NIELSEN singled up the middle, RBI;
ROBINSON advanced to second; HALL scored. WELLS reached on a fielder's choice,
bunt; NIELSEN out at second p to ss; ROBINSON advanced to third. BRUGMAN flied
out to rf. 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico 5th - PORRAS singled to left field. GRANT singled up the
middle; PORRAS advanced to second. ALLBRITTON out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
GRANT advanced to second; PORRAS advanced to third. WILSON singled up the
middle, RBI; GRANT advanced to third; PORRAS scored. STINER reached on a
throwing error by 2b, SAC, bunt, RBI; WILSON advanced to third; GRANT scored.
CAMPBELL flied out to lf, SF, RBI; WILSON scored, unearned. GARVER struck out
looking. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - LAW flied out to rf. BERNAL flied out to cf.
GUENTHER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 6th - PETERSON reached on a throwing error by 2b. TWICHELL
walked; PETERSON advanced to second. PORRAS struck out swinging. TWICHELL
advanced to second; PETERSON advanced to third on a wild pitch. GRANT popped up
to ss. ALLBRITTON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - WOLFE flied out to rf. HALL struck out
swinging. ROBINSON out at first 1b to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
New Mexico 7th - WILSON grounded out to 2b. STINER flied out to lf.
CAMPBELL doubled to left center. GARVER grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - NIELSEN walked. WELLS walked; NIELSEN advanced
to second. MARES to p for McCASLAND. BRUGMAN reached on a throwing error by 3b,
advanced to second, SAC; WELLS advanced to third; NIELSEN scored. LAW reached
on a fielder's choice; WELLS out at home ss to c. BERNAL struck out looking.
LAW advanced to second; BRUGMAN advanced to third on a wild pitch. GUENTHER
flied out to rf. 1 run, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
New Mexico 8th - PETERSON homered to left field, RBI. MILLER to p for
CAPPER. TWICHELL singled to center field. WOODCHICK pinch hit for PORRAS.
WOODCHICK struck out swinging. SHUTT to p for MILLER. GRANT singled, advanced
to second on a throwing error by ss; TWICHELL advanced to third. ALLBRITTON
doubled to left center, 2 RBI; GRANT scored; TWICHELL scored. WILSON grounded
out to 1b unassisted; ALLBRITTON advanced to third. STINER flied out to cf.
3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - LIPPERT to rf for WOODCHICK. SANCHEZ to p for
MARES. WOLFE flied out to cf. HALL struck out swinging. ROBINSON out at first
1b to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 9th - CAMPBELL grounded out to ss. GARVER tripled to right
center. MAHONEY to p for SHUTT. PETERSON flied out to rf, SF, RBI; GARVER
scored. TWICHELL singled to second base. TWICHELL advanced to second on a wild
pitch. LIPPERT grounded out to ss. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - NIELSEN singled to center field. WELLS struck
out swinging. BRUGMAN struck out looking. CALDWELL pinch hit for LAW. CALDWELL
struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 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.