Saylor, Seniors Sizzle

PROVO -- Senior Ben Saylor highlighted 12 BYU seniors who suited up for a game in Provo for the last time Tuesday, as the Cougars defeated Utah Valley State 10-3.

The heart of BYU's offense in 2006, Saylor batted 2-for-4 on the evening with a home run and four RBI, while leading BYU to victory over his former school. Saylor was among the dozen BYU seniors who were honored before the game with their families in a ceremony in front of 2,003 Cougar fans.

BYU Coach Vance Law said that he was pleased that 10 of the 12 seniors were able to get into the game. He said that he almost felt bad that the game ended in a double play, because he had senior Mitch Woolf warming in the bullpen for the final out.

"It was especially gratifying to see Saylor hit a home run in his last home game," said Coach Law. "He worked extremely hard in the off-season to improve. And he has steadily improved his hitting numbers."

With runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth, Marcos Villezcas flied out deep enough to center to allow Stetson Banks to tag and score from third. One batter later, a hanging breaking ball from Brett Guerrero on a 3-1count made for Saylor's 18th home run of the season, as the two-run shot sailed over the wall in right to put BYU up 10-3 after six complete.

Kent Walton put a big exclamation point on a four-run third inning when he crushed a homer to the trees behind the left field fence on a 3-1 pitch from UVSC starter Dan Christensen (0-4). The blast knocked the Wolverine hurler out of the game and put BYU up 6-1. Walton hit 2-for-4 with a triple and the round-tripper on the night, while picking up three RBI for BYU.

"He had four good at-bats," said Coach Law of Walton. "He just crushed the ball tonight."

Anthony Bingham (1-1), who came into the game in relief in the fourth inning, picked up the win for BYU while working three innings and allowing no runs, walking none, striking out one and giving up just one hit. With the victory BYU closes its home schedule going 13-8 at Miller Park and improved its overall record to 27-26. The Wolverines, who played their last game in Utah for 2006, fell to 17-35.

Asked how he felt about the game, Bingham said, "It was fun to get a win here on senior night. It was nice to be able to get into the game. It felt especially good with the nice home crowd."

UVSC got one run in the top of the first off James Platt when Chris Benson doubled to center with two men on. Platt was able to slip out of the inning against the free-swinging Wolverines when Kent Walton made a diving catch in the gap in right center for the third out on a drive by Dan Bulow.

BYU roared back in the bottom of the first, as Seth Johnson singled and moved to second on a throwing error before scoring on Saylor's RBI single through the right side. The Cougars got another run on another throwing error, scoring Villezcas from second on the play to give BYU a 2-1 lead after the first.

Johnson reached again for the Cougars to lead off the third inning on an error by the third baseman before he scored on two consecutive errors by the Wolverine infield. Villezcas reached third on the errors before scoring another run for the Cougars on a groundout by Saylor.

Bulow showed some power of his own for the Wolverines in the top of the fourth inning, swinging on the first offering from Platt for a towering two-run home run over the scoreboard in left to pull UVSC to within three runs.

BYU increased its lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth when Walton hit his RBI triple over the head of Reno Mendenall in right field to score Kasey Ko from first.

Cougar senior right-hander Justin Su'a made his second appearance of the season in the top of the seventh, working through a scoreless inning while getting a dazzling diving catch in right field from Saylor for the first out. He then breezed through a scoreless eighth, allowing just a single to the Wolverines.

"It keeps us throwing strong," said Bingham on the impressive defense. "When the defense is playing behind you, you're not afraid to throw the ball down the middle."

Cortland Andrews finsihed the night for BYU as the Cougars ended the 2006 season at home with a nifty four-six-three double play, Banks to Villezcas to Jeff Hiestand.

BYU will close out the 2006 regular season and its Mountain West Conference campaign Thursday through Saturday when it plays three games against the University of Utah at Franklin Covey Park, home of the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League. The game times have all been changed to 11:30 a.m., for the Ute series.

The Cougars, who are third in the Mountain West Conference standings, will be vying for a higher seed in the conference tournament, which will be played beginning May 23rd in Las Vegas.

Utah Valley State at Brigham Young Univ.
May 16, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Utah Valley State 3 (17-35)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Brad Hales 2b............  4  1  1  0   0  0  3  1   2
 Keiki Albino 2b.........  1  0  1  0   0  0  1  1   0
Nick Connor cf...........  3  0  0  0   2  0  2  0   0
Eli Slesk ss.............  3  0  0  0   0  0  3  2   0
Chris Benson 3b..........  4  0  1  1   0  0  0  2   2
Canyon Vance lf..........  3  1  1  0   1  0  3  1   0
Dan Bulow 1b.............  4  1  1  1   0  0  6  2   2
Adam Openshaw dh.........  3  0  2  0   1  0  0  0   0
Cory Newton c............  2  0  1  0   0  0  3  1   0
 Derrick Thomas ph/c.....  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   2
Reno Mendenhall rf.......  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
 Kade Boyer rf...........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Dan Christensen p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Marcus Moore p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Brett Guerrero p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 Kyle Beecher p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Turreal Moore p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Totals................... 33  3  8  2   4  3 24 14   8
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (27-26)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Seth lf.........  2  3  1  0   2  0  2  0   0
 MOLINA, Adrian cf.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  3  2  0  1   1  0  3  5   1
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  4  1  2  4   0  1  2  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  1  1  1   0  1 11  1   0
KO, Kasey dh.............  2  1  1  0   2  0  0  0   0
WALTON, Kent cf/lf.......  4  1  2  3   0  0  4  0   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  1   1
NELSON, Casey c..........  3  0  2  0   0  0  1  1   1
 CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon pr.  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUSSO, J.T. c...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  4  1  0  0   0  1  1  3   1
PLATT, James p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BINGHAM, Anthony p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SU`A, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 ANDREWS, Cortland p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31 10 10  9   5  3 27 12   4
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Utah Valley State... 100 200 000 -  3  8  5
Brigham Young Univ.. 204 013 00X - 10 10  0
-------------------------------------------
E - Hales; Benson 2; Bulow; Christensen. DP - Wolverines 2; BYU Cougars 2.
LOB - Wolverines 8; BYU Cougars 4. 2B - Benson; Openshaw. 3B - WALTON. HR -
Bulow(11); SAYLOR(18); WALTON(4). HBP - Slesk; NELSON. SF - VILLEZCAS. SB -
HIESTAND.
Utah Valley State      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Dan Christensen.....  2.2  6  6  2  1  1 14 15
Marcus Moore........  1.1  1  0  0  1  0  4  5
Brett Guerrero......  2.0  3  4  4  2  2  8 11
Kyle Beecher........  0.1  0  0  0  1  0  1  2
Turreal Moore.......  1.2  0  0  0  0  0  4  5
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PLATT, James........  3.0  5  3  3  3  1 14 17
BINGHAM, Anthony....  3.0  1  0  0  0  1  9  9
SU`A, Justin........  2.0  1  0  0  1  0  7  9
ANDREWS, Cortland...  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  3  3
Win - BINGHAM (1-1).  Loss - Christensen (0-4).  Save - None.
WP - PLATT; BINGHAM. HBP - by SU`A (Slesk); by Moore, T (NELSON). BK - Guerrero.
Umpires - HP: Jim Paronto  1B: Pancho Flores  3B: Jon Clark
Start: 7:18 pm   Time: 2:51   Attendance: 2003
Game notes:
BYU has a 3-1 record vs. UVSC this season
All of BYU's games at Utah have been moved up to 11:30 a.m.,Thr, Fri, Sat
The season attendance is 26,058, 2nd highest to 31,275 in 2002 at Miller
Park.
PLATT faced 4 batters in the 4th.
Utah Valley State at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
May 16, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Utah Valley State... 100 200 000 -  3  8  5
Brigham Young Univ.. 204 013 00X - 10 10  0
-------------------------------------------
Utah Valley State starters: 10/2b Hales; 20/cf Connor; 2/ss Slesk; 1/3b Benson; 8/lf
Vance; 21/1b Bulow; 12/dh Openshaw; 26/c Newton; 11/rf Mendenhall; 15/p Christensen;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 26/lf JOHNSON, S.; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR;
32/1b HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 9/cf WALTON; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 7/p
PLATT;
Utah Valley State 1st - Hales singled to shortstop. Hales advanced to second
on a wild pitch. Connor walked. Slesk lined out to ss. Benson doubled to center
field, RBI; Connor advanced to third; Hales scored. Vance grounded out to p. Bulow
flied out to cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, S. singled to center field. JOHNSON, S.
advanced to second on a fielding error by 1b. VILLEZCAS walked. SAYLOR singled to
right field, RBI; VILLEZCAS advanced to second; JOHNSON, S. scored. HIESTAND reached
on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a throwing error by 2b, RBI; SAYLOR out
at second ss to 2b; VILLEZCAS scored. KO singled to left field, out on the play;
HIESTAND out on double play lf to c to ss. 2 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 2nd - Openshaw doubled to left field. Newton grounded out
to ss. Mendenhall struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b; Openshaw advanced to
third. Hales flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - WALTON lined out to ss. CROSBY out at first 1b to
p. NELSON singled to left center. BANKS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 3rd - Connor grounded out to ss. Slesk flied out to lf.
Benson flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - JOHNSON, S. reached on a throwing error by 3b.
VILLEZCAS reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second, advanced to third on a
throwing error by 3b; JOHNSON, S. advanced to second on a throwing error by p,
scored, unearned. SAYLOR grounded out to 2b, RBI; VILLEZCAS scored, unearned.
HIESTAND singled to right field. KO lined out to 2b. HIESTAND stole second. WALTON
homered to left field, 2 RBI, unearned; HIESTAND scored, unearned. Moore, M. to p
for Christensen. CROSBY singled to left field. NELSON lined out to 2b. 4 runs, 3
hits, 3 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 4th - Vance walked. Bulow homered to left field, RBI; Vance
scored. Openshaw walked. Newton singled to left field; Openshaw advanced to second.
BINGHAM to p for PLATT. Mendenhall struck out swinging. Hales grounded into double
play ss to 2b to 1b; Newton out on the play. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - BANKS grounded out to 3b. JOHNSON, S. walked.
JOHNSON, S. out at first p to 1b, picked off. VILLEZCAS flied out to cf. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 5th - Connor fouled out to 1b. Slesk flied out to lf.
Benson grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - Guerrero to p for Moore, M.. SAYLOR struck out
swinging. HIESTAND flied out to lf. KO walked. WALTON tripled to right field, RBI;
KO scored. CROSBY grounded out to p. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 6th - Vance grounded out to 3b. Bulow fouled out to 1b.
Openshaw singled to left field. Thomas pinch hit for Newton. Openshaw advanced to
second on a wild pitch. Thomas popped up to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - Thomas to c. NELSON singled to right center. BANKS
reached on a fielder's choice; NELSON out at second p to ss. JOHNSON, S. walked;
BANKS advanced to second. JOHNSON, S. advanced to second; BANKS advanced to third on
a balk. VILLEZCAS flied out to cf, SF, RBI; BANKS scored. SAYLOR homered to right
field, 2 RBI; JOHNSON, S. scored. HIESTAND struck out swinging. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 7th - SU`A to p for BINGHAM. Mendenhall flied out to rf.
Hales out at first 1b to p. Connor walked. Slesk hit by pitch; Connor advanced to
second. Benson flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - Beecher to p for Guerrero. Albino to 2b for Hales.
KO walked. WALTON flied out to lf. Moore, T to p for Beecher. CROSBY grounded into
double play 3b to 2b to 1b; KO out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Utah Valley State 8th - MOLINA to cf for JOHNSON, S.. WALTON to lf. Vance
singled to center field. Bulow grounded out to ss; Vance advanced to second.
Openshaw flied out to cf. Thomas flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - Boyer to rf for Mendenhall. NELSON hit by pitch.
CHRISTIANSEN pinch ran for NELSON. BANKS out at first p to 1b to p; CHRISTIANSEN
advanced to second. MOLINA grounded out to ss; CHRISTIANSEN advanced to third.
VILLEZCAS flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 9th - MUSSO to c for CHRISTIANSEN. ANDREWS to p for SU`A.
Boyer struck out swinging. Albino singled to left field. Connor grounded into double
play 2b to ss to 1b; Albino out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.