TULSA -- Junior college transfer Brandon Christiansen pitched a gem leading BYU to victory Friday over No. 30 Oral Roberts, 6-2.

The Cougars (4-4-1) got offensive help from Brandon Taylor, who went 4-for-5 with two RBI and Ben Saylor who batted in three more in the victory.

The Golden Eagles, now 6-4, drew first blood in the opening frame. They put together consecutive doubles with two-out in the inning to take a 1-0 lead. After the initial ORU run, both pitchers kept opposing batters in check.

The Cougars' Christiansen had another solid outing, keeping ORU hitters from crossing the plate. However, Golden Eagles' southpaw Taylor McIntyre was able to match Christiansen's effort keeping BYU hitters off the base pads throughout the game.

In the sixth, the Cougars' bats came alive as Apana Nakayama, Jeff Hiestand and Taylor got back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with only one out in the inning. Saylor's sacrifice fly scored Nakayama to tie the game, 1-1. McIntyre was able to strike out Ryan Chambers after battling back from a 3-0 count to get himself out of a bases loaded jam.

BYU loaded the bases again in the seventh inning without recording a hit. Taylor came through in the clutch with a two-out, two-strike double off the wall to score a couple and give the Cougars a 3-1 lead. ORU got a run back in the bottom of the seventh on a triple and ground out.

Kory Knell singled and came around to score an insurance run on a Sean McNaughton RBI ground out. In the ninth, BYU widened the gap to 6-2 with a two-out rally. Hiestand and Taylor singled followed by a two-run double by Saylor.

The Cougars' bullpen proved effective, giving up only one run while striking out five in three innings of work.

The three-game series concludes Saturday, a 2 p.m. (CST) start. There will be no live coverage on the Internet for that game.

BYU at Oral Roberts
Mar 04, 2005 at Tulsa, OK (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
BYU 6 (4-4-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  5  1  0  1   0  2  2  5   1
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  1  0  0   1  2  2  1   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  3  1  1  0   2  0  0  0   0
 MOLINA, Adrian cf.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  5  1  3  0   0  1 10  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  5  1  4  2   0  1  0  2   2
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  4  0  1  3   0  2  0  0   3
KNELL, Kory lf...........  4  1  2  0   1  1  1  0   1
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf/p......  3  0  0  0   0  2  3  0   3
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  2  0  0  0   0  1  4  1   0
 SLOAN, Kevin ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 NELSON, Casey c.........  1  0  1  0   0  0  5  0   0
CHRISTIANSEN, Brando p...  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 BARRETT, Joshua p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  6 12  6   4 12 27 11  10
Oral Roberts 2 (6-4)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Michael Hollimon ss......  4  0  2  0   1  1  2  1   1
Kelly Minissale cf.......  5  0  1  1   0  1  4  0   2
Brian Hanson 2b..........  3  1  1  0   1  1  1  4   0
Dennis Bigley 1b.........  3  0  1  1   0  1  9  1   2
Jon Tackett 3b...........  3  0  0  0   1  0  1  1   1
Ricky Rivera lf..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   2
Brian Aguailar c.........  3  0  0  0   1  2  9  2   0
Travis DeBondt dh........  3  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   1
 Tim Torres ph...........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Kevin Lamb rf............  4  1  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
Taylor McIntyre p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 Matt Hancock p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Daniel Greenwalt p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 33  2  8  2   4  9 27 13   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 000 001 212 -  6 12  0
Oral Roberts........ 100 000 100 -  2  8  2
-------------------------------------------
E - Hollimon; Aguailar. DP - BYU 1. LOB - BYU 10; ORU 9. 2B - TAYLOR;
SAYLOR; Hanson; Bigley; DeBondt. 3B - K. Lamb. HBP - Bigley. SH - CHAMBERS.
SF - SAYLOR. CS - Hollimon.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CHRISTIANSEN, Brando  6.0  7  1  1  2  4 24 26
BARRETT, Joshua.....  2.0  1  1  1  0  2  6  7
CHAMBERS, Ryan......  1.0  0  0  0  2  3  3  5
Oral Roberts           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Taylor McIntyre.....  6.1  6  3  1  4 10 24 30
Matt Hancock........  0.1  0  0  0  0  1  1  1
Daniel Greenwalt....  2.1  6  3  3  0  1 12 12
Win - CHRISTIANSEN (1-0).  Loss - McIntyre (1-3).  Save - None.
WP - McIntyre 2. HBP - by BARRETT (Bigley). BK - CHRISTIANSEN.
Umpires - HP: Josh Schepis  1B: Terry Harrison  3B: Tim Norman
Start: 3:00 pm   Time: 2:45   Attendance: 512
Play-by-Play
BYU at Oral Roberts - Play-by-Play
Mar 04, 2005 at Tulsa, OK (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 000 001 212 -  6 12  0
Oral Roberts........ 100 000 100 -  2  8  2
-------------------------------------------
BYU starters: 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA; 16/1b HIESTAND;
3/3b TAYLOR; 25/rf SAYLOR; 12/lf KNELL; 22/cf CHAMBERS; 9/c CLOWARD; 31/p
CHRISTIANSEN;
Oral Roberts starters: 14/ss Hollimon; 2/cf Minissale; 11/2b Hanson; 25/1b Bigley;
8/3b Tackett; 21/lf Rivera; 5/c Aguailar; 24/dh DeBondt; 6/rf K. Lamb; 18/p
McIntyre;
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON struck out looking. VILLEZCAS struck out swinging.
NAKAYAMA walked. HIESTAND singled to right field; NAKAYAMA advanced to second.
TAYLOR struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Oral Roberts 1st - Hollimon singled to right field. Hollimon out at second c
to ss, caught stealing. Minissale grounded out to 2b. Hanson doubled down the rf
line. Hanson advanced to third on a balk. Bigley doubled down the rf line, RBI;
Hanson scored. Tackett walked. Rivera grounded out to p. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors,
2 LOB.
BYU 2nd - SAYLOR struck out swinging. KNELL singled, bunt. KNELL out at
second p to 1b to ss to 1b to 2b to 3b, picked off. CHAMBERS struck out looking.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Oral Roberts 2nd - Aguailar grounded out to 2b. DeBondt doubled down the rf
line. K. Lamb flied out to cf. Hollimon flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - CLOWARD fouled out to 1b. McNAUGHTON struck out swinging. VILLEZCAS
popped up to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Oral Roberts 3rd - Minissale grounded out to p. Hanson walked. Bigley flied
out to lf. Tackett grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 4th - NAKAYAMA flied out to cf. HIESTAND flied out to cf. TAYLOR singled
to pitcher. SAYLOR grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oral Roberts 4th - Rivera grounded out to 3b. Aguailar struck out swinging.
DeBondt grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 5th - KNELL walked. CHAMBERS grounded out to p, SAC; KNELL advanced to
second. CLOWARD struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. McNAUGHTON grounded out
to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oral Roberts 5th - K. Lamb popped up to 2b. Hollimon singled up the middle.
Minissale singled through the left side; Hollimon advanced to second. Hanson flied
out to cf. Bigley struck out swinging. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - VILLEZCAS struck out swinging. NAKAYAMA singled through the right
side. HIESTAND singled to right field; NAKAYAMA advanced to second. TAYLOR singled
to center field; HIESTAND advanced to second; NAKAYAMA advanced to third. SAYLOR
flied out to cf, SF, RBI; NAKAYAMA scored. KNELL struck out swinging, reached first
on an error by c; TAYLOR advanced to second; HIESTAND advanced to third. CHAMBERS
struck out looking. 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Oral Roberts 6th - Tackett grounded out to 3b. Rivera singled up the middle.
Aguailar struck out looking. DeBondt struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - SLOAN pinch hit for CLOWARD. SLOAN reached on an error by ss.
McNAUGHTON reached on a fielder's choice; SLOAN out at second p to ss. McNAUGHTON
advanced to second on a wild pitch. VILLEZCAS walked. VILLEZCAS advanced to second
on a wild pitch; McNAUGHTON advanced to third. NAKAYAMA intentionally walked.
Hancock to p for McIntyre. HIESTAND struck out looking. Greenwalt to p for Hancock.
TAYLOR doubled to right center, 2 RBI; NAKAYAMA advanced to third; VILLEZCAS scored,
unearned; McNAUGHTON scored, unearned. SAYLOR struck out swinging. 2 runs, 1 hit,
1 error, 2 LOB.
Oral Roberts 7th - NELSON to c for SLOAN. BARRETT to p for CHRISTIANSEN. K.
Lamb tripled to right center. Hollimon struck out swinging. Minissale grounded out
to 2b, RBI; K. Lamb scored. Hanson struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 8th - KNELL singled to right field. CHAMBERS grounded out to 1b
unassisted; KNELL advanced to second. NELSON singled to center field; KNELL advanced
to third. McNAUGHTON grounded out to 2b, RBI; NELSON advanced to second; KNELL
scored. NELSON out at second p to 2b, picked off. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Oral Roberts 8th - Bigley hit by pitch. Tackett grounded into double play ss
to 2b to 1b; Bigley out on the play. Rivera lined out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - VILLEZCAS flied out to lf. NAKAYAMA grounded out to 2b. HIESTAND
singled to right field. TAYLOR singled; HIESTAND advanced to second. SAYLOR doubled
to left center, 2 RBI; TAYLOR scored; HIESTAND scored. KNELL flied out to cf. 2
runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oral Roberts 9th - MOLINA to cf for NAKAYAMA. CHAMBERS to p. /  for BARRETT.
Aguailar walked. Torres pinch hit for DeBondt. Torres struck out looking. K. Lamb
struck out swinging. Hollimon walked; Aguailar advanced to second. Minissale struck
out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

PROVO -- After a 1-1-1 series split against San Jose State, BYU heads to Oklahoma to play five games in as many days.

The Cougars (2-2-1) will first travel to Stillwater, Okla., for a two-game stint with No. 27 Oklahoma State (7-4) Tuesday and Wednesday before moving on to Tulsa for a three-game series against Oral Roberts (5-3). Game time for the Tuesday game will be 7 p.m. (CST). Wednesday will be a 4 p.m. start. Against Oral Roberts, game times for the games Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be 3 p.m., 3 p.m. and 2 p.m. (CST), respectively.

Freshman Blake Torgerson (0-0, 10.80 ERA) and junior college transfer Mitch Woolf (0-0, 0.00) will make their first career division one starts against Oklahoma State. BYU will use the same rotation as it has the past two weekends of Dave Horlacher (1-0, 2.70), Patrick Wells (1-1, 5.23) and Brandon Christiansen (0-0, 2.70) in the respective Oral Roberts' games Thursday through Saturday.

The Cougars are coming off a series in which they won convincingly once, lost on a 10th-inning error and tied so they could catch a plane. BYU head coach Vance Law is pleased with the way his team is playing.

"We had a chance to win all three of those games [against San Jose State]," Law said.

Law believes the Oklahoma trip will be a good early season test for the Cougars' pitching staff.

"It will be a good challenge," Law said about the Oklahoma trip. "I believe that we have more depth in our pitching staff this year than in the past."

Lefty Lance Beus and team co-captain pitcher Michel Bergeron, who are both recovering from injuries, will make the trip with the team to add a few extra arms to the bullpen. Beus, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, played fall baseball for Oklahoma State before transferring to BYU for the winter semester of 2004.

Upon returning from Oklahoma, the Cougars will play host to Utah Valley State College on Tuesday, March 8 at 3 p.m., in their first home game of the season.

The Oklahoma State games and the first two Oral Roberts games will have a live audio feed on the Internet. 

Also, Oklahoma State offers a paid Internet video feed of the games. The cost is $9.95.

A multi-page release can be found by downloading the PDF file at the top of this story, which gives a detailed analysis of the Cougars.