PROVO -- Strong relief pitching helped BYU hold on for a 6-5 victory over rival Utah Thursday night at Larry H. Miller.

The win pushes the Cougars record to 15-5-1 (3-1, Mountain West Conference). The Utes fall to (7-14, 1-3). With the victory, BYU moves into a first place tie with UNLV in the league standings.

BYU got an early lead, scoring two runs in the first on back-to-back-to-back singles by Apana Nakayama, Jeff Hiestand and Brandon Taylor. Hiestand scored on Taylor's single when the ball got past Utes' centerfielder John Welsh.

Utah responded in the third inning adding two runs of its own on four hits including a RBI single by Ryan Khoury. Khoury was caught stealing which hurt the Utes because the next batter Doug Beck doubled. BYU pitcher Dave Horlacher was able to get the last Ute hitter to fly out to end the threat in the inning.

The Cougars responded in the bottom side of the inning on Sean McNaughton's ninth home run of the season, a solo shot to deep right-center. BYU head coach Vance Law is impressed with the start of his freshman second baseman.

"He [McNaughton] is an explosive, explosive hitter," Law said. "He is confident and the ball just jumps off of his bat."

Utah responded in the next half inning, scoring two to take its first--and only--lead of the ball game. They scored on a Ryder Olsen RBI single.

In the fifth, BYU used the long ball to re-take the lead. Hiestand smoked a long homer to center field to put the Cougs up 5-4. The teams traded runs in the sixth inning before excellent relief pitching set in.

BYU got four solid relief innings from Justin Su`a--who recorded his second win and James Platt--who got his third save on the season.

"I'm pleased with the performance of our pitching," Law said. "It wasn't a real pretty game defensively, but a win is a win and we'll take it."

The series continues at Larry H. Miller Field Friday night at 7 p.m. BYU will likely start pitcher Brandon Christiansen (1-0, 4.32 ERA) against the Utes. There will be audio coverage of the game on KOVO 960 AM and also via the Internet at www.byucougars.com.

University of Utah at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar 24, 2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
University of Utah 5 (7-14,1-3 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WELSH, John cf...........  5  0  1  0   0  1  3  0   0
KHOURY, Ryan ss..........  4  0  1  1   1  2  1  3   3
BECK, Doug 2b............  5  0  4  0   0  0  1  3   0
MOZELESKI, Joe rf........  5  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
BROSSMAN, Jay 3b.........  3  1  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
GARRETT, Clayne 1b.......  4  0  0  0   0  3  9  0   2
EASTMAN, Trevor c........  4  2  2  0   0  0  9  1   0
OLSEN, Ryder dh..........  4  1  3  0   0  0  0  0   0
TARTLER, Seth lf.........  3  1  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
PRICE, Jason p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 COOPER, Josh p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  5 13  1   2  7 24  8   8
Brigham Young Univ. 6 (15-5-1,3-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  4  1  1  1   0  1  6  1   1
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  1  3  0   0  0  1  2   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  3  2  2  2   1  1  6  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  4  0  1  1   0  2  1  1   2
SAYLOR, Ben lf...........  3  1  0  0   1  1  3  0   1
KNELL, Kory rf...........  3  0  1  0   0  2  1  0   0
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  3  0  0  0   1  1  2  0   0
NELSON, Casey c..........  4  0  1  1   0  1  7  3   2
HORLACHER, Dave p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 SU'A, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 PLATT, James p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  6 10  5   3  9 27  9   6
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
University of Utah.. 002 201 000 -  5 13  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 201 021 00X -  6 10  3
-------------------------------------------
E - WELSH; McNAUGHTON; CHAMBERS; HORLACHER. DP - Utah Utes 1; BYU Cougars 1.
LOB - Utah Utes 8; BYU Cougars 6. 2B - BECK; BROSSMAN; OLSEN; NELSON. HR -
McNAUGHTON(9); HIESTAND(4). SH - TARTLER; KNELL. SB - KNELL. CS - KHOURY;
EASTMAN.
University of Utah     IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PRICE, Jason........  6.1  9  6  5  3  7 26 30
COOPER, Josh........  1.2  1  0  0  0  2  6  6
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HORLACHER, Dave.....  5.0  9  4  2  2  4 22 24
SU'A, Justin........  2.0  2  1  1  0  2  8  9
PLATT, James........  2.0  2  0  0  0  1  7  7
Win - SU'A (2-0).  Loss - PRICE (1-5).  Save - PLATT (3).
WP - SU'A.
Umpires - HP: John DeLuca  1B: Ted Bergquist  3B: Randy Upton
Start: 7:17 pm   Time: 2:35   Attendance: 771
Play-by-Play
University of Utah at Brigham Young Univ. 
Mar 24, 2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
University of Utah.. 002 201 000 -  5 13  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 201 021 00X -  6 10  3
-------------------------------------------
University of Utah starters: 4/cf WELSH; 2/ss KHOURY; 3/2b BECK; 22/rf MOZELESKI;
18/3b BROSSMAN; 33/1b GARRETT; 5/c EASTMAN; 24/dh OLSEN; 16/lf TARTLER; 15/p PRICE;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA;
16/1b HIESTAND; 3/3b TAYLOR; 25/lf SAYLOR; 12/rf KNELL; 22/cf CHAMBERS; 8/c NELSON;
11/p HORLACHER;
University of Utah 1st - WELSH struck out swinging. KHOURY walked. BECK flied
out to lf. MOZELESKI popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - McNAUGHTON grounded out to 1b unassisted. VILLEZCAS
flied out to cf. NAKAYAMA singled to left field. HIESTAND singled to right field;
NAKAYAMA advanced to second. TAYLOR singled to center field, advanced to second on a
fielding error by cf, RBI; HIESTAND scored, unearned; NAKAYAMA scored. SAYLOR struck
out swinging. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 2nd - BROSSMAN grounded out to p. GARRETT struck out
looking. EASTMAN popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - KNELL struck out swinging. CHAMBERS fouled out to
c. NELSON struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
University of Utah 3rd - OLSEN doubled to left field. TARTLER singled, bunt,
advanced to second on a throwing error by p; OLSEN scored. WELSH flied out to rf;
TARTLER advanced to third. KHOURY singled to shortstop, RBI; TARTLER scored,
unearned. KHOURY out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. BECK doubled to center
field. MOZELESKI flied out to lf. 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - McNAUGHTON homered to left field, RBI. VILLEZCAS
singled through the left side. NAKAYAMA grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b;
VILLEZCAS out on the play. HIESTAND walked. TAYLOR reached on a fielder's choice;
HIESTAND out at second ss to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 4th - BROSSMAN doubled down the lf line. GARRETT struck
out swinging. EASTMAN singled to center field, advanced to second on a throwing
error by cf; BROSSMAN scored, unearned. OLSEN singled through the right side;
EASTMAN scored. TARTLER flied out to cf. WELSH singled to right center; OLSEN
advanced to third. KHOURY struck out swinging. 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - SAYLOR flied out to cf. KNELL struck out swinging.
CHAMBERS walked. NELSON flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 5th - BECK singled through the left side. MOZELESKI
grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; BECK out on the play. BROSSMAN walked.
GARRETT flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - McNAUGHTON grounded out to 2b. VILLEZCAS singled up
the middle. NAKAYAMA popped up to 1b. HIESTAND homered to center field, 2 RBI;
VILLEZCAS scored. TAYLOR struck out looking. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
University of Utah 6th - SU'A to p for HORLACHER. EASTMAN reached on a
fielding error by 2b. OLSEN singled to right field; EASTMAN advanced to second.
TARTLER out at first c to 2b, SAC, bunt; OLSEN advanced to second; EASTMAN advanced
to third. WELSH fouled out to 1b. OLSEN advanced to third; EASTMAN scored on a wild
pitch. KHOURY struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - SAYLOR walked. KNELL grounded out to p, SAC, bunt;
SAYLOR advanced to second. CHAMBERS struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b.
NELSON doubled down the rf line, RBI; SAYLOR scored. McNAUGHTON struck out looking.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 7th - BECK singled to second base. MOZELESKI grounded out
to p; BECK advanced to second. BROSSMAN grounded out to 3b. GARRETT struck out
looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - VILLEZCAS singled to left field. NAKAYAMA popped up
to lf. COOPER to p for PRICE. HIESTAND struck out swinging. TAYLOR struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 8th - PLATT to p for SU'A. EASTMAN singled to second base.
OLSEN flied out to cf. EASTMAN out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. TARTLER
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - SAYLOR grounded out to 1b unassisted. KNELL singled
up the middle. KNELL stole second. CHAMBERS grounded out to 2b; KNELL advanced to
third. NELSON grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 9th - WELSH popped up to 3b. KHOURY lined out to ss. BECK
singled to center field. MOZELESKI reached on a fielder's choice; BECK out at second
ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Night baseball games now start at BYU this week, beginning with Tuesday's 7 p.m. tilt between BYU and Utah Valley State.

BYU, now 13-5-1, hosts UVSC, 6-16, for the second time this season. The Cougars beat the Wolverines, 15-8, earlier this month at Larry H. Miller Field.

The Cougars are likely to start lefty Patrick Wells (1-1, 5.23) on the mound. The senior has been absent from action for several weeks due to tendonitis.

Following the BYU-UVSC game, the Cougars ready for a clash with the University of Utah, 7-13 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference.

The three-game series with Utah begins on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday's finale between BYU and Utah in Provo starts at 1 p.m. and will be followed by a youth clinic.

BYU brings a 2-1 MWC record into this week's action, good enough for second place in the league. Last week, BYU had an eight-game winning streak stopped at New Mexico before the Cougars bounced back to win the last two games against the Lobos.

The probable pitching rotation for BYU will be Dave Horlacher (1-1, 3.90), followed by Brandon Christiansen (1-0, 4.32) and Blake Torgerson (2-1, 5.52).

Those BYU-Utah games will be broadcast live over KOVO Radio (960 AM) locally and via the Internet (see links on the BYU baseball schedule on www.byucougars.com).

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.