OREM -- A pair of three-run home runs by Brandon Taylor and Ben Saylor helped erase a six-run deficit and led BYU to a 10-6 victory over Utah Valley State at Parkway Crossing Stadium Monday night.

The Cougars, now 32-13-1 (16-5, Mountain West Conference), scored 10 unanswered runs to get the victory in front of a crowd of 1,763, which is the largest crowd ever in the stadium's inaugural season. BYU head coach Vance Law is proud of the persistance of his team.

"We've scratched and clawed our way to a few wins because of the heart of our team," said Law, who remained in the dugout with a migraine headache which started at the beginning of the game and let his assistants do the base coaching.

UVSC (14-33) started the scoring as it batted around in the bottom of the second inning. The Wolverines sent 10 hitters to the plate. They loaded bases on three consecutive bloop singles. UVSC then got consecutive two-run doubles from Brad Hales and Kevin Hashimoto to open up the 4-0 lead

The next inning the Wolverines added two more runs on a two-run, opposite field home run by Dan Bulow.

BYU came roaring back in the top of the fourth inning, cutting the lead to 6-5. After a Marcos Villezcas walk and an Apana Nakayama walk, Brandon Taylor hit an opposite-field, three-run shot. It was Taylor's 18th homer on the year.

Law continues to rave about Taylor, who will get married tomorrow.

"He's as good as a defensive third baseman as there is in the majors," Law said. "He is the best player in our conference and one of the best in college baseball."

In the top of the fifth, BYU took its first lead of the game, 8-6. The runs all came with two outs in the inning. Jeff Hiestand started the two-out rally when he got hit by a pitch on a one-ball, two-strike count. Taylor followed with a line single to left. Ben Saylor then hit a three-run blast to get the lead.

After getting touched up for six runs early, BYU pitching settled down over the middle innings. Justin Su`a came in and pitched four strong innings giving up just one run on three hits to earn the win. Josh Barrett followed Su`a, pitching a strong three innings for the Cougars to earn his third save of the season.

BYU added two insurance runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Hiestand and Taylor. Hiestand's single extended his team-leading hitting streak to 24 games.

The Cougars return home Thursday to Larry H. Miller Field. They will play host to MWC opponent New Mexico in a three-game, weekend series. All three games will be broadcast live on KOVO radio 960. Live audio feed will also be available for Saturday's game on the Internet at www.byucougars.com.

Brigham Young Univ. at Utah Valley State
May 02, 2005 at Orem, Utah (Parkway Crossing)
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (32-13-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KNELL, Kory cf...........  5  0  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  1  2  0  0   4  0  3  4   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  2  2  0   1  1  0  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  1  1  1   0  1  7  0   4
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  5  2  3  4   0  1  1  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  5  2  2  3   0  1  1  0   0
IORG, Seth lf............  5  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
NELSON, Casey c..........  3  0  1  1   0  0 10  0   0
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  3  0  1  0   0  0  3  1   0
PLATT, James p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SU'A, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 BARRETT, Joshua p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 35 10 12 10   5  4 27  8   6
Utah Valley State 6 (14-33)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DREW, Kory cf............  5  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   1
CONNOR, Nick rf..........  4  0  0  0   1  1  0  0   0
VANCE, Canyon 3b/lf......  3  0  2  0   0  1  2  2   0
PERRY, Trent 1b..........  4  0  0  0   0  1 12  0   4
SLESK, Eli ss............  5  2  2  0   0  1  4 10   1
BULOW, Dan dh............  5  2  2  2   0  2  0  0   2
NEWTON, Cory c...........  3  1  2  0   0  1  3  2   0
HALES, Brad 2b...........  3  1  1  2   0  0  4  1   0
HASHIMOTO, Kevin lf......  4  0  1  2   0  0  0  0   1
 MENDENHALL, Reno 3b.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MICKOLIO, Kam p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 TASH, Kyle p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GUERRERO, Brett p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BATEMAN, Todd p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 36  6 10  6   1  9 27 16   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 530 002 - 10 12  1
Utah Valley State... 042 000 000 -  6 10  1
-------------------------------------------
E - TAYLOR; SLESK. DP - Wolverines 1. LOB - BYU Cougars 6; Wolverines 9. 2B
- NAKAYAMA; NELSON; VANCE 2; SLESK; HALES; HASHIMOTO. HR - TAYLOR(18);
SAYLOR(8); BULOW(15). HBP - HIESTAND; NELSON; VANCE 2; PERRY; NEWTON. SH -
LAW; HALES. SB - KNELL.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
PLATT, James........  2.0  6  5  5  1  1 12 14  51
SU'A, Justin........  4.0  3  1  1  0  4 14 17  48
BARRETT, Joshua.....  3.0  1  0  0  0  4 10 11  40
Utah Valley State      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
MICKOLIO, Kam.......  5.0  8  8  7  2  0 22 25  83
TASH, Kyle..........  3.0  2  2  2  3  4  9 14  60
GUERRERO, Brett.....  0.2  2  0  0  0  0  3  3  12
BATEMAN, Todd.......  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   1
Win - SU'A (5-2).  Loss - MICKOLIO (2-9).  Save - BARRETT (3).
WP - TASH. HBP - by PLATT (VANCE); by SU'A (VANCE); by MICKOLIO (HIESTAND); by
SU'A (NEWTON); by TASH (NELSON); by BARRETT (PERRY). Pitches/strikes: PLATT
51/28; SU'A 48/32; BARRETT 40/30; MICKOLIO 83/48; TASH 60/34; GUERRERO 12/10;
BATEMAN 1/1.
Umpires - HP: Blyden Loutensock  1B: Lew Carleton  3B: Terry Balser
Start: 7:06 pm   Time: 2:48   Attendance: 1763
PLATT faced 1 batter in the 3rd.
TASH faced 2 batters in the 9th.
Brigham Young Univ. at Utah Valley State - Play-by-Play
May 02, 2005 at Orem, Utah (Parkway Crossing)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 530 002 - 10 12  1
Utah Valley State... 042 000 000 -  6 10  1
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 12/cf KNELL; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA; 16/1b
HIESTAND; 3/3b TAYLOR; 25/rf SAYLOR; 19/lf IORG; 8/c NELSON; 6/2b LAW; 7/p PLATT;
Utah Valley State starters: 1/cf DREW; 20/rf CONNOR; 8/3b VANCE; 5/1b PERRY; 2/ss
SLESK; 21/dh BULOW; 25/c NEWTON; 10/2b HALES; 3/lf HASHIMOTO; 27/p MICKOLIO;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - KNELL grounded out to c, bunt (0-1). VILLEZCAS
walked (3-2). NAKAYAMA reached on a fielder's choice (2-0); VILLEZCAS out at second
ss to 2b. HIESTAND lined out to 2b (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 1st - DREW grounded out to ss (2-1). CONNOR grounded out to
ss (2-2). VANCE struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - TAYLOR grounded out to ss (0-0). SAYLOR lined out
to 1b (3-2). IORG flied out to cf (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 2nd - PERRY flied out to cf (0-0). SLESK singled to right
field (3-2). BULOW singled to right center (1-1); SLESK advanced to second. NEWTON
singled to center field (1-0); BULOW advanced to second; SLESK advanced to third.
HALES doubled to right center, 2 RBI (3-2); NEWTON advanced to third; BULOW scored;
SLESK scored. HASHIMOTO doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI (2-2); HALES scored; NEWTON
scored. DREW reached on a fielder's choice (0-2); HASHIMOTO out at second ss to 2b.
CONNOR walked (3-1); DREW advanced to second. VANCE hit by pitch (1-0); CONNOR
advanced to second; DREW advanced to third. PERRY reached on a fielder's choice
(1-0); VANCE out at second ss unassisted. 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - NELSON grounded out to ss (0-0). LAW grounded out
to ss (0-2). KNELL grounded out to ss (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 3rd - SLESK doubled to left center (0-0). SU'A to p for
PLATT. BULOW homered down the rf line, 2 RBI (0-0); SLESK scored. NEWTON singled,
advanced to second on a throwing error by 3b (0-0). HALES grounded out to p, SAC,
bunt (0-0); NEWTON advanced to third. HASHIMOTO grounded out to p (1-0). DREW popped
up to 2b (0-1). 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - VILLEZCAS walked (3-0). NAKAYAMA doubled down the
lf line (2-1); VILLEZCAS advanced to third. HIESTAND fouled out to 3b (1-1). TAYLOR
homered to right field, 3 RBI (1-0); NAKAYAMA scored; VILLEZCAS scored. SAYLOR
singled to right field (0-0). IORG singled to left field (0-2); SAYLOR advanced to
second. NELSON doubled to right field, RBI (1-1); IORG advanced to third; SAYLOR
scored. LAW popped up to ss (0-0). KNELL reached on a throwing error by ss, RBI
(0-1); NELSON advanced to third; IORG scored, unearned. NELSON out at third p to ss
to 3b, picked off. 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 4th - CONNOR flied out to cf (3-1). VANCE hit by pitch
(0-0). PERRY struck out swinging (0-2). SLESK struck out looking (1-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - VILLEZCAS lined out to ss (1-2). NAKAYAMA singled,
out at second ss to 2b (1-0). HIESTAND hit by pitch (1-2). TAYLOR singled to left
field (1-1); HIESTAND advanced to second. SAYLOR homered to right field, 3 RBI
(3-1); TAYLOR scored; HIESTAND scored. IORG popped up to ss (2-1). 3 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 5th - BULOW struck out looking (1-2). NEWTON hit by pitch
(0-2). HALES fouled out to 3b (0-1). HASHIMOTO grounded out to 2b (2-1). 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - TASH to p for MICKOLIO. NELSON hit by pitch (1-1).
LAW grounded out to 1b unassisted, SAC (0-0); NELSON advanced to second. KNELL
singled to right field (3-2); NELSON advanced to third. KNELL stole second.
VILLEZCAS walked (3-2). NAKAYAMA struck out swinging (2-2). HIESTAND struck out
looking (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Utah Valley State 6th - DREW struck out swinging (3-2). CONNOR popped up to
ss (0-0). VANCE doubled to left field (2-2). PERRY fouled out to c (1-0). 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - TAYLOR struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b
(1-2). SAYLOR struck out swinging (1-2). IORG grounded out to 3b (2-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 7th - BARRETT to p for SU'A. SLESK lined out to ss (0-2).
BULOW struck out swinging (2-2). NEWTON struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - NELSON grounded out to ss (1-2). LAW singled down
the lf line (0-0). KNELL grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-2); LAW out on
the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 8th - HALES grounded out to ss (0-0). HASHIMOTO popped up
to rf (1-2). DREW struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - VANCE to lf. MENDENHALL to 3b for HASHIMOTO.
VILLEZCAS walked (3-2). VILLEZCAS advanced to second on a wild pitch. NAKAYAMA
walked (3-2). GUERRERO to p for TASH. HIESTAND singled up the middle, RBI (1-2);
NAKAYAMA advanced to second; VILLEZCAS scored. TAYLOR singled down the lf line, out
at second lf to ss to 2b, RBI (1-1); HIESTAND advanced to third; NAKAYAMA scored.
SAYLOR fouled out to 1b (0-2). BATEMAN to p for GUERRERO. IORG flied out to cf
(0-0). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 9th - CONNOR struck out looking (1-2). VANCE doubled to
left center (1-1). PERRY hit by pitch (2-2). SLESK grounded out to p (1-2); PERRY
advanced to second; VANCE advanced to third. BULOW flied out to 2b (0-1). 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

No. 1 in the nation at slugging and doubles are two kudos for BYU as it hosts the final six games of the home season, beginning Thursday with a three-game series against New Mexico.

The Cougars, 32-13-1, are tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference at 16-5 with UNLV, while UNM is tied for fourth with Utah at 9-12.

BYU ascended to the nation's lead with a .564 slugging percentage in the latest NCAA statistics and are still on school-record pace averaging 2.93 doubles. The Lobos also have a national leader with Garrick Haymore averaging .21 triples as UNM is second as a team in the nation in that category at 0.71.

BYU also has some individual leaders topped by Brandon Taylor and Ben Saylor. Taylor, who was named to a national player of the week honor for the second consecutive week, is sixth in the nation with his 18 homers and is fifth nationally in RBI with a 1.51 average. Saylor is third nationally, averaging 0.5 doubles.

The Cougars are hopeful for the return of freshman phenom Sean McNaughton this week after he was sidelined last month with a broken thumb. UNM also has a top freshman second baseman in Jordan Pacheco who leads the MWC in several categories.

BYU will be starting Dave Horlacher (4-2, 3.84) on the mound in Thursday's game at 7 p.m., at Larry H. Miller Field. On Friday, BYU Coach Vance Law has tapped a new starter in junior southpaw Lance Beus (1-0, 6.48), also starting at 7 p.m. This is the first start of the season for Beus, who had arm surgery last Fall. On Saturday at 1 p.m., freshman Blake Torgerson (5-2, 5.77) will be the BYU starter.

Saturday vs. UNM is Cosmo's Kids Club Day and Kids Take Over Milleryy´Park Day. Kids will be helping take tickets, read PA's, select music, and rake the field with the grounds crew. Kids will be selected starting at 12 noon at Cosmo's Kids Club Party. There is a FREE Youth Baseball Clinic (ages of 8-12, pre-register on www.byucougars.com) following the 1 p.m. game vs. New Mexico.

Next week, BYU closes its regular season at home with a three-game stand against UNLV.

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.