PROVO -- Despite a one-and-a-half-hour rain delay, BYU took advantage of several two-out rallies to beat the Air Force Falcons 10-4 on Thursday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

With the victory the Cougars improve to 16-12 overall and 4-3 in Mountain West Conference play. Air Force falls to 12-18 and 0-6 in conference.

Senior Dane Nielsen went 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI to go along with his three runs scored. Four other Cougars collected two hits apiece in route to the win. Relief pitcher Justin Shutt gave BYU 2.2 shutout innings to earn the win.

“We play 27 outs and never give in, even with two outs,” head coach Vance Law said. “We’ve been able to push across some runs and I’m proud of our guys for that.”

Senior Ryan Bernal doubled to center and then advanced to third on a groundout. Bernal scored on a single from freshman Jaycob Brugman to give BYU a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

After the first two Air Force batters reached the next inning, Falcon third baseman Matt Thorne scored on a fielder’s choice to even the score.

Nielsen led off the bottom half of the third with a line-drive double to left field. Later in the inning Nielsen took third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout from senior Andrew Law to give the Cougars a 2-1 edge.

Bernal reached on a walk in the fourth inning and came home on a two-out triple to deep right field off the wall by junior Austin Hall. Hall scored on a single from Nielsen later in the inning to make it 4-1.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Falcons got the first two runners in scoring position on a walk and double to center. Air Force DH Seth Kline singled to right to score two runs and trim BYU’s lead to one. The Falcons tied the score on a bunt-squeeze play later in the inning.

The Cougars didn’t wait long to regain the lead with Law driving in Nielsen for the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning. The next batter, junior Alex Wolfe singled up the middle to score two and give BYU a 7-4 advantage.

“That gave us a little of a push,” Coach Law said. “We got some more after that and extended our lead.”

Freshman Dillon Robinson helped gave the Cougars their eighth run with a single in the seventh. With two runners on, Stephen Wells roped a double down the right field line to score two more runs and open the lead up to 10-4.

Up next, BYU will play the second of a three-game series against the Falcons on Friday at 6 p.m.

Air Force Academy at Brigham Young Univ.
Apr 07, 2011 at Provo, Utah (Larry H Miller Field)
Air Force Academy 4 (12-18,0-6 mwc)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CUSTONS, Garrett c.......  3  0  0  0   0  0 11  2   0
SCHIERHOLTZ, Vai ss......  5  0  0  0   0  2  1  1   4
CARTER, Nathan cf........  3  1  0  0   1  1  3  0   0
BAST, Alex lf............  4  1  1  0   0  1  2  0   0
McMAHON, Jon rf..........  4  0  2  0   0  2  0  0   0
KLINE, Seth dh...........  4  1  2  2   0  0  0  0   1
THORNE, Matt 3b..........  4  1  3  0   0  1  1  1   0
MAYO, Parker 1b..........  3  0  1  1   0  0  5  1   0
ROBERTS, Blair 2b........  4  0  0  1   0  0  0  2   1
BERTELSON, Ben p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BAKER, Alex p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KAZAKOFF, Mike p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KOEHLER, Kincaid p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 PINGEL, Brad p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34  4  9  4   1  7 24  8   7
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (16-12,4-3 mwc)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WELLS, Stephen cf........  5  1  2  2   0  3  4  0   2
LAW, Andrew ss...........  5  1  2  2   0  0  1  2   1
WOLFE, Alex c............  5  0  1  2   0  3  6  2   0
BERNAL, Ryan lf..........  4  2  1  0   0  1  2  0   1
FRAMPTON, Chase dh.......  2  0  0  0   2  0  0  0   0
 LUKER, Brock ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf.......  4  1  2  1   0  0  2  1   2
HALL, Austin 1b..........  4  1  2  1   0  2 12  0   0
ROBINSON, Dillon 3b......  3  1  1  1   0  2  0  2   1
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  2  3  2  1   2  0  0  2   0
COLE, Taylor p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 SHUTT, Justin p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 MAHONEY, Kolton p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35 10 13 10   4 12 27 12   7
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Air Force Academy... 001 003 000 -  4  9  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 011 203 30X - 10 13  2
-------------------------------------------
E - CUSTONS(4); WOLFE 2(6). DP - BYU 1. LOB - AF 7; BYU 7. 2B - BAST(6);
THORNE(5); WELLS(13); BERNAL(8); NIELSEN(5). 3B - HALL(4). HBP - CUSTONS 2;
BERNAL; ROBINSON. SH - MAYO(3). SB - LAW 2(14); BRUGMAN 2(6). CS - HALL(3).
Air Force Academy      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BERTELSON, Ben......  5.2  8  6  6  2  9 24 28
BAKER, Alex.........  0.1  2  1  1  0  0  3  3
KAZAKOFF, Mike......  0.0  0  0  0  1  0  0  1
KOEHLER, Kincaid....  0.2  2  3  3  1  1  3  4
PINGEL, Brad........  1.1  1  0  0  0  2  5  5
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
COLE, Taylor........  5.1  6  4  4  1  5 22 24
SHUTT, Justin.......  2.2  3  0  0  0  1  9 10
MAHONEY, Kolton.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  4
Win - SHUTT (2-2).  Loss - BERTELSON (1-3).  Save - None.
WP - BERTELSON(4); KOEHLER(2). HBP - by BERTELSON (BERNAL); by BERTELSON
(ROBINSON); by COLE (CUSTONS); by MAHONEY (CUSTONS).
Umpires - HP: Jeff Macias  1B: John Ausmus  3B: Jeff Richardson
Start: 7:41 pm   Time: 2:38   Attendance: 175
Weather: rainy, overcast, 42 degrees
Game notes:
Game 1 of 3; Game delayed 1 1/2 hours due to lightning and rain.
KAZAKOFF faced 1 batter in the 7th.
Air Force Academy starters: 4/c CUSTONS; 15/ss SCHIERHOLTZ; 5/cf CARTER; 20/lf
BAST; 40/rf McMAHON; 35/dh KLINE; 7/3b THORNE; 31/1b MAYO; 10/2b ROBERTS, B.;
24/p BERTELSON;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 5/cf WELLS; 6/ss LAW; 18/c WOLFE; 10/lf BERNAL;
30/dh FRAMPTON; 4/rf BRUGMAN; 26/1b HALL; 3/3b ROBINSON; 16/2b NIELSEN; 8/p
COLE;
Air Force Academy 1st - CUSTONS flied out to cf. SCHIERHOLTZ flied out
to lf. CARTER struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - WELLS struck out swinging. LAW grounded out to
3b. WOLFE struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force Academy 2nd - BAST grounded out to ss. McMAHON struck out
swinging. KLINE flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - BERNAL doubled to center field. FRAMPTON
grounded out to 2b; BERNAL advanced to third. BRUGMAN singled up the middle,
RBI; BERNAL scored. HALL struck out swinging. BRUGMAN stole second. ROBINSON
struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 3rd - THORNE singled to center field. MAYO singled to
right center; THORNE advanced to third. ROBERTS, B. reached on a fielder's
choice, RBI; MAYO out at second 2b to ss; THORNE scored. CUSTONS reached on a
throwing error by c; ROBERTS, B. advanced to third. SCHIERHOLTZ flied into
double play rf to 1b; CUSTONS out on the play. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - NIELSEN doubled down the lf line. NIELSEN
advanced to third on a wild pitch. WELLS struck out swinging. LAW grounded out
to 2b, RBI; NIELSEN scored. WOLFE flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Air Force Academy 4th - CARTER flied out to cf. BAST struck out
swinging. McMAHON singled to left field. KLINE flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - BERNAL hit by pitch. FRAMPTON flied out to cf.
BRUGMAN flied out to cf. HALL tripled down the rf line, RBI; BERNAL scored.
ROBINSON hit by pitch. NIELSEN singled to right center, RBI; ROBINSON advanced
to third; HALL scored. NIELSEN advanced to second on a throwing error by c.
WELLS struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Air Force Academy 5th - THORNE doubled to left field. MAYO grounded out
to 3b. ROBERTS, B. grounded out to p. CUSTONS hit by pitch. CUSTONS advanced to
second; THORNE advanced to third on a throwing error by c. SCHIERHOLTZ struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - LAW singled to pitcher. LAW stole second.
WOLFE struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. BERNAL struck out swinging.
FRAMPTON walked. BRUGMAN flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Air Force Academy 6th - CARTER walked. BAST doubled to center field;
CARTER advanced to third. McMAHON struck out looking. KLINE singled through the
right side, 2 RBI; BAST scored; CARTER scored. SHUTT to p for COLE. THORNE
singled to right center; KLINE advanced to third. MAYO grounded out to p, SAC,
bunt, RBI; THORNE advanced to second; KLINE scored. ROBERTS, B. grounded out to
p. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - HALL singled to shortstop. HALL out at second
p to 1b to ss, caught stealing. ROBINSON struck out looking. NIELSEN walked.
WELLS singled to left field; NIELSEN advanced to second. BAKER to p for
BERTELSON. LAW singled up the middle, RBI; WELLS advanced to third; NIELSEN
scored. LAW stole second. WOLFE singled up the middle, 2 RBI; LAW scored; WELLS
scored. BERNAL flied out to cf. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 7th - CUSTONS flied out to cf. SCHIERHOLTZ grounded
out to 2b. CARTER grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - KAZAKOFF to p for BAKER. FRAMPTON walked.
KOEHLER to p for KAZAKOFF. BRUGMAN singled to second base; FRAMPTON advanced to
third. BRUGMAN stole second. HALL struck out swinging, grounded out to c
unassisted. BRUGMAN advanced to third on a wild pitch; FRAMPTON out at home c
to p. ROBINSON singled to right field, RBI; BRUGMAN scored. NIELSEN walked;
ROBINSON advanced to second. PINGEL to p for KOEHLER. WELLS doubled to right
field, 2 RBI; NIELSEN scored; ROBINSON scored. LAW lined out to 3b. 3 runs,
3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 8th - BAST grounded out to ss. McMAHON singled to
center field. KLINE singled to right field; McMAHON advanced to second. THORNE
struck out looking. KLINE out at first c to 1b, picked off. 0 runs, 2 hits,
0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - WOLFE struck out swinging. BERNAL grounded out
to ss. LUKER pinch hit for FRAMPTON. LUKER struck out looking. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force Academy 9th - MAHONEY to p for SHUTT. MAYO fouled out to 1b.
ROBERTS, B. flied out to cf. CUSTONS hit by pitch. SCHIERHOLTZ struck out
looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Deceptive records and weather are concerns for BYU’s baseball team as it hosts Utah Valley University on Tuesday and the Air Force Academy this weekend.

BYU, now 14-12, first hosts UVU , 7-16, on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the first of 13 live televised games this season by BYUtv. Freshman Desmond Poulson (2-0, 6.75) has been tabbed as BYU’s starting pitcher against the Wolverines.

All three games against Air Force will be televised live by BYUtv with Jarom Jordan calling the play-by-play and Gary Sheide as color analyst. Thursday and Friday’s games are scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be rebroadcast by BYUtv at 10 p.m. those nights, while Saturday’s contest starts at 1 p.m.

Both BYU and Air Force, who had an 11-17 overall record coming into the week, have scheduled games with UVU and Northern Colorado, respectively, on Tuesday before meeting in Provo.

On the mound for BYU against Air Force will be Taylor Cole (3-1, 2.20), Chris Capper (2-2, 3.95) and Matthew Neil (1-2, 2.30) in that order. BYU is 3-3 in the Mountain West Conference, while AFA is 0-5.

“Weather will be a challenge, but our groundskeeper Brian Hill does a nice job and we’ll figure out a way to get the games in,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “Air Force is a solid team and UVU is playing better the last while. We will need to be on top of our game and can’t assume anything against these teams even though their records don’t appear to be stellar.”