LAS -- In a clash of two Mountain West Conference unbeatens, BYU (20-15, 2-1) fell 3-1 to UNLV (27-16, 3-0).

Rebel freshman Jaci Hull hit a lead-off home run in the first inning to give UNLV a 1-0 lead that held until the fourth inning when Cougar senior Jodi Norton tied things up with a two-out solo smash to right field. The home run was Norton's tenth of the season and BYU's first and only hit of the night.

In the fifth inning, with a runner in scoring position, Rebel centerfielder Brittany Freight doubled to left center driving in Bri Bernardi. Two batters later Kelli Fangonilo grounded out to third, but Freight scored on the play giving UNLV a two-run cushion that would eventually become the final.

Freshman Christie Zinanti struck out six batters, giving her a season total of 53.

BYU has a chance to even the score when they face off against UNLV on Saturday at 2 p.m. (PST).

BYU at UNLV
               04-06-07 at Las Vegas, Nev. (Eller Media Stadium)
BYU 1 (20-15,2-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RAMIREZ dh...............  0  0  0  0   3  0  0  0   0
WHITELEY lf..............  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
HOCH 2b..................  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  1   0
SNOW rf..................  3  0  0  0   0  3  1  0   1
NORTON ss................  3  1  1  1   0  1  1  2   2
NIX-CLARK c..............  3  0  0  0   0  2  6  2   0
QUIOCHO 3b...............  3  0  0  0   0  2  3  2   0
URINCHO 1b...............  3  0  0  0   0  2  5  1   0
GONZALES cf..............  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
ZINANTI p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 22  1  1  1   3 13 18  8   4
UNLV 3 (27-16,3-0 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HULL ss..................  2  1  1  1   1  0  2  1   0
FANGONILO 2b.............  3  0  2  0   0  0  3  1   1
BOLINGER lf..............  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
FEARN 1b.................  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
MEADE 3b.................  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
PAUS rf..................  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
ORDAZ dh.................  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
BERNARDI c...............  1  1  1  0   1  0 13  1   0
 NEWMAN pr...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
FREIGHT cf...............  2  1  1  1   0  1  1  0   0
BREGANTE p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SLETTVET p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 21  3  6  2   2  6 21  3   3
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 000 100 0 -  1  1  2
UNLV................ 100 020 X -  3  6  0
-----------------------------------------
E - HOCH; NIX-CLARK. LOB - BYU 4; UNLV 3. 2B - FREIGHT. HR - NORTON; HULL.
HBP - HOCH. SH - BOLINGER. SB - HULL; BOLINGER. CS - MEADE; NEWMAN.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI.............  6.0  6  3  2  2  6 21 24
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BREGANTE............  5.0  1  1  1  2  9 16 18
SLETTVET............  2.0  0  0  0  1  4  6  8
Win - BREGANTE (9-6).  Loss - ZINANTI (7-6).  Save - SLETTVET (3).
WP - ZINANTI 2. HBP - by SLETTVET (HOCH).
Umpires - HP: Bob Shelton  1B: Kevin Davis  3B: George Regopoulos
Start: 7:00 pm   Time: 1:55   Attendance: 206
Game notes:
ID-507081
Game: BY-LV1
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 000 100 0 -  1  1  2
UNLV................ 100 020 X -  3  6  0
-----------------------------------------
BYU starters: 31/dh RAMIREZ; 3/lf WHITELEY; 4/2b HOCH; 18/rf SNOW; 8/ss NORTON;
10/c NIX-CLARK; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 22/1b URINCHO; 24/cf GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
UNLV starters: 21/ss HULL; 4/2b FANGONILO; 18/lf BOLINGER; 37/1b FEARN; 6/3b
MEADE; 3/rf PAUS; 5/dh ORDAZ; 11/c BERNARDI; 8/cf FREIGHT; 88/p BREGANTE;
BYU 1st - RAMIREZ walked. WHITELEY struck out looking. HOCH struck out.
SNOW struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 1st - HULL homered to right center, RBI. FANGONILO singled to left
field. BOLINGER out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; FANGONILO advanced to second,
out at third 2b to 3b. FEARN struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - NORTON struck out. NIX-CLARK popped up to ss. QUIOCHO struck
out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - MEADE reached on a fielding error by 2b. MEADE out at first c
to ss to 1b, caught stealing. PAUS fouled out to rf. ORDAZ lined out to 3b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - URINCHO popped up to 2b to center field. GONZALES struck out.
RAMIREZ walked. WHITELEY lined out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
UNLV 3rd - BERNARDI singled to left field. NEWMAN pinch ran for
BERNARDI. NEWMAN out at second c to ss, caught stealing. FREIGHT struck out.
HULL lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - BERNARDI to c for NEWMAN. HOCH out at first c to 2b, bunt.
SNOW struck out. NORTON homered to right field, RBI. NIX-CLARK struck out. 1
run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 4th - FANGONILO singled to pitcher. BOLINGER grounded out to 3b;
FANGONILO advanced to second. FEARN struck out. MEADE struck out. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - QUIOCHO flied out to cf. URINCHO struck out looking. GONZALES
popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 5th - PAUS flied out to cf. ORDAZ struck out. BERNARDI walked.
BERNARDI advanced to second on a wild pitch. FREIGHT doubled to left center,
RBI; BERNARDI scored. FREIGHT advanced to third on a wild pitch. HULL walked.
HULL stole second; FREIGHT scored on a throwing error by c, unearned. FANGONILO
grounded out to 3b. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - SLETTVET to p for BREGANTE. RAMIREZ walked. WHITELEY grounded
out to 2b; RAMIREZ advanced to second. HOCH hit by pitch. SNOW struck out.
NORTON grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 6th - BOLINGER singled down the lf line. BOLINGER stole second.
FEARN grounded out to 1b unassisted. MEADE struck out looking. PAUS grounded
out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - NIX-CLARK struck out looking. QUIOCHO struck out looking.
URINCHO struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

PROVO -- BYU (18-14) begins its conference season with matchups against San Diego State (23-12) and UNLV (24-16) this week. The Cougars finished second in the MWC last season with a 15-5 record, and BYU head coach Gordon Eakin says it'll take a lot of focus to remain at the top.

"In our conference, it's tough," Eakin said. "Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. We look at every team as a challenge, and we know we need to play one game at a time. We'll see where we end up at the end."

The Cougars are coming off a successful two-game homestand against Idaho State last weekend and are hoping to add to their winning streak, which now stands at three games.

BYU travels to San Diego to face San Diego State in a double-header on Thursday at 3 p.m. (PST) and 5 p.m. The first game will be broadcast live on CSTV. The Cougars then head to Las Vegas to play UNLV on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. All games will be available via livestats.