PROVO -- Outstanding pitching by Patrick Wells and timely hitting by the BYU offense gave the Cougars their first home win of the season Friday over New Mexico State, 3-1.
"Pat gave us a nice lift and we scored early," said BYU Coach Vance Law.
Southpaw starter Wells (2-3, 5.92) got into a rhythm early as he retired nine straight Aggies to start the game, while striking out four, including striking out the side in the first inning. Wells gave the Cougars another quality start as he pitched six and two-thirds innings for the win while giving up just one run on four hits while striking out seven and walking three.
The win marked Coach Law's 200th victory in seven seasons as skipper of the club.
"Two hundred wins is a function of having good players and an administration that backs you," said Law of the game. "It's a nice milestone, but I wasn't aware of it until this week."
BYU's relievers kept the Cougars ahead in the top of the eighth as Jordan Muir, Cortland Andrews and Josh Barrett combined to allow the Aggies no runs after walking two. For the second game in a row the umpires called a visiting batter out for batter's interference on a throw by catcher Casey Nelson.
In the bottom of the inning Ben Saylor led off by getting hit by a pitch and then stole second. Jeff Hiestand walked with no outs to bring up Kasey Ko with two men on. Ko then bunted both runners over on a sac before Adrian Molina was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring up Blake Crosby with one out.
Crosby flied to center to score Saylor from third and put BYU up 3-1 heading into the ninth. The lead was enough for BYU as Barrett closed out the night for the Cougars, retiring the side after allowing a lead-off single in the inning.
NMSU starter Jason Conner (1-2, 5.83) looked sharp for the Aggies as he pitched six and one-third inning, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking just two.
So far this season BYU has relied heavily on pitching as it hasn't seen the offensive productivity that the Cougars enjoyed in 2005.
"We're used to more offense," said Law, "it's a challenge to put some runs across. We have to almost be robotic in bunts and executing the hit and run."
So far the pitching, both starting and relief, has been the brightest spot for the Cougars all season.
"The bullpen has done a nice job for us all year," said Law.
BYU got on the board early in the game. With two outs in the bottom of the second Molina walked on four pitches, bringing up Crosby who singled up the middle of the infield moving Molina over to second.
Nelson then walked to load the bases and bring up Stetson Banks. Batting with the bases loaded, Banks singled through the right side to bring Molina home to put the Cougars up 1-0. Crosby, who was trying to score from second, was thrown out at home by Jason Rodriguez to end the inning.
Wells continued to dominate into the third as he collected his fourth strikeout of the game on the lead-off hitter. After allowing a one-out walk, Wells got Rodriguez to ground back to him and turned a clean one-six-three double play to end the inning.
"I was able to make some quality pitches," said Wells on his effort, "and then relied on my fielders."
The Aggies answered in the top of the fourth as Luke Hopkins, one of the top hitters in the nation with 53 RBI coming into Thursday's game, knocked in a run on a single to right center to even the score at 1-1. Wells came right back at NMSU, striking out the next hitter on a 2-2 count, his fifth of the night, before getting the final out on easy grounder to second.
Wells allowed a lead-off walk to start the fifth and then gave up a single that advanced the runner to third as Molina lost the ball in center on a bounce. After he struck out his sixth hitter, he got Rodriguez to ground out to Hiestand who picked up the ball, double-pumped to home before throwing out Jason Long at home for the second out. Nelson picked up a bloop in front of the plate to end the inning with the score still tied at 1-1.
Marcos Villezcas led off the bottom of the sixth with a towering double to the center field wall and then advanced to third on a passed ball. Batting with one out, Hiestand then smoked a single over the first baseman's head to score Villezcas for the eventual game-winner and put the Cougars up 2-1. Hiestand then stole second for the second stolen base of the inning for BYU.
NMSU looked to answer in the bottom of the frame by getting two runners on base with two consecutive singles, Wells then allowed both to move to second and third respectively on his own throwing error with no outs.
He then clamped down and retired the next two batters on a strikeout and a popup to Hiestand before being relieved by Muir. With the infield playing back, Muir struck out pinch hitter Derek Maytubby, leaving two men on while holding on to the Cougar lead.
The Cougars and Aggies will face each other again Friday night at 7 p.m. and then Saturday at 1 p.m.
New Mexico State U. at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar.16, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
New Mexico State U. 1 (10-14)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Rodden, Vince cf......... 2 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 2
Aguirre, Abe ss.......... 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0
Hopkins, Luke 1b......... 3 0 1 1 1 1 9 0 0
Harvey, Adam dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Lance, Brandon c......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 7 2 3
Long, Jason 2b........... 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 3 0
Montgomery, Mark lf...... 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0
Godinez, Joseph 3b....... 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Uhl, Jeremy ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Rodriguez, Jason rf...... 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0
Maytubby, Derek ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Fields, Patrick rf...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Conner, Jason p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
McFadden, Kyle p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Romo, Beto p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 30 1 5 1 5 10 24 9 8
Brigham Young Univ. 3 (5-12)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Austin lf........ 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss..... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2
SAYLOR, Ben rf/1b........ 3 1 0 0 0 1 2 1 0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........ 3 0 1 1 1 0 8 1 1
WALTON, Kent pr/rf...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
KO, Kasey dh............. 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
MOLINA, Adrian cf........ 2 1 0 0 2 1 3 0 1
CROSBY, Blake 3b......... 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
NELSON, Casey c.......... 2 0 1 0 2 1 12 1 0
BANKS, Stetson 2b........ 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 3 0
WORTHAM, Jake ph........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
JOHNSON, Chris ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
VARGAS, Daniel 2b....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
WELLS, Patrick p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
MUIR, Jordan p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ANDREWS, Cortland p..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BARRETT, Josh p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 25 3 6 3 7 7 27 11 9
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U.. 000 100 000 - 1 5 0
Brigham Young Univ.. 010 001 01X - 3 6 1
-------------------------------------------
E - WELLS. DP - BYU Cougars 1. LOB - NMS Aggies 8; BYU Cougars 9. 2B -
VILLEZCAS(1). HBP - SAYLOR. SH - Aguirre; VILLEZCAS; KO. SF - CROSBY. SB -
Rodden; SAYLOR(4); HIESTAND(3).
New Mexico State U. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Conner, Jason....... 6.1 6 2 2 3 7 23 27
McFadden, Kyle...... 1.1 0 1 1 4 0 1 8
Romo, Beto.......... 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WELLS, Patrick...... 6.2 4 1 1 3 7 22 26
MUIR, Jordan........ 0.2 0 0 0 1 2 2 3
ANDREWS, Cortland... 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
BARRETT, Josh....... 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 6 6
Win - WELLS (2-3). Loss - Conner (1-2). Save - BARRETT (1).
WP - Conner. HBP - by McFadden (SAYLOR). PB - Lance.
Umpires - HP: Bradley Hungerford 1B: Al White 3B: Randy Upton
Start: 7:06 pm Time: 2:42 Attendance: 905
Game notes:
Game 1 of a three-game series
ANDREWS faced 1 batter in the 8th.
New Mexico State U. at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Mar.16, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U.. 000 100 000 - 1 5 0
Brigham Young Univ.. 010 001 01X - 3 6 1
-------------------------------------------
New Mexico State U. starters: 1/cf Rodden; 7/ss Aguirre; 8/1b Hopkins; 17/dh Harvey;
15/c Lance; 4/2b Long; 26/lf Montgomery; 18/3b Godinez; 3/rf Rodriguez; 41/p Conner;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 6/lf CARTER; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR; 32/1b
HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 1/cf MOLINA; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 4/p WELLS;
New Mexico State U. 1st - Rodden struck out swinging. Aguirre struck out
swinging. Hopkins struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - CARTER flied out to rf. VILLEZCAS popped up to ss.
SAYLOR flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 2nd - Harvey flied out to cf. Lance flied out to rf. Long
flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - HIESTAND flied out to cf. KO grounded out to 2b.
MOLINA walked. CROSBY singled to center field; MOLINA advanced to second. NELSON
walked; CROSBY advanced to second; MOLINA advanced to third. BANKS singled to right
field, RBI; NELSON advanced to second; CROSBY advanced to third, out at home rf to
c; MOLINA scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 3rd - Montgomery struck out looking. Godinez walked.
Rodriguez grounded into double play p to ss to 1b; Godinez out on the play. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - CARTER singled, bunt. VILLEZCAS grounded out to p,
SAC, bunt; CARTER advanced to second. SAYLOR struck out swinging. HIESTAND flied out
to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 4th - Rodden walked. Aguirre grounded out to p, SAC;
Rodden advanced to second. Hopkins singled to right center, RBI; Rodden scored.
Harvey struck out looking. Lance grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - KO struck out looking. MOLINA flied out to rf.
CROSBY grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 5th - Long walked. Montgomery singled to left center;
Long advanced to third. Godinez struck out swinging. Rodriguez reached on a
fielder's choice; Montgomery advanced to second; Long out at home 1b to c. Rodden
grounded out to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - NELSON struck out, out at first c to 1b. BANKS
struck out swinging. CARTER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
New Mexico State U. 6th - Aguirre flied out to cf. Hopkins grounded out to
2b. Harvey grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - VILLEZCAS doubled to center field. VILLEZCAS
advanced to third on a wild pitch. SAYLOR grounded out to 1b unassisted. HIESTAND
singled through the right side, RBI; VILLEZCAS scored. HIESTAND stole second. KO
struck out swinging. MOLINA struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
New Mexico State U. 7th - Lance singled to center field. Long singled,
advanced to second on a throwing error by p; Lance advanced to third. Montgomery
struck out swinging. Godinez fouled out to 1b. Maytubby pinch hit for Rodriguez.
MUIR to p for WELLS. Maytubby struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - Fields to rf for Maytubby. CROSBY fouled out to 1b.
NELSON singled to third base. NELSON advanced to second on a passed ball. BANKS
walked. McFadden to p for Conner. BANKS out at first c to 1b, picked off. CARTER
walked. VILLEZCAS grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 8th - Rodden walked. Aguirre struck out swinging; Rodden
stole second. ANDREWS to p for MUIR. Hopkins walked. BARRETT to p for ANDREWS.
Harvey out on batter's interference. Lance grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - SAYLOR hit by pitch. SAYLOR stole second. HIESTAND
walked. WALTON pinch ran for HIESTAND. KO grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; WALTON
advanced to second; SAYLOR advanced to third. MOLINA intentionally walked. CROSBY
flied out to cf, SF, RBI; MOLINA advanced to second; WALTON advanced to third;
SAYLOR scored. NELSON walked. WORTHAM pinch hit for BANKS. Romo to p for McFadden.
JOHNSON, C. pinch hit for WORTHAM. JOHNSON, C. reached on a fielder's choice; NELSON
out at second ss to 2b. 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
New Mexico State U. 9th - SAYLOR to 1b. WALTON to rf. VARGAS to 2b for
JOHNSON, C.. Long singled through the left side. Montgomery out at first 1b to 2b to
1b; Long advanced to second. Uhl pinch hit for Godinez. Uhl struck out looking.
Fields fouled out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.