PROVO -- In front of the seventh-largest crowd in the over four-year history of Larry H. Miller Field of 2,369, Apana Nakayama smoked his third double to plate the game-tying and game-winning runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead BYU to a 13-12 thrilling win over San Diego State.

The win moves the Cougars to 25-9-1 and 11-3 in Mountain West Conference play, giving BYU a game and a half lead over UNLV. The Aztecs dropped to 10-23 (5-6, MWC).

Bizarre doesn't begin to describe Friday night's game. In pre-game warm ups, BYU star third baseman Brandon Taylor got hit in the head from a ball hit during SDSU's batting practice. The scary shot created a big gash above Taylor's eye that required 25 stitches to close a wound two layers deep. True freshman Kevin Sloan filled in for Taylor until the second inning when he returned to the game sporting jersey number 18 instead of his usual number 3, which had been blood-soaked.

"I wasn't even cleared to play [by my doctor]," Taylor said smiling. "But this game was just too huge to miss."

Taylor came at the right time for the Cougars who fell behind the Aztecs 6-0 in the top of the fourth. SDSU scored four runs in the first inning on two fielding errors and a couple of mental errors. Taylor came to bat in the fourth down 6-1 and promptly blasted a grand slam off San Diego State starting pitcher Bruce Billings to cut into the lead.

In the fifth inning, BYU took its first lead of the game when Marcos Villezcas singled and scored from first on Jeff Hiestand's double. Hiestand came around to score on a Ryan Chambers RBI single to give the Cougars a 7-6 lead.

That lead was short lived, however as the Aztecs scored four more runs in the seventh inning. After BYU scored one run in the seventh and eighth frames to cut SDSU's lead to one run, the Aztecs' James Guerrero hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to give San Diego State a seemingly safe lead.

The drama intensified in the bottom of the ninth when Ben Saylor led off the Cougars side of the frame with a double. Kory Knell got hit by a pitch to bring to bat the tying run. Catcher Casey Cloward singled off of the Aztecs' pitcher with one out to load the bases. After Sean McNaughton flied out to record the second out of the game, BYU was still down three runs with two out in the inning. Villezcas came up big with a two-run single to cut the lead to 12-11 after falling behind 0-2 in his at-bat. Nakayama followed with a double into the left-center ally that easily scored Cloward from third and Villezcas from first.

"The crowd was awesome," Nakayama said. "I just went to the plate looking for something to drive. I got my pitch and drove it."

The rubber match of the three game series will be played at 1 p.m. (MDT) Saturday. BYU head coach Vance Law hopes his team will be ready to win the series.

"This game was a total shift of emotion," Law said, "from a lack of intensity and mental errors at the start to pure elation at the finish."

BYU will send freshman hurler Blake Torgerson to the mound to try to get the series win. There will be live audio on KOVO radio 960 AM.

BYU 13, SDSU 12

SDS 410 100 402--12 14 4

BYU 000 520 114--13 13 5

Billings, Bruckart (7), Douglas (7), Coon (8), Esquibel (9) and Swaydan. Christiansen, Bingham (5), Su`a (7), Beus (7) and Cloward.

WP--Beus (1-0)

LP--Esquibel (2-5)

2B--McLintock (S), Guerrero (S), Nakayama (B), Hiestand (B), McNaughton (B), Nakayama 3 (B)

3B--Berry (S), Guerrero (S), McLintock (S), Swaydan (S)

HR--Taylor (B), Guerrero (S)

San Diego State at Brigham Young Univ.
Apr 15, 2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
San Diego State 12 (10-23,5-6 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BERRY, Quintin cf........  4  2  4  0   1  0  5  0   0
SCAPEROTTA, Joseph lf....  1  1  0  1   2  0  1  0   0
 EVANS, Garrick ph/lf....  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PERRY, Kasey lf.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 MENDOZA, Curt ph/lf.....  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
GUERRERO, James ss.......  5  2  3  4   0  0  1  2   2
UNGRICHT, Brock dh.......  4  2  1  0   2  1  0  0   5
ZAWADZKI, Lance 3b.......  6  2  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
O'BRIEN, Tim 1b..........  5  1  1  2   0  1  7  0   0
MCLINTOCK, Jake rf.......  5  0  3  2   0  0  1  0   0
SWAYDAN, Jordan c........  5  1  1  1   0  0  9  0   3
PEPPER, Sam 2b...........  4  1  2  1   0  0  1  3   0
BILLINGS, Bruce p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BRUCKART, Dan p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DOUGLAS, Brett p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 COON, Ben p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ESQUIBEL, Andres p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 41 12 15 11   5  4 26  6  11
Brigham Young Univ. 13 (25-9-1,11-3 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  6  1  1  0   0  2  1  3   1
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  6  3  2  2   0  0  2  6   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  6  1  4  4   0  1  0  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  3  2  1  1   2  1 14  1   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  5  1  1  4   0  3  0  2   3
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  4  0  2  2   0  0  2  0   2
SAYLOR, Ben lf...........  4  2  2  0   0  0  0  0   1
KNELL, Kory rf...........  2  2  0  0   2  1  2  0   1
 SLOAN, Kevin 3b.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  5  1  1  0   0  1  5  2   0
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p...  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  2   0
 BINGHAM, Anthony p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SU'A, Justin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BEUS, Lance p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 41 13 14 13   4  9 27 18   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 410 100 402 - 12 15  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 520 114 - 13 14  4
-------------------------------------------
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - EVANS; GUERRERO; PEPPER; McNAUGHTON; VILLEZCAS; HIESTAND; KNELL. LOB -
SDS Aztecs 11; BYU Cougars 9. 2B - GUERRERO; MCLINTOCK; McNAUGHTON; NAKAYAMA
3; HIESTAND; SAYLOR. 3B - BERRY; GUERRERO; MCLINTOCK; SWAYDAN. HR -
GUERRERO(2); TAYLOR(12). HBP - GUERRERO; SAYLOR; KNELL. SH - BERRY. SF -
SCAPEROTTA; PEPPER; CHAMBERS. SB - TAYLOR. CS - BERRY; PEPPER.
San Diego State        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BILLINGS, Bruce.....  6.0  6  8  7  2  6 25 29
BRUCKART, Dan.......  0.2  2  0  0  0  1  4  4
DOUGLAS, Brett......  1.0  1  1  1  1  1  4  5
COON, Ben...........  0.1  2  1  1  1  0  3  4
ESQUIBEL, Andres....  0.2  3  3  3  0  1  5  6
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon  4.0  8  6  3  2  1 18 22
BINGHAM, Anthony....  2.0  1  2  1  2  1  8 10
SU'A, Justin........  0.2  2  2  1  1  0  3  5
BEUS, Lance.........  2.1  4  2  2  0  2 12 13
Win - BEUS (1-0).  Loss - ESQUIBEL (2-5).  Save - None.
WP - CHRISTIANSEN. HBP - by BILLINGS (SAYLOR); by BEUS (GUERRERO); by ESQUIBEL
(KNELL). BK - BINGHAM.
Umpires - HP: Ray Belfiore  1B: Blake Jensen  3B: Kelly Gonzales
Start: 7:09 pm   Time: 3:41   Attendance: 2369
Game notes:
This was the 7th largest crowd in Miller Park history
BINGHAM faced 2 batters in the 7th.
BILLINGS faced 1 batter in the 7th.
COON faced 1 batter in the 9th.
San Diego State at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Apr 15, 2005 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 410 100 402 - 12 15  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 520 114 - 13 14  4
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State starters: 23/cf BERRY; 16/lf SCAPEROTTA; 1/ss GUERRERO; 25/dh
UNGRICHT; 5/3b ZAWADZKI; 20/1b O'BRIEN; 15/rf MCLINTOCK; 12/c SWAYDAN; 3/2b PEPPER;
22/p BILLINGS;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 24/dh NAKAYAMA;
16/1b HIESTAND; 3/3b TAYLOR; 22/cf CHAMBERS; 25/lf SAYLOR; 12/rf KNELL; 9/c CLOWARD;
31/p CHRISTIANSEN;
San Diego State 1st - CHAMBERS to cf for TAYLOR. SAYLOR to lf for CHAMBERS.
KNELL to rf for SAYLOR. SLOAN to 3b for KNELL. BERRY tripled to left field.
SCAPEROTTA flied out to cf, SF, RBI; BERRY scored. GUERRERO reached on a fielding
error by rf. UNGRICHT walked; GUERRERO advanced to second. ZAWADZKI reached on a
fielder's choice; UNGRICHT advanced to second on a throwing error by 1b; GUERRERO
advanced to third. ZAWADZKI advanced to second; UNGRICHT advanced to third; GUERRERO
scored on a wild pitch, unearned. O'BRIEN grounded out to 3b, RBI; UNGRICHT scored,
unearned. MCLINTOCK doubled to left field, RBI; ZAWADZKI scored, unearned. SWAYDAN
fouled out to c. 4 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - McNAUGHTON struck out swinging. VILLEZCAS grounded
out to 1b unassisted. NAKAYAMA popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 2nd - PEPPER singled to right field. BERRY grounded out to p,
SAC, bunt; PEPPER advanced to second. SCAPEROTTA grounded out to 2b; PEPPER advanced
to third. GUERRERO tripled to left field, RBI; PEPPER scored. UNGRICHT grounded out
to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - HIESTAND grounded out to p. CHAMBERS fouled out to
ss. SAYLOR hit by pitch. KNELL struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
San Diego State 3rd - TAYLOR to 3b for SLOAN. ZAWADZKI flied out to cf.
O'BRIEN out at first 1b to p. MCLINTOCK tripled to right field. SWAYDAN grounded out
to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - TAYLOR struck out swinging. CLOWARD grounded out to
ss. McNAUGHTON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 4th - PEPPER singled to left field. PEPPER out at second c to
ss, caught stealing. BERRY singled to center field. BERRY out at second c to ss,
caught stealing. SCAPEROTTA walked. GUERRERO doubled down the lf line, RBI;
SCAPEROTTA scored. UNGRICHT struck out looking. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - VILLEZCAS grounded out to 2b. NAKAYAMA doubled down
the rf line, advanced to third on a throwing error by 2b. HIESTAND walked. CHAMBERS
flied out to cf, SF, RBI; NAKAYAMA scored. SAYLOR singled to second base; HIESTAND
advanced to second. KNELL walked; SAYLOR advanced to second; HIESTAND advanced to
third. TAYLOR homered to left center, 4 RBI; KNELL scored; SAYLOR scored; HIESTAND
scored. CLOWARD grounded out to 2b. 5 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 5th - BINGHAM to p for CHRISTIANSEN. ZAWADZKI struck out
looking. O'BRIEN grounded out to ss. MCLINTOCK grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - McNAUGHTON flied out to lf. VILLEZCAS singled to
right field. NAKAYAMA struck out swinging. HIESTAND doubled to center field, RBI;
VILLEZCAS scored. CHAMBERS singled to left field, advanced to second on the throw,
RBI; HIESTAND scored. SAYLOR flied out to cf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
San Diego State 6th - SWAYDAN grounded out to 3b. PEPPER grounded out to ss.
BERRY singled to left field. SCAPEROTTA walked; BERRY advanced to second. GUERRERO
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - KNELL grounded out to ss. TAYLOR reached on a
fielding error by ss. TAYLOR stole second. CLOWARD struck out swinging. McNAUGHTON
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 7th - UNGRICHT walked. UNGRICHT advanced to second on a balk.
ZAWADZKI reached on a fielding error by 2b; UNGRICHT advanced to third. SU'A to p
for BINGHAM. O'BRIEN singled to left center, RBI; ZAWADZKI advanced to third;
UNGRICHT scored. MCLINTOCK grounded out to ss, RBI; O'BRIEN advanced to second;
ZAWADZKI scored, unearned. SWAYDAN tripled to left center, RBI; O'BRIEN scored.
PEPPER popped up to 2b, SF, RBI; SWAYDAN scored, unearned. BERRY walked. BEUS to p
for SU'A. EVANS pinch hit for SCAPEROTTA. EVANS reached on a fielding error by ss;
BERRY advanced to third. GUERRERO hit by pitch; EVANS advanced to second. UNGRICHT
grounded out to 3b. 4 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - EVANS to lf. VILLEZCAS reached on a fielding error
by lf, advanced to second. PERRY,KAS to lf for EVANS. BRUCKART to p for BILLINGS.
NAKAYAMA singled to left field, RBI; VILLEZCAS scored, unearned. HIESTAND struck out
swinging. CHAMBERS singled to right field; NAKAYAMA advanced to third. SAYLOR flied
out to lf. DOUGLAS to p for BRUCKART. KNELL walked; CHAMBERS advanced to second.
TAYLOR struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
San Diego State 8th - ZAWADZKI out at first p to 2b to 1b. O'BRIEN struck out
looking. MCLINTOCK singled to right field. SWAYDAN flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - CLOWARD flied out to rf. McNAUGHTON doubled to left
field. VILLEZCAS flied out to cf. COON to p for DOUGLAS. NAKAYAMA doubled to left
field, RBI; McNAUGHTON scored. HIESTAND walked. CHAMBERS flied out to cf. 1 run,
2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 9th - PEPPER grounded out to ss. BERRY singled to catcher.
MENDOZA pinch hit for PERRY,KAS. MENDOZA flied out to rf. GUERRERO homered to left
field, 2 RBI; BERRY scored. UNGRICHT singled to third base. ZAWADZKI struck out
looking. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - MENDOZA to lf. SAYLOR doubled to left field.
ESQUIBEL to p for COON. KNELL hit by pitch. TAYLOR struck out swinging. CLOWARD
singled up the middle; KNELL advanced to second; SAYLOR advanced to third.
McNAUGHTON flied out to cf. VILLEZCAS singled to right field, 2 RBI; CLOWARD
advanced to third; KNELL scored; SAYLOR scored. NAKAYAMA doubled to left center, 2
RBI; VILLEZCAS scored; CLOWARD scored. 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Two of the nation's winningest baseball teams square off Tuesday when BYU hosts Lewis-Clark State at 3 p.m., at Larry H. Miller Field.

The Cougars, 23-8-2, host the Warriors, who bring a 28-5 record and a No. 2 ranking in the NAIA division to Provo.

You can nearly count on just two hands the teams who have beaten these two teams. In BYU's case it is UC Irvine, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, New Mexico, and UNLV, all teams which it has also beaten, and Oregon State. For the Warriors, their losses have been only to British Columbia, Portland, Washington State, Oregon Tech and Eastern Oregon.

LCSC has also beaten Utah Valley State, 18-3, and the Warriors will play at UVSC the day after competing at BYU. Lewis and Clark State has won 13 NAIA National championships (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2003).

After the Cougars play LCSC, BYU then hosts San Diego State in a three-game Mountain West Conference series starting on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Matt Jensen (4-0, 4.18) is scheduled to start on the mound for BYU against LCSC on Tuesday. Reigning MWC Pitcher of the Week, Dave Horlacher (3-1, 2.94), will start for BYU on Thursday. Brandon Christiansen (3-0, 4.00) is the Cougars' starting pitcher for Friday. Saturday's BYU hurler is yet to be determined due to the ankle injury to Blake Torgerson (4-2, 5.36).

Friday's BYU-SDSU game at 7 p.m., will also be televised live nationally on BYUTV and locally by KBYU channel 11 with Jay Monsen and Gary Sheide calling the action.

This weekend at Miller Park there will be doubleheaders with BYU baseball and softball. The Cougar softball team hosts Colorado State at 5 and 7 p.m., then on Saturday it hosts New Mexico at 2 and 4 p.m.

BYU's baseball team is now receiving votes in two of the four national baseball polls, again in the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) and now the Sports Weekly/ESPN College Baseball Coaches Poll.

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.