DAVIS -- Midvale junior Nick Ison pitched eight good innings Friday to help Washington State defeat BYU, 5-1 in the second day of the River City Classic.

The righthander from Hillcrest High via Salt Lake Community College threw 98 pitches and scattered eight hits to lift the Red Cougars to an 8-2 record. The Blue Cougars, meanwhile, fall to 0-8 as they switch to Cal State Sacramento's Hornet Field for Saturday's finale with St. Mary's College in the tournament.

BYU freshman rightfielder Kent Walton got the visiting Blue Cougars off to a great start with a lead-off home run down the left field line on a 1-2 count in the first inning. Teammate Jeff Hiestand got a one-out single and stole second. Then Hiestand was tagged out at third on a double play when Kasey Ko flied out to center.

WSU took advantage of the first three pitches offered by lefty Patrick Wells in the bottom of the first. The Miller brothers of WSU teamed up to give the Red Cougars a lead they wouldn't lose. Jay Miller led off with a double to right center Miller's brother, Jeff, executed a sac-bunt to third to advance older brother to third. With one out, Paul Gran tripled, bringing in Jay Miller to tie the score. Gran then scored as the bases were loaded following a strikeout, a batter hit by a pitch and consecutive walks, making the score 2-1 for WSU.

In the second, BYU was retired in order by Ison, a feat he duplicated in the fourth and fifth innings.

The Red Cougars countered in the second inning when the Miller brothers got on board again with one-out singles, completed a double steal to second and third, then both scored off a ground out and a Jared Prince double, making the score 4-1.

BYU got WSU out in order in the fourth and eighth innings.

The Blue Cougars had four more scoring opportunities in the last four frames of the game.

In the sixth, BYU stranded two after Marcos Villezcas hit a two-out single and Hiestand walked before Ko grounded out. In the seventh with one out, Adrian Molina reached first on an error by the shortstop, then Casey Nelson grounded into a double play.

In the eighth BYU again stranded two when Walton picked up his second hit of the day with a two-out single on the first pitch. Villezcas followed with a single up the middle before Hiestand flied out to left. In the ninth, Ben Saylor, , also a Hillcrest alum, hit a lead-off single from the third pitch offered by Travis Webb who had just relieved Ison. Saylor stole second and was stranded there as the game ended.

BYU turned a double play in the seventh when WSU stranded a pair of runners. With the bases loaded, Cortland Andrews took the mound for BYU with the bases loaded and coaxed pinch-hitter Nick Hall to hit back to him and turned a one-two-three double play to end the inning.

Brigham Young vs Washington State
Feb 24, 2006 at Davis, Calif. (Dobbins Stadium)
Brigham Young 1 (0-8)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WALTON, Kent rf..........  4  1  2  1   0  0  0  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  0  2  0   0  0  1  5   1
HIESTAND, Jeff lf........  3  0  1  0   1  0  2  0   2
KO, Kasey dh.............  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  4  0  1  0   0  0 13  0   0
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
NELSON, Casey c..........  4  0  0  0   0  2  7  2   1
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  3   0
VARGAS, Dan 2b...........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 CARTER, Austin ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BANKS, Stetson 2b.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
WELLS, Patrick p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PLATT, James p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 ANDREWS, Cortland p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 32  1  7  1   1  3 24 14   6
Washington State 5 (8-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Miller, Jay lf...........  5  2  2  0   0  0  2  0   1
Miller, Jeff 3b..........  3  1  1  0   0  0  2  4   0
Gran, Paul 2b............  3  1  1  2   0  0  1  5   0
Prince, Jared rf.........  4  0  2  1   0  2  2  0   0
McAngus, Zach dh.........  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   1
Murphy, Jim 1b...........  2  0  0  0   1  1 11  0   0
Gilbert, Mike c..........  1  1  0  1   1  0  1  0   0
 Kimbrel, Garrett ph.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Hall, Nick ph...........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
 Franklin, Zach c........  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Thomas, Matt ss..........  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  2   4
Reynolds, Simi cf........  4  0  1  1   0  2  5  1   0
Ison, Nick p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Webb, Travis p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 29  5  8  5   3  6 27 12   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 000 000 -  1  7  0
Washington State.... 221 000 00X -  5  8  1
-------------------------------------------
E - Thomas(4). DP - BYU 1; WSU 2. LOB - BYU 6; WSU 8. 2B - Miller, Jay(9);
Prince(4). 3B - Gran(2). HR - WALTON(1). HBP - Gran; McAngus; Murphy;
Gilbert. SH - VARGAS(2); Miller, Jeff(1). SB - HIESTAND(1); SAYLOR(2);
Miller, Jay(4); Miller, Jeff(5); Prince(4); Murphy(4); Gilbert(1). CS -
Thomas(2).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WELLS, Patrick......  2.2  7  5  5  2  2 13 18  63
PLATT, James........  3.2  1  0  0  1  2 12 15  52
ANDREWS, Cortland...  1.2  0  0  0  0  2  4  4  15
Washington State       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Ison, Nick..........  8.0  6  1  1  1  1 28 30  98
Webb, Travis........  1.0  1  0  0  0  2  4  4  14
Win - Ison (3-0).  Loss - WELLS (0-2).  Save - None.
HBP - by WELLS (McAngus); by WELLS (Gilbert); by PLATT (Murphy); by PLATT
(Gran). Pitches/strikes: WELLS 63/34; PLATT 52/34; ANDREWS 15/10; Ison 98/65;
Webb 14/9.
Umpires - HP: Ron Barnes  1B: Bryan Rose  3B: Phil Meyer
Start: 10:00   Time: 2:17   Attendance: 125
Brigham Young vs Washington State - Play-by-Play
Feb 24, 2006 at Davis, Calif. (Dobbins Stadium)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 000 000 -  1  7  0
Washington State.... 221 000 00X -  5  8  1
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 9/rf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 32/lf HIESTAND; 33/dh KO;
25/1b SAYLOR; 1/cf MOLINA; 8/c NELSON; 30/3b CROSBY; 13/2b VARGAS; 4/p WELLS;
Washington State starters: 35/lf Miller, Jay; 8/3b Miller, Jeff; 13/2b Gran;
15/rf Prince; 4/dh McAngus; 44/1b Murphy; 9/c Gilbert; 16/ss Thomas; 24/cf
Reynolds; 23/p Ison;
Brigham Young 1st - WALTON homered down the lf line, RBI (1-2).
VILLEZCAS popped up to ss (3-2). HIESTAND singled to right field (1-1).
HIESTAND stole second. KO flied into double play cf to 3b (1-2); HIESTAND out
on the play. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Washington State 1st - Miller, Jay doubled to right center (0-0).
Miller, Jeff grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt (0-0); Miller, Jay advanced to
third. Gran tripled to left center, RBI (0-0); Miller, Jay scored. Prince
struck out looking (3-2). McAngus hit by pitch (2-1). Murphy walked (3-1);
McAngus advanced to second. Gilbert walked, RBI (3-0); Murphy advanced to
second; McAngus advanced to third; Gran scored. Thomas grounded out to 1b
unassisted (1-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - SAYLOR popped up to 3b (1-1). MOLINA grounded out to
ss (1-2). NELSON grounded out to 2b (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Washington State 2nd - Reynolds struck out (1-2). Miller, Jay singled to
center field (2-2). Miller, Jeff singled to right field (0-0); Miller, Jay
advanced to second. Miller, Jeff stole second; Miller, Jay stole third. Gran
grounded out to 2b, RBI (2-2); Miller, Jeff advanced to third; Miller, Jay
scored. Prince doubled to center field, RBI (3-1); Miller, Jeff scored. McAngus
grounded out to 3b (2-2). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - CROSBY singled to right field (1-1). VARGAS grounded
out to 1b unassisted, SAC, bunt (1-0); CROSBY advanced to second. WALTON flied
out to lf (0-1); CROSBY advanced to third. VILLEZCAS flied out to rf (0-0).
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Washington State 3rd - Murphy flied out to lf (0-0). Gilbert hit by
pitch (0-0). Gilbert stole second. Thomas singled to right center (2-1);
Gilbert advanced to third. Thomas out at second c to ss, caught stealing.
Reynolds singled to first base, RBI (1-2); Gilbert scored. PLATT to p for
WELLS. Miller, Jay grounded out to 3b (1-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - HIESTAND flied out to cf (2-0). KO grounded out to
2b (2-2). SAYLOR flied out to rf (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Washington State 4th - Miller, Jeff grounded out to p (1-1). Gran
grounded out to ss (0-0). Prince struck out (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - MOLINA grounded out to 3b (2-2). NELSON struck out
(2-2). CROSBY grounded out to 3b (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Washington State 5th - McAngus flied out to lf (0-0). Murphy hit by
pitch (2-2). Murphy stole second. Gilbert grounded out to p (2-2). Thomas
grounded out to ss (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - VARGAS grounded out to 3b (2-2). WALTON flied out to
cf (0-2). VILLEZCAS singled to right field (2-0). HIESTAND walked (3-2);
VILLEZCAS advanced to second. KO grounded out to 2b (2-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Washington State 6th - Reynolds grounded out to ss (0-2). Miller, Jay
grounded out to ss (3-2). Miller, Jeff grounded out to ss (0-0). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - SAYLOR grounded out to 2b (1-0). MOLINA reached on a
throwing error by ss (0-2). NELSON grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b
(2-0); MOLINA out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Washington State 7th - Gran hit by pitch (1-1). Prince singled to
shortstop (0-0); Gran advanced to third. Prince stole second. McAngus walked
(3-2). Murphy struck out (0-2). Kimbrel pinch hit for Gilbert. ANDREWS to p for
PLATT. Hall pinch hit for Kimbrel. Hall grounded into double play p to c to 1b
(0-1); Gran out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - Franklin to c for Hall. CROSBY grounded out to ss
(0-0). CARTER pinch hit for VARGAS. CARTER flied out to cf (0-1). WALTON
singled through the left side (0-0). VILLEZCAS singled up the middle (0-1);
WALTON advanced to second. HIESTAND flied out to lf (2-1). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Washington State 8th - BANKS to 2b for CARTER. Thomas struck out looking
(2-2). Reynolds struck out looking (2-2). Miller, Jay popped up to 2b (1-0).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - Webb to p for Ison. KO flied out to cf (0-0). SAYLOR
singled to left field (1-1). MOLINA struck out looking (1-2). SAYLOR stole
second. NELSON struck out (3-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

No. 8 Oregon State is the next foe for BYU baseball when it opens play on Thursday at the third annual River City Classic in California.

The Cougars are seeking their first win in seven outings this season, so it will be a tall order when they face the Beavers, 3-3, in the 2 p.m. contest hosted by UC Davis. Getting the starting nod on the mound for BYU vs. OSU is junior righthander Jesse Craig (0-2, 3.46). In addition to being ranked No. 8 by Baseball America, OSU is ranked No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball magazine, but has been ranked as high as No. 2 this season.

Thursday's game will be broadcast live via links on the Internet at www.byucougars.com.

On Friday BYU will play Washington State, 6-2, at the UC Davis Field at 10 a.m. Southpaw Patrick Wells (0-1, 9.00) is scheduled to start that game. Saturday's game against St. Mary's College, 4-4 at the start of this week, will be at Sacramento State's Hornet Field at 10 a.m. Senior Brandon Christiansen (0-0, 4.50) is scheduled to pitch against the Gaels.

Other teams in the tournament who will not be playing BYU are Portland, North Dakota State, San Francisco and co-hosts UC Davis and Sacramento State.

"This is our chance to get back up on the horse after getting bucked off," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We are struggling with our confidence, and we hope these games will get us back to respectability. We have a solid team but have been off the mark on hitting. Our pitching is going to continue to get better."

After the three games in California, BYU will play Southern Utah in a three-game series in St. George on March 2-4.

For more information on BYU's baseball team for this week, click on the PDF link at the top of this page.