CEDAR -- Brandon Christiansen threw a complete-game two-hitter Saturday as BYU won its second straight game against Southern Utah 6-3 to win this week's series.

The right-handed Christiansen (2-0, 4.88) was brilliant on the afternoon, going the distance in the win for the Cougars, who improve to 3-9. He allowed just three unearned runs on two hits while fanning six and walking three. With the victory the Cougars grabbed their first back-to-back wins of the season.

The Cougars have now won three of four and also won their first series of the year as SUU fell to 6-4. The loss was picked up by T-Bird starter Matt Wilson (0-2, 7.63).

After spotting the T-Birds an early run in the bottom of the third on two errors, BYU came back to take the lead in the top of the fifth. Lead off hitter Jeff Hiestand walked and Ben Saylor singled. Batting next, Adrian Molina drove in both runners as he legged out a triple to left. Casey Nelson followed with a sac-fly to center scoring Molina and giving BYU a 3-1 edge.

Molina has the current BYU team-leading hitting streak of three, as he batted 2-for-3 while driving in three runs.

In the bottom of the inning SUU didn't waste its chance on a BYU error when Trever Dimick hit a two-out two-run homerun off Christiansen to tie the score 3-3.

The two teams remaind tied through the sixth while the Cougars turned a four-six-three double play to end the inning.

With three more runs in the top of the seventh the Cougars were able to finally put away the pesky T-Birds. Chris Johnson doubled and scored on a Molina double down the left field line. Then pinch hitting for Dan Vargas, Jake Wortham took an offering from reliever Derek Job (0-0, 6.10) over the center field wall for his first collegiate home run.

BYU improved its team batting average to .204 on the season while Saylor improved to .214. The speedy Cougar base runners, who have swiped 22 on the season, didn't manage a stolen base in the game, getting thrown out in both attempts.

The Cougars will travel to Riverside, Calif., Thursday for a three-game series against UC Riverside of the Big West Conference.

Brigham Young at Southern Utah
Mar 04, 2006 at Cedar City, Utah (Thunderbird Park)
Brigham Young 6 (3-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER dh................  4  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   3
WALTON lf................  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  0   0
VILLEZCAS ss.............  4  0  0  0   0  0  1 10   0
HIESTAND 1b..............  1  1  0  0   3  0 14  1   0
SAYLOR rf................  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  0   1
JOHNSON, C. 3b...........  4  1  1  0   0  2  0  2   0
MOLINA cf................  3  2  2  3   0  0  1  0   0
NELSON c.................  2  0  0  1   1  0  5  1   0
VARGAS 2b................  2  0  1  0   0  0  1  2   0
 WORTHAM ph..............  1  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   0
 BANKS 2b................  1  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
CHRISTIANSEN p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 30  6  8  6   5  3 27 16   4
Southern Utah 3 (6-4)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Charlie Hahl lf..........  3  0  0  0   0  1  2  0   0
 Robbie Richards ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
 Keli`i Zablan 2b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Trever Dimick ss.........  3  1  1  2   1  1  3  2   0
Justin Sotelo cf.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  8  1   2
Amos Burgess rf..........  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
Jeff Oliverson dh........  3  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
Cameron Nelson c.........  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  2   0
Chester Wilson 3b........  4  1  0  0   0  0  1  1   1
Joe Wright 1b............  1  0  0  0   2  0  7  1   0
Greg Marshall 2b/lf......  3  1  0  0   0  0  2  4   0
Matt Wilson p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Derek Job p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 30  3  2  2   3  6 27 13   4
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 030 300 -  6  8  3
Southern Utah....... 001 020 000 -  3  2  0
-------------------------------------------
E - VILLEZCAS; JOHNSON, C.; VARGAS. DP - BYU 1; SUU 2. LOB - BYU 4; SUU 4.
2B - JOHNSON, C.; MOLINA. 3B - MOLINA. HR - WORTHAM(1); Dimick(2). HBP -
MOLINA; Oliverson. SF - NELSON. SB - Hahl. CS - WALTON; MOLINA.
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
CHRISTIANSEN........  9.0  2  3  0  3  6 30 34   -
Southern Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Matt Wilson.........  6.1  5  4  4  3  3 19 24   -
Derek Job...........  2.2  3  2  2  2  0 11 13   -
Win - CHRISTIANSEN (2-0).  Loss - Wilson, M. (0-2).  Save - None.
HBP - by Wilson, M. (MOLINA); by CHRISTIANSEN (Oliverson). Inherited
runners/scored: Job 1/1. Pitches/strikes: None.
Umpires - Home:Mike Andrews  1st:Randy Upton
Start: 1:03 pm   Time: 2:19   Attendance: 192
Brigham Young at Southern Utah - Play-by-Play
Mar 04, 2006 at Cedar City, Utah (Thunderbird Park)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 030 300 -  6  8  3
Southern Utah....... 001 020 000 -  3  2  0
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 6/dh CARTER; 9/lf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 32/1b
   HIESTAND; 25/rf SAYLOR; 5/3b JOHNSON, C.; 1/cf MOLINA; 8/c NELSON; 13/2b
   VARGAS; 31/p CHRISTIANSEN;
Southern Utah starters: 2/lf Hahl; 7/ss Dimick; 32/cf Sotelo; 20/rf Burgess;
   10/dh Oliverson; 18/c Nelson; 28/3b Wilson, C.; 12/1b Wright; 4/2b
   Marshall; 31/p Wilson, M.;
Brigham Young - inning 1
   CARTER grounded out to p. WALTON singled up the middle. VILLEZCAS flied
   out to cf. WALTON out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 0 runs, 1 hit,
   0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 1
   Hahl struck out looking. Dimick struck out swinging. Sotelo grounded out
   to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 2
   HIESTAND walked. SAYLOR grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b;
   HIESTAND out on the play. JOHNSON, C. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0
   hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 2
   Burgess struck out swinging. Oliverson grounded out to ss. Nelson struck
   out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 3
   MOLINA hit by pitch. MOLINA out at second c to 2b, caught stealing.
   NELSON flied out to cf. VARGAS grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
   errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 3
   Wilson, C. reached on a fielding error by 3b. Wright walked; Wilson, C.
   advanced to second. Marshall popped up to 1b. Hahl reached on a fielder's
   choice; Wright out at second ss to 2b; Wilson, C. advanced to third,
   scored on a throwing error by 2b, unearned. Hahl stole second. Dimick
   walked. Sotelo out at first 1b to p. 1 run, 0 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 4
   CARTER walked. WALTON flied out to cf. VILLEZCAS flied into double play
   cf to 2b to 1b; CARTER out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 4
   Burgess struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. Oliverson singled to
   center field. Nelson flied out to lf. Wilson, C. grounded out to 2b. 0
   runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 5
   HIESTAND walked. SAYLOR singled through the right side; HIESTAND advanced
   to second. JOHNSON, C. struck out swinging. MOLINA tripled to left field,
   2 RBI; SAYLOR scored; HIESTAND scored. NELSON flied out to cf, SF, RBI;
   MOLINA scored. VARGAS singled to shortstop. CARTER lined out to lf. 3
   runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 5
   Wright grounded out to ss. Marshall reached on a fielding error by ss.
   Hahl grounded out to ss; Marshall advanced to second. Dimick homered to
   left field, 2 RBI, unearned; Marshall scored, unearned. Sotelo grounded
   out to 1b unassisted. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 6
   WALTON struck out swinging. VILLEZCAS lined out to cf. HIESTAND flied out
   to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 6
   Burgess grounded out to 3b. Oliverson hit by pitch. Nelson grounded into
   double play 2b to ss to 1b; Oliverson out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
   errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 7
   SAYLOR popped up to 2b. JOHNSON, C. doubled to center field. Job to p for
   Wilson, M.. MOLINA doubled down the lf line, RBI; JOHNSON, C. scored.
   NELSON grounded out to 2b; MOLINA advanced to third. WORTHAM pinch hit
   for VARGAS. WORTHAM homered to center field, 2 RBI; MOLINA scored. CARTER
   out at first 1b to p. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 7
   BANKS to 2b for WORTHAM. Wilson, C. flied out to rf. Wright walked.
   Marshall flied out to cf. Richards pinch hit for Hahl. Richards reached
   on a fielder's choice; Wright out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 8
   Zablan to 2b for Richards. Marshall to lf. WALTON grounded out to ss.
   VILLEZCAS flied out to cf. HIESTAND walked. SAYLOR fouled out to 3b. 0
   runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 8
   Dimick flied out to lf. Sotelo grounded out to 3b. Burgess grounded out
   to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 9
   JOHNSON, C. lined out to cf. MOLINA grounded out to 3b. NELSON walked.
   BANKS singled to third base; NELSON advanced to second. CARTER reached on
   a fielder's choice; BANKS out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 9
   Oliverson struck out looking. Nelson grounded out to ss. Wilson, C.
   grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

For the first time this season BYU's baseball team will be playing in Utah when it starts a three-game series Thursday against Southern Utah.

All the games are scheduled to start at 1 p.m., in Cedar City and will also be played on Friday and Saturday.

The probable BYU starters on the mound for BYU are Jesse Craig (0-3, 5.62), Patrick Wells (0-2, 10.97) and Brandon Christiansen (1-0, 6.00).

BYU Coach Vance Law juggled his lineup to produce the first victory in nine games in California last Saturday and he looks for continued progress in this series.

"We gave some of our younger players the opportunity and they may get more opportunities," said Law. "This is a big series for us to build confidence through getting some wins.

"Our pitchers' records don't indicate the good performances they have had and we have played reasonably well defensively."

Following the series with SUU, now 5-2, BYU travels next week for a three-game series at Cal-Riverside before returning to open the home season in Provo.

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