RIVERSIDE -- Behind Ben Saylor's hot night at the plate, BYU beat UC Riverside 9-5 Friday, winning game three of the series.

Saylor, who went 3-for-4 on the night with one RBI and two runs scored, led eight BYU hitters who combined for 11 singles against UCR. Brandon Christiansen (3-0, 3.68) remains undefeated on the season as he worked into the sixth inning to get the win. He allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out one and walking one. With the win the Cougars improved to 4-11 while the Highlanders dropped to 11-9.

A two-out, three-run rally in the seventh inning highlighted BYU's win over the Highlanders who swept Thursday's doubleheader.

With two outs and men on first and third, BYU's Jeff Hiestand singled to right, scoring Austin Carter and moving Marcos Villezcas to third. Hiestand then stole second while Villezcas scored the eventual game-winner on a throwing error by the catcher. BYU got the final run of the inning when Saylor smoked a single through the right side of the infield to score Hiestand.

UCR answered back with three runs over the course of the seventh and eighth to make the score 7-5 in favor of BYU going into the ninth. The Cougar bullpen got a little late-game help from the offense as Saylor and Adrian Molina scored BYU's final two runs in the top of the ninth. Hiestand turned an unassisted double play after catching a liner at first before Josh Barrett got Kyle Barratt to strike out to end the game.

The game was delayed for 25 minutes in the top of the eighth because of lightning.

After getting down by a run early in the game, BYU was quick to answer UCR in the top of the third. With runners on second and third after a leadoff single by Casey Nelson and a walk to Stetson Banks, Austin Carter moved both runners over on a sac grounder. Batting next Kent Walton grounded out, scoring Nelson from third and tying the game 1-1.

The Cougars widened their lead in the fourth. Working the count to full, Hiestand led off the inning with a walk against Highlander starter Haley Winter (1-2, 5.88). Saylor next drilled a singled to second base and Hiestand moved to third on a throwing error.

Looking to extend his team-leading hitting streak to six games, Molina then singled, scoring Hiestand from third and moving Saylor to second. Nelson then added another run as he scored Saylor from third on a sac grounder to second to make the score 3-1 in favor of BYU.

The Highlanders closed the gap to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning, but BYU once again answered back scoring again in the fifth. Carter led off the inning with a walk and then advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch after stealing second base. With no outs and Carter on third, Walton laced an RBI single down the left field line, sending Winter to the showers and making the score 4-2 Cougars.

The game marks the end of the 15-game road schedule the Cougars played to start the season. BYU returns home to Provo for an eight-game homestand, highlighted by a rare non-league home opener against rival Utah, with a record of 7-8, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Miller Park.

BYU at UC Riverside
Mar 10, 2006 at Riverside, CA (Sports Complex)
BYU 9 (4-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Austin dh........  3  2  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
WALTON, Kent lf..........  5  0  1  2   0  1  2  0   2
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  3  2  1  0   2  0  0  6   1
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  2  1  1   1  1 12  1   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  4  2  3  1   1  0  1  0   1
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  5  0  1  1   0  2  2  0   1
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  3  0  1  1   0  1  2  1   1
NELSON, Casey c..........  5  1  2  1   0  1  4  0   1
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  3  0  1  0   1  2  3  0   1
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p...  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 HIGHMARK, Chris p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARRETT, Josh p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  9 11  7   6  8 27  8   8
UC Riverside 5 (11-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Hollingsworth, D.J. lf...  5  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   4
Bigler, Brett cf.........  5  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
Steinmeyer, Brian 3b.....  5  1  2  0   0  0  0  3   0
Grant, Aaron rf..........  4  0  2  0   1  0  1  0   0
Barratt, Kyle 1b.........  5  1  1  1   0  1 10  0   2
Wible, Aaron dh..........  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
Abney, Jeff c............  3  2  1  0   1  1  7  1   0
Garcia, Drew 2b..........  3  1  3  3   0  0  3  4   0
Pedroza, Jaime ss........  4  0  1  1   0  1  3  4   0
Winter, Haley p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Bills, Taylor p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Rzepczynski, Marc p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Reifer, Adam p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38  5 12  5   2  3 27 13   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 210 302 -  9 11  0
UC Riverside........ 010 100 120 -  5 12  3
-------------------------------------------
E - Abney(2); Garcia 2(4). DP - BY 1; UCR 1. LOB - BY 8; UCR 9. 2B -
Steinmeyer(4); Abney(3); Garcia(1). HR - Garcia(1). HBP - Garcia. SH -
CARTER(1); CROSBY. SF - CROSBY. SB - CARTER 2(7); VILLEZCAS(1); HIESTAND(2).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon  5.1  8  2  2  1  1 24 26  91
HIGHMARK, Chris.....  1.2  2  1  1  0  0  7  7  18
MUIR, Jordan........  1.0  1  2  2  1  1  4  5  25
BARRETT, Josh.......  1.0  1  0  0  0  1  3  3  15
UC Riverside           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Winter, Haley.......  4.0  5  4  4  3  3 15 20  73
Bills, Taylor.......  3.0  3  3  2  2  2 11 13  56
Rzepczynski, Marc...  0.2  2  0  0  0  1  4  4   8
Reifer, Adam........  1.1  1  2  0  1  2  5  7  21
Win - CHRISTIANSEN (3-0).  Loss - Winter (1-2).  Save - None.
WP - Winter. HBP - by CHRISTIANSEN (Garcia). Pitches/strikes: CHRISTIANSEN
91/53; HIGHMARK 18/11; MUIR 25/12; BARRETT 15/8; Winter 73/45; Bills 56/31;
Rzepczynski 8/5; Reifer 21/13.
Umpires - HP: Bradley Hungerford  1B: Ron Ridd  3B: Scott Daniel
Start: 3:00 pm   Time: 3:06   Attendance: 106
Winter faced 2 batters in the 5th.
BYU at UC Riverside - Play-by-Play
Mar 10, 2006 at Riverside, CA (Sports Complex)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 210 302 -  9 11  0
UC Riverside........ 010 100 120 -  5 12  3
-------------------------------------------
BYU starters: 6/dh CARTER; 9/lf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 32/1b HIESTAND; 25/rf
SAYLOR; 1/cf MOLINA; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 31/p CHRISTIANSEN;
UC Riverside starters: 9/lf Hollingswort; 1/cf Bigler; 20/3b Steinmeyer; 10/rf
Grant; 15/1b Barratt; 25/dh Wible; 3/c Abney; 5/2b Garcia; 6/ss Pedroza; 26/p
Winter;
BYU 1st - CARTER grounded out to 2b (0-1). WALTON struck out looking (3-2).
VILLEZCAS grounded out to ss (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UC Riverside 1st - Hollingswort singled through the right side (1-1). Bigler
grounded out to ss (0-2); Hollingswort advanced to second. Steinmeyer grounded out
to ss (2-0). Grant walked (3-0). Barratt reached on a fielder's choice (3-2); Grant
advanced to second; Hollingswort out at third 3b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 2nd - HIESTAND flied out to cf (1-1). SAYLOR singled through the left
side (0-0). MOLINA struck out (0-2). CROSBY popped up to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit,
0 errors, 1 LOB.
UC Riverside 2nd - Wible lined out to lf (0-1). Abney doubled to left field
(1-1). Garcia doubled down the rf line, RBI (0-0); Abney scored. Pedroza grounded
out to 1b unassisted (1-1); Garcia advanced to third. Hollingswort grounded out to
1b unassisted (1-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - NELSON singled to center field (1-1). BANKS walked (3-1); NELSON
advanced to second. CARTER grounded out to 3b, SAC (1-0); BANKS advanced to second;
NELSON advanced to third. WALTON grounded out to 3b, RBI (1-2); BANKS advanced to
third; NELSON scored. VILLEZCAS lined out to 1b (0-0). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
UC Riverside 3rd - Bigler grounded out to 1b unassisted (2-1). Steinmeyer
grounded out to ss (1-0). Grant grounded out to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - HIESTAND walked (3-2). SAYLOR singled to second base (1-1);
HIESTAND advanced to second, advanced to third on an error by 2b. MOLINA singled to
pitcher, RBI (1-1); SAYLOR advanced to second; HIESTAND scored. CROSBY grounded out
to p unassisted, SAC (0-0); MOLINA advanced to second; SAYLOR advanced to third.
NELSON grounded out to 2b, RBI (1-2); MOLINA advanced to third; SAYLOR scored. BANKS
struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b (0-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
UC Riverside 4th - Barratt singled to left field (3-2). Wible flied out to cf
(3-2). Abney flied out to cf (0-0). Garcia hit by pitch (2-2); Barratt advanced to
second. Pedroza singled up the middle, RBI (1-0); Garcia advanced to second; Barratt
scored. Hollingswort out at first 1b to p (1-1). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
BYU 5th - CARTER walked (3-1). CARTER stole second. CARTER advanced to third
on a wild pitch. WALTON singled through the left side, RBI (3-2); CARTER scored.
Bills to p for Winter. VILLEZCAS walked (3-1); WALTON advanced to second. HIESTAND
hit into double play ss to 2b to 1b (0-1); VILLEZCAS out on the play; WALTON
advanced to third. SAYLOR flied out to cf (1-0). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
UC Riverside 5th - Bigler singled to center field (3-2). Steinmeyer popped up
to 2b (0-1). Grant singled to center field (2-1); Bigler advanced to third. Barratt
fouled out to 1b (1-1). Wible out on batter's interference (1-1). 0 runs, 2 hits,
0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - MOLINA struck out looking (2-2). CROSBY struck out (3-2). NELSON
grounded out to 3b (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UC Riverside 6th - Abney struck out (0-2). Garcia singled to first base
(2-1). HIGHMARK to p for CHRISTIANSEN. Pedroza reached on a fielder's choice (1-2);
Garcia out at second ss to 2b. Hollingswort fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - BANKS singled to right field (1-1). CARTER reached on a fielder's
choice (2-2); BANKS out at second p to ss. WALTON grounded out to ss (2-2); CARTER
advanced to second. VILLEZCAS walked (3-2). HIESTAND singled to right field, RBI
(0-0); VILLEZCAS advanced to third; CARTER scored. HIESTAND stole second; VILLEZCAS
scored on an error by c, unearned. SAYLOR singled through the right side, RBI (3-2);
HIESTAND scored. MOLINA reached on a fielder's choice (2-2); SAYLOR out at second ss
to 2b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
UC Riverside 7th - Bigler fouled out to 3b (2-2). Steinmeyer doubled to left
center. Grant singled to third base, bunt (2-1); Steinmeyer advanced to third.
Barratt reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (2-1); Grant out at second 3b to 2b;
Steinmeyer scored. Wible flied out to rf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 8th - Rzepczynski to p for Bills. CROSBY singled up the middle. NELSON
singled to right field; CROSBY advanced to second. BANKS struck out (1-2). CARTER
reached on a fielder's choice (2-1); NELSON out at second 2b to ss; CROSBY advanced
to third. Reifer to p for Rzepczynski. CARTER stole second. WALTON popped up to 2b
(2-2). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UC Riverside 8th - MUIR to p for HIGHMARK. Abney walked (3-0). Garcia homered
to right field, 2 RBI (1-1); Abney scored. Pedroza struck out looking (2-2).
Hollingswort flied out to lf (3-2). Bigler grounded out to ss (3-2). 2 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - No play. VILLEZCAS singled to left field (0-1). HIESTAND struck out
looking (3-2); VILLEZCAS stole second. SAYLOR intentionally walked. MOLINA reached
on an error by 2b (1-1); SAYLOR advanced to third; VILLEZCAS scored, unearned.
CROSBY flied out to rf, SF, RBI; SAYLOR scored, unearned. NELSON struck out (2-2).
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
UC Riverside 9th - BARRETT to p for MUIR. Steinmeyer singled to left field
(3-2). Grant lined into double play 1b unassisted (2-1); Steinmeyer out on the play.
Barratt struck out looking (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

UC Riverside hosts BYU in a three-game series starting this Thursday in the last consecutive road trip of the 2006 baseball season.

The pitching rotation has flipped for BYU with southpaw Patrick Wells (1-2, 7.47) now being moved to the game one starter and Jesse Craig (0-4, 5.32) moves from the opening starter to game two starter. Brandon Christiansen (2-0, 3.75) remains as BYU's game three starter on the mound, having thrown 118 pitches in a two-hit complete game last Saturday.

Thursday and Friday's games are at 3 p.m., while Saturday's game is at 1 p.m.

This is the last of consecutive road trips for the Cougars, now 3-9 overall, who open their home season next week starting with a rare non-conference game against Utah. Thereafter, BYU alternates weeks being at home and on the road.

"We are road-weary," said BYU Coach Vance Law, who faces UC Riverside, 9-8. "We need to play well and improve on last week. We have some hitters who are struggling and will try to get them swinging the bats."

Law joined his players in getting his hair buzzed on his head after last Thursday's loss. The Cougars are 2-0 with the team unity hair cuts. Law has 198 career victories with the Cougars heading into this week's action.

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