SAN -- Marcos Villezcas drove in Jeff Hiestand for the winning run Friday in a 3-2 BYU victory over New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference Preseason Tournament.

Villezcas' walk-off single between first and second with one out, scored Hiestand barreling around the bases from second in the 12th inning.

The Cougars improve to 10-16 overall and 1-2 in the MWC, while UNM's record is now 18-10 and 1-2, following Thursday's tough Lobo loss to Air Force in the tourney.

"You've gotta go, you've gotta go," yelled Coach Vance Law to Hiestand chugging around third. "When you battle like we did today and come through, it brought elation in our dugout."

Pinch-hitter Hiestand hit a two-out double to the centerfield alley, scoring Albuquerque's Seth Johnson from first to tie the game in the 12th, 2-2.

After losing in the first two rounds of the tourney to the pre-season number one and two seeds, UNLV and TCU, the Cougars battled back in a duel of pitchers.

Jesse Craig and Danny Ray Herrera produced near identical starts, striking out the last two batters of the first inning. Both tallied seven strikeouts through nine innings, with Craig giving up five hits and Herrera giving up eight.

"Herrera is the epitome of the crafty left-hander," said Law. "He has great command and keeps you off balance, but I was happy we didn't give up.

Craig was relieved by eventual winner Corland Andrews, 1-0, in the 10th inning. Damon Miller, 3-1, the eventual loser, replaced Herrera in the 10th on the mound for the Lobos.

"He (Andrews) is a great young man who has such a great attitude, but he has played a major role in the success we've had and has even generated some interest from pro scouts," said Law of the senior lefty.

That 10th inning came about when BYU's Kent Walton singled and advanced to third on an error, then tied the game at one-all off Ben Saylor's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth.

New Mexico scored in the fourth when Jay Russell led off with a single. He advanced to third on Daniel Stovall's one-out single and scored on a bunt single by Matt Foote.

Andrews survived the 10th despite two balks which advance Barba third base before Jordan Pacheco grounded out.

Stetson Banks beat out a bunt for a one-out single in the bottom of the 10th and stole second on the first pitch to Walton, the follow-up batter. But Banks was stranded with two shallow outfield flyouts.

Villezcas and Walton caught a liner and a deep fly ball, respectively, before a routine groundout via Villezcas ended the Lobo 11th.

Ian Hollick lofted a wind-aided solo home run in the 12th inning to lift the Lobos to a 2-1 lead.

The Cougars close the league tourney in a rematch against Utah on Saturday morning in a game that can be heard live locally on KOVO Radio 960 AM at noon.

New Mexico vs Brigham Young
Mar 31, 2006 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
New Mexico 2 (18-10,1-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
PACHECO 2b...............  5  0  0  0   0  2  4  4   2
RUSSELL lf...............  4  1  1  0   1  1  3  0   0
CARLSON dh...............  5  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
STOVALL 1b...............  5  0  1  0   0  0 12  0   0
FOOTE cf.................  4  0  1  1   1  1  3  0   0
HOLLICK 3b...............  5  1  1  1   0  1  0  3   2
McDONALD c...............  5  0  0  0   0  0  9  0   2
ITOKAZU rf...............  4  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   0
 DABBS ph................  1  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
BARBA ss.................  4  0  3  0   0  0  2  6   0
HERRERA p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 MILLER p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 42  2  7  2   2  9 35 16   6
Brigham Young 3 (10-16,1-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  6  0  1  0   0  1  1  2   2
WALTON, Kent lf..........  5  1  2  0   0  1  2  0   1
 HIESTAND, Jeff ph.......  1  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  5  0  1  1   0  2  4  6   1
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  4  0  2  1   0  2 12  0   0
NIELSEN, Dane dh.........  5  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  5  0  2  0   0  1  5  0   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  5  0  0  0   0  0  1  2   2
NELSON, Casey c..........  3  0  3  0   0  0  6  0   0
 CARTER, Austin pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUSSO, J.T. c...........  2  0  0  0   0  1  3  1   0
JOHNSON, Seth rf.........  4  1  1  0   1  0  2  0   1
CRAIG, Jesse p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 ANDREWS, Cortland p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 45  3 13  3   1  9 36 12  10
Score by Innings                        R  H  E
-----------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 000 100 000 001 -  2  7  1
Brigham Young....... 000 000 010 002 -  3 13  0
-----------------------------------------------
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - PACHECO. DP - UNM 2. LOB - UNM 6; BYU 10. 2B - HIESTAND; MOLINA. HR -
HOLLICK(5). SH - VILLEZCAS. SF - SAYLOR. SB - BANKS. CS - BARBA.
New Mexico             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HERRERA.............  9.0  8  1  0  1  7 32 35
MILLER..............  2.2  5  2  2  0  2 13 13
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CRAIG, Jesse........  9.0  5  1  1  2  7 31 33
ANDREWS, Cortland...  3.0  2  1  1  0  2 11 11
Win - ANDREWS (1-0).  Loss - MILLER (3-1).  Save - None.
BK - ANDREWS 2. PB - McDONALD.
Umpires - HP: Tom Chandler  1B: Chad McCardell  3B: Mik Hendrickson
Start: 11:04 am   Time: 3:11   Attendance:
New Mexico vs Brigham Young - Play-by-Play
Mar 31, 2006 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Score by Innings                        R  H  E
-----------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 000 100 000 001 -  2  7  1
Brigham Young....... 000 000 010 002 -  3 13  0
-----------------------------------------------
New Mexico starters: 1/2b PACHECO; 3/lf RUSSELL; 35/dh CARLSON; 34/1b STOVALL; 12/cf
FOOTE; 10/3b HOLLICK; 19/c McDONALD; 13/rf ITOKAZU; 6/ss BARBA; 2/p HERRERA;
Brigham Young starters: 3/2b BANKS; 9/lf WALTON; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/1b SAYLOR;
19/dh NIELSEN; 1/cf MOLINA; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 26/rf JOHNSON, S.; 35/p CRAIG;
New Mexico 1st - PACHECO flied out to cf. RUSSELL struck out looking. CARLSON
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 1st - BANKS grounded out to 2b. WALTON struck out swinging.
VILLEZCAS struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 2nd - STOVALL grounded out to ss. FOOTE fouled out to 1b. HOLLICK
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - SAYLOR singled to center field. NIELSEN grounded into
double play ss to 2b to 1b; SAYLOR out on the play. MOLINA doubled down the lf line.
CROSBY grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 3rd - McDONALD grounded out to 2b. ITOKAZU struck out swinging.
BARBA singled up the middle. PACHECO struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - NELSON singled to left center. JOHNSON, S. flied out to
cf. NELSON advanced to second on a passed ball. BANKS grounded out to p; NELSON
advanced to third. WALTON flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 4th - RUSSELL singled up the middle. CARLSON popped up to ss.
STOVALL singled to center field; RUSSELL advanced to third. FOOTE singled to first
base, bunt, RBI; STOVALL advanced to second; RUSSELL scored. HOLLICK popped up to
3b. McDONALD popped up to ss. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - VILLEZCAS struck out swinging. SAYLOR struck out
swinging. NIELSEN grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 5th - ITOKAZU struck out looking. BARBA grounded out to ss.
PACHECO grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - MOLINA singled through the right side. CROSBY grounded
into double play p to ss to 1b, bunt; MOLINA out on the play. NELSON singled through
the left side. JOHNSON, S. walked; NELSON advanced to second. BANKS flied out to cf.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico 6th - RUSSELL flied out to cf. CARLSON flied out to cf. STOVALL
flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - WALTON singled to left center. VILLEZCAS grounded out to
p, SAC, bunt; WALTON advanced to second. SAYLOR struck out swinging. NIELSEN popped
up to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 7th - FOOTE grounded out to ss. HOLLICK grounded out to 3b.
McDONALD flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - MOLINA grounded out to ss. CROSBY grounded out to 3b.
NELSON singled to center field. CARTER pinch ran for NELSON. JOHNSON, S. reached on
a fielder's choice; CARTER out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
New Mexico 8th - MUSSO to c for CARTER. ITOKAZU grounded out to 3b. BARBA
singled up the middle. BARBA out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. PACHECO struck
out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - BANKS struck out swinging. WALTON singled to third base.
VILLEZCAS reached on an error by 2b, advanced to second; WALTON advanced to third.
SAYLOR flied out to cf, SF, RBI; VILLEZCAS advanced to third; WALTON scored,
unearned. NIELSEN struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 9th - RUSSELL walked. CARLSON flied out to cf. STOVALL flied out
to cf. FOOTE walked; RUSSELL advanced to second. HOLLICK popped up to ss. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - MOLINA grounded out to 2b. CROSBY grounded out to 1b
unassisted. MUSSO flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 10th - ANDREWS to p for CRAIG. McDONALD flied out to lf. ITOKAZU
grounded out to ss. BARBA singled down the rf line. BARBA advanced to second on a
balk. BARBA advanced to third on a balk. PACHECO grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 10th - MILLER to p for HERRERA. JOHNSON, S. grounded out to 3b.
BANKS singled to first base, bunt. BANKS stole second. WALTON flied out to lf.
VILLEZCAS flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 11th - RUSSELL lined out to ss. CARLSON flied out to lf. STOVALL
grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 11th - SAYLOR singled to right center. NIELSEN reached on a
fielder's choice; SAYLOR out at second ss to 2b. MOLINA struck out looking. CROSBY
reached on a fielder's choice; NIELSEN out at second 3b to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 12th - FOOTE struck out looking. HOLLICK homered, RBI. McDONALD
grounded out to 2b. DABBS pinch hit for ITOKAZU. DABBS struck out looking. 1 run,
1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 12th - DABBS to rf. MUSSO struck out swinging. JOHNSON, S.
singled to center field. BANKS flied out to rf. HIESTAND pinch hit for WALTON.
HIESTAND doubled to center field, RBI; JOHNSON, S. scored. VILLEZCAS singled to
right field, RBI; HIESTAND scored. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

A first-ever Mountain West Conference preseason baseball tournament in San Diego starts Wednesday for BYU.

The Cougars, 9-14 overall, have their first league game of the season against UNLV, 12-13, at 3 p.m. (PST) when they will start Matt Jensen (0-3, 8.78) on the mound.

The remaining BYU games in the tourney will all be played at 11 a.m. (PST). The probable BYU starters are Patrick Wells (3-3, 5.13) against TCU on Thursday, Jesse Craig (1-5, 3.40) against New Mexico on Friday and Brandon Christiansen (3-1, 5.60) against Utah on Saturday. The Cougars are the home team against UNLV and New Mexico.

"The coaches in the league wanted an extra four games for a more viable conference season, so that is why we opted to play this tournament when TCU joined this season," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "It's important for us to get off to a good start in league play. Right now I'm playing those who are hot, so our lineup isn't as defined."

Seniors Ben Saylor and Jeff Hiestand are some of the Cougars who are now starting to play better. Hiestand finally broke the Mendoza Line (.200) last week when he raised his batting average to .206. Hiestand had been at .083 after three games and Saylor was at .172 after nine games and is now batting.277. The Cougars are now batting .238, but broke the Mendoza Line a couple weeks ago.

New Mexico freshman Seth Johnson was one Cougar who most recently got the call to start in the outfield and sports a team-leading batting average of .538.

In this week's tourney, BYU doesn't play everyone in the MWC as it won't face Air Force or host San Diego State. However, the Cougars have lost the last game they have played against each of the teams they are scheduled to play this week--UNLV (twice to end their season in the MWC Tourney last year), newcomer TCU (the last two games of a 2003 series), New Mexico (the last two games in Provo in 2005), and Utah (a non-league game earlier this month in Provo).

All of this week's BYU games in San Diego will be carried live locally on KOVO Radio 960 AM with Brent Norton calling the play-by-play and will also be available for both live audio and livestats on the Internet www.byucougars.com.

Following the MWC Preseason Tourney, BYU returns home to host Southern Utah in a rematch on Monday afternoon (April 3) at 3 p.m., before returning to league action at UNLV in a nationally-televised game on April 6.

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