SAN -- For the second consecutive day a grand slam beat BYU in the Mountain West Preseason Tournament, with TCU getting a 9-4 victory on Thursday.

Ryan Pack belted the granny in the bottom of the eighth inning off ace Cougar reliever Josh Barrett following a 4-4 deadlock. The Cougars fall to 9-16 overall and 0-2 in the MWC, while TCU improves to 13-14 in its league debut.

While the slam didn't technically beat BYU, it put the game beyond reach of the Cougars who led the game until two runs scored in the sixth and the Horned Frogs took a 5-4 lead in the ninth.

BYU scored in the first inning when Marcos Villezcas' double moved Stetson Banks to third. Banks scored on Jeff Hiestand's groundout, but Villezcas ended up being stranded at third.

In the second inning BYU stranded another runner at third as Adrian Molina hit a one-out triple, but TCU struck out consecutive Cougars.

The Hornes Frogs tied the game at one-all following Corey Steglich walking, then stealing second and third, and scoring off Pack's one-out single. Cougar lefty Patrick Wells picked Pack off base to end the inning and then came up with big strikeouts to open and close the fourth.

BYU's fourth hit of the day was its third extra-base poke when catcher Casey Nelson led off the fifth with a double. Next, Seth Johnson extended a single to second base, but an error on the throw to get him allowed Nelson to score. Johnson advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Banks and scored on Ben Saylor's sac-fly, making the score 3-1.

Pack singled and scored off Bryan Kervin's two-out double to bring TCU back to a 3-2 margin.

BYU chased Zach Ashwood from the mound in the sixth after Kasey Ko singled and advance to second on a balk. The Cougars then played the percentages and subbed Ko with a pinch runner, Austin Carter. Carter advanced to third on Blake Crosby's sac bunt and scored on Molina's ground out, giving BYU a 4-2 lead.

After getting the first two TCU batters outs, Wells loaded the bases and Steglich hit a line drive two-run single to left field before being thrown out trying to extend to second. The two unearned runs tied the score at four apiece.

Consecutive one-out singles by Hiestand and Carter gave TCU some concern until it turned a 6-4-3 double play.

Chad Huffman led off the bottom of the eighth with a double to right field and advanced to third on a ground out, chasing Wells from the game. Huffman scored on a wild pitch from Cougar reliever Mitch Woolf and gave the Horned Frogs a 5-4 lead. Woolf's curve ball was ineffective and he was replaced by Barrett, who surrendered the granny, facing Pack as his first batter.

BYU next plays New Mexico on Friday morning in a game that can be heard live locally on KOVO Radio 960 AM at noon.

Brigham Young vs Texas Christian Univ
Mar 30, 2006 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Brigham Young 4 (9-16,0-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BANKS, Stetson 2b........  2  1  0  0   1  1  2  1   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  3  0  1  0   1  1  5  3   0
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  3  0  0  1   0  1  2  0   0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........  4  0  1  1   0  0  4  2   1
KO, Kasey dh.............  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
 CARTER, Austin pr/dh....  1  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
CROSBY, Blake 3b.........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  4  0  1  1   0  0  1  0   1
NELSON, Casey c..........  4  1  1  0   0  1  6  0   0
JOHNSON, Seth lf.........  4  1  1  0   0  3  3  2   1
WELLS, Patrick p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  3   0
 WOOLF, Mitch p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARRETT, Josh p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  4  8  3   2  7 24 11   5
Texas Christian Univ 9 (13-14,1-0 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Kervin, Bryan ss.........  5  0  1  1   0  1  0  4   0
Trout, Steven 1b.........  3  0  1  0   1  0  9  1   0
Huffman, Chad lf.........  4  1  1  0   0  1  4  0   0
 Adams, Austin lf........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Carpenter, Matt 3b.......  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   1
Conlon, Keith rf.........  2  2  0  0   2  0  1  0   0
Walker, Andrew c.........  3  1  0  0   1  1  6  1   1
Vern, Matt dh............  2  1  0  0   2  1  0  0   0
Steglich, Corey 2b.......  2  2  1  2   2  0  4  3   0
Pack, Ryan cf............  4  2  3  5   0  0  3  0   0
Ashwood, Zach p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Farish, Dillon p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 29  9  7  8   8  4 27 11   4
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 021 000 -  4  8  1
Texas Christian Univ 001 012 05X -  9  7  1
-------------------------------------------
E - BANKS; TROUT(8). DP - TCU 1. LOB - BY 5; TCU 4. 2B - VILLEZCAS; NELSON;
KERVIN(10); HUFFMAN(6). 3B - MOLINA. HR - PACK(3). SH - BANKS; CROSBY. SF -
SAYLOR. SB - TROUT(4); STEGLICH 2(2). CS - PACK(2).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WELLS, Patrick......  7.1  6  5  3  5  3 26 31 113
WOOLF, Mitch........  0.1  0  3  3  3  0  1  4  20
BARRETT, Josh.......  0.1  1  1  1  0  1  2  2   9
Texas Christian Univ   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Ashwood, Zach.......  5.0  6  4  3  2  3 19 23  81
Farish, Dillon......  4.0  2  0  0  0  4 12 13  47
Win - FARISH (2-1).  Loss - WELLS (3-4).  Save - None.
WP - WOOLF. BK - ASHWOOD 2(3). Inherited runners/scored: WOOLF 1/1; BARRETT 3/3;
FARISH 1/1. Pitches/strikes: WELLS 113/62; WOOLF 20/7; BARRETT 9/6; ASHWOOD
81/57; FARISH 47/34.
Umpires - HP: Bill VanRaaphorst  1B: Dom Butry  3B: Ray Belfiore
Start: 11:04 am   Time: 2:32   Attendance:
ASHWOOD faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Brigham Young vs Texas Christian Univ - Play-by-Play
Mar 30, 2006 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 100 021 000 -  4  8  1
Texas Christian Univ 001 012 05X -  9  7  1
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 3/2b BANKS; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR; 32/1b
HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 30/3b CROSBY; 1/cf MOLINA; 8/c NELSON; 26/lf JOHNSON, S.;
4/p WELLS;
Texas Christian Univ starters: 1/ss KERVIN; 16/1b TROUT; 17/lf HUFFMAN; 14/3b
CARPENTER; 27/rf CONLON; 6/c WALKER; 21/dh VERN; 3/2b STEGLICH; 15/cf PACK;
39/p ASHWOOD;
Brigham Young 1st - BANKS walked (3-2). BANKS advanced to second on a
balk. VILLEZCAS doubled to right field (1-1); BANKS advanced to third. SAYLOR
struck out looking (0-2). HIESTAND grounded out to 2b, RBI (0-1); VILLEZCAS
advanced to third; BANKS scored. KO flied out to lf (1-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 1st - KERVIN flied out to lf (3-2). TROUT walked
(3-1). HUFFMAN flied out to lf (1-0). TROUT stole second. CARPENTER out at
first 1b to p (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - CROSBY flied out to cf (2-0). MOLINA tripled to
right center (0-2). NELSON struck out swinging (1-2). JOHNSON, S. struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 2nd - CONLON lined out to rf to right center (3-1).
WALKER popped up to ss (0-0). VERN struck out looking (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - BANKS fouled out to 2b (1-0). VILLEZCAS flied out to
lf (0-0). SAYLOR grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 3rd - STEGLICH walked (3-1). STEGLICH stole second.
STEGLICH stole third. PACK singled through the left side, RBI (2-2); STEGLICH
scored. PACK out at second p to 1b to ss, caught stealing. KERVIN flied out to
rf (0-2). TROUT flied out to cf (1-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - HIESTAND flied out to cf (1-2). KO lined out to rf
(1-2). CROSBY singled through the left side (1-1). MOLINA reached on a
fielder's choice (0-1); CROSBY out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 4th - HUFFMAN struck out looking (1-2). CARPENTER
popped up to ss (1-2). CONLON walked (3-0). WALKER struck out looking (3-2).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - NELSON doubled to left center (0-0). JOHNSON, S.
singled up the middle, advanced to second on the throw (3-2); NELSON advanced
to third, scored on a throwing error by 1b. BANKS out at first 1b to 2b, SAC
(0-0); JOHNSON, S. advanced to third. VILLEZCAS walked (3-1). SAYLOR flied out
to cf, SF, RBI (0-1); JOHNSON, S. scored, unearned. HIESTAND flied out to lf
(1-0). 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 5th - VERN fouled out to c (0-0). STEGLICH grounded
out to ss (0-1). PACK singled to left field (1-1). KERVIN doubled to right
center, RBI (2-0); PACK scored. TROUT singled to left field (1-1); KERVIN
advanced to third, out at home lf to ss to c. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - KO singled to right field (2-2). KO advanced to
second on a balk. FARISH to p for ASHWOOD. CARTER pinch ran for KO. CROSBY
grounded out to p, SAC (1-0); CARTER advanced to third. MOLINA grounded out to
ss, RBI (0-2); CARTER scored. NELSON grounded out to 3b (0-2). 1 run, 1 hit,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 6th - CARTER to dh. HUFFMAN flied out to lf (0-0).
CARPENTER popped up to 2b (2-1). CONLON reached on a fielding error by 2b
(0-0). WALKER walked (3-0); CONLON advanced to second. VERN walked (3-2);
WALKER advanced to second; CONLON advanced to third. STEGLICH singled to left
field, out at second lf to ss to 2b, 2 RBI (0-0); VERN advanced to third;
WALKER scored, unearned; CONLON scored, unearned. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - JOHNSON, S. struck out swinging (3-2). BANKS struck
out swinging (1-2). VILLEZCAS struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 7th - PACK grounded out to p, bunt (0-1). KERVIN
lined out to ss (2-2). TROUT grounded out to p (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - SAYLOR flied out to lf (1-0). HIESTAND singled
through the right side (2-1). CARTER singled through the right side (2-2);
HIESTAND advanced to second. CROSBY grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b
(1-1); CARTER out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Texas Christian Univ 8th - HUFFMAN doubled to right center (0-1).
CARPENTER grounded out to 2b (1-1); HUFFMAN advanced to third. WOOLF to p for
WELLS. HUFFMAN scored on a wild pitch. CONLON walked (3-1). WALKER popped up to
ss (1-1). VERN walked (3-2); CONLON advanced to second. STEGLICH walked (3-2);
VERN advanced to second; CONLON advanced to third. BARRETT to p for WOOLF. PACK
homered to left field, 4 RBI (1-2); STEGLICH scored; VERN scored; CONLON
scored. KERVIN struck out swinging (2-2). 5 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - ADAMS to lf for HUFFMAN. MOLINA grounded out to ss
(1-2). NELSON grounded out to 2b (0-0). JOHNSON, S. struck out looking (0-2).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 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.