USAFA -- Jake Wortham twirled a five-hit shutout Friday, going the distance in BYU's 22-0 victory with howling winds at the Air Force Academy.

Wortham evened his record at 3-3, retiring 14 straight before surrendering a double in the ninth inning as the Cougars snapped a five-game losing streak. The junior southpaw from Allen, Texas also recorded nine strikeouts, no walks and retired the side in order in the third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

BYU, now 16-25 overall and 6-8 in the Mountain West Conference, avenged Thursday's 13-9 loss to the Falcons which was the first victory in 55 league games for AFA.

"It was a great performance," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We were struggling more on the mound than any place. For Jake to throw a shutout in these conditions and not fall behind was good and it was the best game he has had all year."

BYU exploded to a 6-0 lead in the first inning. Sean McNaughton hit a lead-off homer in the first over the rightfield fence. Kent Walton doubled and scored on an RBI single by Kasey Ko. Steve Parker doubled, advancing Ko to third before Michael Bowen hit a three-run homer, thanks to the rightfield wind.

Then J.C. Leach, who went six-for-six, took a turn at going over the fence.

"Today felt great," said Leach, who was one of three subs that started the game and combined for a 12-for-15 performance with five homers. "I've been seeing the ball better and took advantage of the way the wind was blowing."

When reserve catcher Chad Nacapoy hit a double in the first, the Cougars batted around. Nacapoy belted a two-run homer in the third, followed by a Walton two-RBI double to put BYU up 10-0.

Bowen, a seldom-used transfer from Southern Virginia, hit his second homer of the game to highlight the two-run fourth, as BYU went up 12-0. Parker hit a two-run homer in the fifth to put the Cougars up 14-0.

Bowen doubled in Thomas Bills to highlight the two-run seventh. A McNaughton double and a Leach three-run homer topped the eighth as BYU soared to a 22-0 lead.

The Cougars close their series against AFA, now 14-25 and 1-12, on Saturday at noon in a game broadcast live via both KSRR Radio (1400 AM) locally and on the Internet through BYU Radio.

Brigham Young Univ. at Air Force
Apr 25, 2008 at USAF Academy, Colo. (Falcon Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 22 (16-25,6-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
MCNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  7  3  4  2   0  1  3  0   1
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  3  1  1  0   1  0  1  4   2
 LAW, Andrew ss..........  2  1  0  0   1  1  0  1   0
WALTON, Kent cf..........  4  1  2  2   0  0  0  0   2
 CLUFF, Jonathan cf......  3  1  1  0   0  2  1  0   0
RELF, Brandon 2b.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  1  5   0
 HERMOSILLO, Kiko 2b.....  2  0  0  1   1  1  2  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  4  2  3  1   0  0  7  0   1
 BILLS, Thomas 1b........  2  1  1  1   0  0  1  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  6  3  3  3   0  1  0  1   1
BOWEN, Michael rf........  5  4  3  5   0  0  2  0   0
LEACH, J.C. dh...........  6  4  6  5   0  0  0  0   0
NACAPOY, Chad c..........  5  1  3  2   1  0  9  0   2
WORTHAM, Jake p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 53 22 27 22   4  6 27 11   9
Air Force 0 (14-25,1-12 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Nathan 2b........  4  0  0  0   0  1  4  3   1
RANDHAWA, K.J. ss........  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  5   0
DERBIGNY, Chay rf........  4  0  1  0   0  2  2  1   0
GENTRY, Addison 1b.......  4  0  2  0   0  0  9  1   1
AUSBUN, Ben dh...........  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
WALKER, Daniel cf........  3  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
MEENTS, Josh c...........  1  0  0  0   0  0  3  1   0
 MAYO, Parker c..........  1  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   0
MOSS, Tytus lf...........  2  0  0  0   0  1  2  0   0
 McBRIDE, Tyler lf.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
SCHIERHOLTZ, Vai 3b......  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  3   2
MILLER, David p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARATTINO, Matt p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 LASWELL, Gregg p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 TEACH, Adam p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GRIGGS, Jason p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  0  5  0   0  9 27 14   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 604 220 260 - 22 27  1
Air Force........... 000 000 000 -  0  5  1
-------------------------------------------
E - WORTHAM(1); CARTER(6). DP - Cougars 2; Falcons 1. LOB - Cougars 9;
Falcons 5. 2B - MCNAUGHTON(16); VARGAS(17); WALTON 2(10); PARKER(12);
NACAPOY(2); RANDHAWA(5); GENTRY(14). HR - MCNAUGHTON(9); PARKER(6); BOWEN
2(2); LEACH 2(3); NACAPOY(1). HBP - BOWEN; MEENTS. CS - VARGAS(5).
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WORTHAM, Jake.......  9.0  5  0  0  0  9 31 32
Air Force              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MILLER, David.......  0.2  7  6  6  1  0  8  9
BARATTINO, Matt.....  3.2 12  8  8  0  1 24 24
LASWELL, Gregg......  2.2  5  2  2  0  2 12 12
TEACH, Adam.........  0.0  2  4  4  2  0  2  4
GRIGGS, Jason.......  2.0  1  2  2  1  3  7  9
Win - WORTHAM (3-3).  Loss - MILLER, D. (2-4).  Save - None.
WP - LASWELL 2(2). HBP - by WORTHAM (MEENTS); by GRIGGS (BOWEN).
Umpires - HP: Ryan West  1B: Phil Schlosser  3B: Kevin Sweeney
Start: 2 p.m.   Time: 2:38   Attendance: 92
TEACH faced 4 batters in the 8th.
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/lf MCNAUGHTON; 13/ss VARGAS; 9/cf WALTON; 4/2b
RELF; 22/1b KO; 5/3b PARKER; 27/rf BOWEN; 35/dh LEACH; 50/c NACAPOY; 28/p
WORTHAM;
Air Force starters: 15/2b CARTER; 1/ss RANDHAWA; 5/rf DERBIGNY; 24/1b GENTRY;
6/dh AUSBUN; 2/cf WALKER; 8/c MEENTS; 16/lf MOSS; 18/3b SCHIERHOLTZ; 23/p
MILLER, D.;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - MCNAUGHTON homered to right center, RBI.
VARGAS walked. VARGAS out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. WALTON doubled to
center field. RELF grounded out to ss; WALTON advanced to third. KO singled up
the middle, RBI; WALTON scored. PARKER doubled down the lf line; KO advanced to
third. BOWEN homered to right field, 3 RBI; PARKER scored; KO scored. LEACH
homered to right field, RBI. NACAPOY doubled down the rf line. BARATTINO to p
for MILLER, D.. MCNAUGHTON reached on a fielding error by 2b; NACAPOY advanced
to third. VARGAS flied out to lf. 6 runs, 7 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Air Force 1st - CARTER grounded out to ss. RANDHAWA doubled to right
center. DERBIGNY singled to third base. GENTRY grounded into double play 2b to
ss to 1b; DERBIGNY out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - WALTON grounded out to ss. RELF grounded out
to ss. KO singled to left field. PARKER flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 2nd - AUSBUN struck out swinging. WALKER singled up the
middle. MEENTS reached on a throwing error by p; WALKER advanced to second.
MOSS flied out to rf. SCHIERHOLTZ grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1
error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - BOWEN lined out to 1b. LEACH singled through
the left side. NACAPOY homered to right field, 2 RBI; LEACH scored. MCNAUGHTON
singled to pitcher. VARGAS doubled to left field; MCNAUGHTON advanced to third.
WALTON doubled to center field, 2 RBI; VARGAS scored; MCNAUGHTON scored. RELF
reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop; WALTON advanced to third. KO
grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; RELF out on the play. 4 runs, 5
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 3rd - CARTER lined out to lf. RANDHAWA grounded out to 2b.
DERBIGNY grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - PARKER struck out looking. BOWEN homered to
right field, RBI. LEACH singled up the middle. NACAPOY singled to left field;
LEACH advanced to second. MCNAUGHTON singled up the middle, RBI; NACAPOY
advanced to second; LEACH scored. VARGAS flied out to rf. WALTON reached on a
fielder's choice; MCNAUGHTON out at second 3b to 2b. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Air Force 4th - GENTRY singled to right field. AUSBUN grounded into
double play ss to 2b to 1b; GENTRY out on the play. WALKER grounded out to 2b.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - RELF flied out to rf. KO singled to center
field. PARKER homered down the rf line, 2 RBI; KO scored. LASWELL to p for
BARATTINO. BOWEN grounded out to 3b. LEACH singled through the right side.
NACAPOY popped up to 1b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 5th - LAW to ss for VARGAS. CLUFF to cf for WALTON. HERMOSILLO
to 2b for RELF. BILLS to 1b for KO. MEENTS hit by pitch. MOSS struck out
swinging. SCHIERHOLTZ flied out to cf. CARTER reached on a fielder's choice;
MEENTS out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - MCNAUGHTON grounded out to 2b. LAW struck out
swinging. CLUFF struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 6th - RANDHAWA flied out to rf. DERBIGNY struck out swinging.
GENTRY flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - MAYO to c for MEENTS. HERMOSILLO grounded out
to 2b. BILLS singled up the middle. BILLS advanced to second on a wild pitch.
PARKER singled to right field; BILLS advanced to third. BOWEN singled to right
field, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; PARKER advanced to third, out at
third rf to 3b; BILLS scored. BOWEN advanced to third on a wild pitch. LEACH
singled up the middle, RBI; BOWEN scored. NACAPOY reached on a fielder's
choice; LEACH out at second 3b to 2b. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 7th - AUSBUN flied out to lf. WALKER popped up to 2b. MAYO
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - McBRIDE to lf for MOSS. TEACH to p for
LASWELL. MCNAUGHTON doubled to right field. LAW walked. CLUFF singled through
the right side; LAW advanced to second; MCNAUGHTON advanced to third.
HERMOSILLO walked, RBI; CLUFF advanced to second; LAW advanced to third;
MCNAUGHTON scored. GRIGGS to p for TEACH. BILLS reached on a fielder's choice,
RBI; HERMOSILLO out at second ss to 2b; CLUFF advanced to third; LAW scored.
PARKER reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; BILLS out at second 1b to ss; CLUFF
scored. BOWEN hit by pitch; PARKER advanced to second. LEACH homered to right
field, 3 RBI; BOWEN scored; PARKER scored. NACAPOY walked. MCNAUGHTON struck
out swinging. 6 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 8th - McBRIDE struck out swinging. SCHIERHOLTZ grounded out to
3b. CARTER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - LAW flied out to cf to right center. CLUFF
struck out looking. HERMOSILLO struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 9th - RANDHAWA struck out looking. DERBIGNY struck out
swinging. GENTRY doubled to left center. AUSBUN struck out looking. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

With final exams over and no one graduating on the team this week, BYU's baseball team begins a three-game series at the Air Force Academy.

BYU, now 15-24 overall and 5-7 in the Mountain West Conference, looks to get back on track after a four-game losing streak at home. The Cougars begin play at Air Force on Thursday and Friday at 2 p.m., each day.

The Cougars, who have no seniors on this year's team, are ranked 164th in the just-released NCAA RPI, while AFA is 265 with a 13-24 overall record and 0-11 in MWC action. TCU is the league's highest ranked team with a 29 RPI, followed by New Mexico at 52. Previous BYU opponent Oral Roberts is ranked 22nd in the RPI ranking which includes 296 teams.

Jordan Muir (2-4, 5.43) is scheduled to pitch Thursday's game, followed by Jake Wortham (2-3, 7.81) on Friday and Blake Torgerson (4-3, 7.09) on Saturday. Thursday and Friday's games will also be carried live via audio stream on BYU radio which will air Brent Norton's play-by-play on KSRR (1400 AM). Saturday's game time is at noon.

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