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PROVO -- Blake Torgerson and Brandon Relf led BYU's baseball team to a 13-5 victory Friday night over first-place New Mexico.

The two sophomores, who recently returned from missions, helped defeat the Lobos with pitching and hitting. Torgerson picked up his fourth victory, throwing 121 pitches in a complete game, and Relf belted a three-run homer in the fourth inning.

That 10-run fourth helped solidify BYU's (19-27, 7-10) come-from-behind victory over New Mexico (28-20, 12-5) at Larry H. Miller Field.

"We staggered at the beginning," said BYU head coach Vance Law. "But going from being down five to being up by five in one inning is always good. Tonight we were able to get a complete game."

The Cougars had 19 hits on the game over the Lobos 11. Sean McNaughton and Kasey Ko both went 4-for-5 at the plate.

Up until the fourth the Cougars trailed the Lobos in what seemed to be headed toward a shutout victory for New Mexico. BYU trailed 0-5 and only claimed two hits in the first three innings.

The Cougars got hot at the plate in the fourth inning as they stole the lead from the Lobos. BYU scored the more runs in the fourth than the team has all year, scoring 10 runs off of 11 hits. The previous inning high was when BYU scored eight runs in a 21-12 win against UNLV this season.

Starting the inning for the Cougars, Dan Vargas and Kent Walton each hit a single. After a successful bunt, Ko also made it to first. With the bases loaded Parker hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Vargas to score BYU's first run of the game. The hitting streak continued at Jonathan Cluff hit an RBI single. With another single to left field, the Ko scored off a New Mexico throwing error.

"Hitting is contagious," Law said. "They took advantage of that tonight."

The highlight of the inning, though, happened when Relf took the stick. With two runners on base, he blasted a homer to left field. That was only BYU's fifth home run at Miller Park this year. After five more hits, including a RBI double and RBI triple, the Cougars led the Lobos 10-5 at the end of the fourth.

"It was awesome," said starting pitcher Torgerson. "Tonight was a way to prove ourselves as hitters."

The Lobos jumped out quick in the first inning, scoring three runs off three hits. The Cougars had a tough time recovering. McNaughton, the first batter for BYU made the only hit of the inning for the Cougars. Making more headway, the Lobos scored again in the third inning off a fielding error. New Mexico topped BYU 4-0 at the close of the third inning.

After the come-back inning the Cougars stepped up defensively in the fifth as they held Lobos to only one hit and no runs. BYU also remained strong offensively as the Cougars scored two more runs on two hits. BYU topped New Mexico 12-5 at the close of the fifth. The Cougars scored again late in the eighth inning when Ko hit a RBI single to shallow left center.

BYU's three-game series with New Mexico will end tomorrow as the two teams meet again at Miller Park. The game starts at 1 p.m.

New Mexico at Brigham Young Univ.
May 02, 2008 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
New Mexico 5 (28-20,12-5 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BROWNSTEIN, Mike 2b......  4  2  3  0   0  0  3  1   0
HOLLICK, Ian 3b..........  4  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   1
HIBBITTS, Matt lf........  5  2  1  0   0  0  4  0   1
CAVAZOS-GALVEZ,Brian rf..  5  0  2  1   0  0  1  1   0
ATKINSON, Kevin 1b.......  4  0  1  0   1  0  4  2   0
ROCKEY, Mark dh..........  1  0  0  1   1  0  0  0   0
 HAMILTON, Dane ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MOORE, Bobby ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
COURCHA, Adam cf.........  4  0  2  1   0  0  4  0   1
MCDONALD, Drew c.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   6
GRACEY, Scott ss.........  4  0  1  0   0  0  5  3   0
NORTON, Jacob p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 SKELTON, Adam p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  5 11  5   2  0 24  9  10
Brigham Young Univ. 13 (19-27,7-10 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
MCNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  5  2  4  2   0  0  1  0   1
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  5  1  1  0   0  0  3  2   0
WALTON, Kent cf..........  5  2  3  2   0  0  7  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  5  2  4  2   0  0  7  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  0  2  2   0  2  1  1   0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  5  1  1  1   0  0  4  0   4
LEACH, J.C. dh...........  4  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
RELF, Brandon 2b.........  2  2  1  3   2  1  4  3   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  4  2  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
TORGERSON, Blake p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 39 13 19 13   2  3 27  8   5
Score by Innings                       R  H  E
----------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 301 1   00 000 -  5 11  1
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 (10)20 01X - 13 19  3
----------------------------------------------
E - HIBBITTS, M(5); VARGAS(21); TORGERSON 2(2). DP - NM 1. LOB - NM 10; BYU
Cougars 5. 2B - BROWNSTEIN(9); HOLLICK, I(12); ATKINSON, K; MCNAUGHTON(17);
WALTON(11). 3B - BROWNSTEIN(3); PARKER(3). HR - RELF(4). HBP - HAMILTON, D.
SH - BROWNSTEIN(6). SF - HOLLICK, I(3); PARKER(1).
New Mexico             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NORTON, Jacob.......  3.2 11  9  9  1  1 19 21
SKELTON, Adam.......  4.1  8  4  4  1  2 20 21
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
TORGERSON, Blake....  9.0 11  5  3  2  0 37 42
Win - TORGERSON (5-3).  Loss - NORTON, J (5-4).  Save - None.
WP - SKELTON, A(1); TORGERSON(3). HBP - by TORGERSON (HAMILTON, D). BK -
SKELTON, A(1).
Umpires - HP: Bruce Bayne  1B: Jeff Richardson  3B: Billy Van Raaphorst
Start: 7:06 pm   Time: 244   Attendance: 726
New Mexico starters: 8/2b BROWNSTEIN; 10/3b HOLLICK, I; 15/lf HIBBITTS, M;
25/rf CAVAZOS-GALV; 28/1b ATKINSON, K; 5/dh ROCKEY, M; 3/cf COURCHA, A; 19/c
MCDONALD, D; 7/ss GRACEY, S; 27/p NORTON, J;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/lf MCNAUGHTON; 13/ss VARGAS; 9/cf WALTON;
22/1b KO; 5/3b PARKER; 8/rf CLUFF; 35/dh LEACH; 4/2b RELF; 10/c MUSSO; 32/p
TORGERSON;
New Mexico 1st - BROWNSTEIN singled to right field. HOLLICK, I doubled
down the rf line, RBI; BROWNSTEIN scored. HIBBITTS, M reached on a fielding
error by p; HOLLICK, I advanced to third. CAVAZOS-GALV singled up the middle,
RBI; HIBBITTS, M advanced to second; HOLLICK, I scored. ATKINSON, K flied out
to cf; HIBBITTS, M advanced to third. ROCKEY, M grounded out to 2b, RBI;
CAVAZOS-GALV advanced to second; HIBBITTS, M scored, unearned. COURCHA, A
popped up to 2b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - MCNAUGHTON singled to left field. VARGAS flied
out to cf. MCNAUGHTON out at second p to 1b to ss, picked off. WALTON grounded
out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 2nd - MCDONALD, D popped up to 2b. GRACEY, S singled up the
middle. BROWNSTEIN grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; GRACEY, S advanced to second.
HOLLICK, I flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - KO singled through the left side. PARKER
struck out swinging. CLUFF grounded into double play p to ss to 1b; KO out on
the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 3rd - HIBBITTS, M singled up the middle. CAVAZOS-GALV
grounded out to 2b; HIBBITTS, M advanced to second. ATKINSON, K walked. ROCKEY,
M walked; ATKINSON, K advanced to second; HIBBITTS, M advanced to third.
COURCHA, A reached on a fielding error by ss, RBI; ROCKEY, M advanced to
second; ATKINSON, K advanced to third, out at home p to ss; HIBBITTS, M scored.
MCDONALD, D flied out to rf. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - LEACH flied out to lf. RELF walked. MUSSO
flied out to cf. MCNAUGHTON reached on a fielder's choice; RELF out at second
ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 4th - GRACEY, S flied out to lf. BROWNSTEIN doubled to right
field. BROWNSTEIN advanced to third on a throwing error by p. HOLLICK, I flied
out to cf, SF, RBI; BROWNSTEIN scored, unearned. HIBBITTS, M popped up to 2b.
1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - VARGAS singled to second base. WALTON singled
to left field; VARGAS advanced to second. KO singled, bunt; WALTON advanced to
second; VARGAS advanced to third. PARKER flied out to lf, SF, RBI; VARGAS
scored. CLUFF singled to left field, RBI; KO advanced to second; WALTON scored.
LEACH singled to left field, advanced to second on a throwing error by lf, RBI;
CLUFF advanced to third; KO scored. RELF homered to left field, 3 RBI; LEACH
scored; CLUFF scored. MUSSO singled, bunt. MCNAUGHTON doubled to left field;
MUSSO advanced to third. VARGAS popped up to 2b. WALTON doubled down the rf
line, 2 RBI; MCNAUGHTON scored; MUSSO scored. SKELTON, A to p for NORTON, J. KO
singled to left field, RBI; WALTON scored. PARKER tripled to left center, RBI;
KO scored. CLUFF fouled out to 1b. 10 runs, 11 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 5th - CAVAZOS-GALV flied out to cf. ATKINSON, K flied out to
rf. HAMILTON, D pinch hit for ROCKEY, M. HAMILTON, D hit by pitch. COURCHA, A
singled to right field; HAMILTON, D advanced to second. COURCHA, A advanced to
second; HAMILTON, D advanced to third on a wild pitch. MCDONALD, D grounded out
to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - LEACH flied out to rf. RELF walked. MUSSO
singled to shortstop; RELF advanced to second. MUSSO advanced to second; RELF
advanced to third on a balk. MCNAUGHTON singled, out at second rf to 1b to ss,
2 RBI; MUSSO scored; RELF scored. VARGAS flied out to cf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 6th - GRACEY, S grounded out to ss. BROWNSTEIN tripled to
right center. HOLLICK, I lined out to ss. HIBBITTS, M flied out to cf. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - WALTON singled to shortstop. KO flied out to
lf. PARKER struck out swinging. CLUFF reached on a fielder's choice; WALTON out
at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico 7th - CAVAZOS-GALV singled to shortstop. ATKINSON, K flied
out to rf. HAMILTON, D popped up to ss. COURCHA, A singled to pitcher;
CAVAZOS-GALV advanced to second. MCDONALD, D reached on a fielder's choice;
COURCHA, A advanced to second; CAVAZOS-GALV out at third 3b unassisted. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - LEACH popped up to ss. RELF struck out
swinging. MUSSO fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico 8th - GRACEY, S grounded out to 3b. BROWNSTEIN flied out to
cf. HOLLICK, I grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - MCNAUGHTON singled up the middle. VARGAS
popped up to cf. WALTON flied out to lf. MCNAUGHTON advanced to second on a
wild pitch. KO singled to left center, RBI; MCNAUGHTON scored. PARKER singled
through the right side; KO advanced to second. CLUFF popped up to ss. 1 run,
3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico 9th - HIBBITTS, M flied out to cf. CAVAZOS-GALV flied out to
rf. ATKINSON, K doubled to right field. MOORE, B pinch hit for HAMILTON, D.
MOORE, B lined out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

League-leading New Mexico's baseball team starts a three-game series at BYU on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Lobos, 27-19 overall and 11-4 in league play, however, haven't won a Mountain West Conference game in over a week as they lost five consecutive non-MWC contests. BYU, 18-26 overall and 6-9 in the MWC, is battling through an off year and is in danger of losing more games at home than any season since the opening of Larry H. Miller Field in 2001. The first game at Miller Park in 2001 was a 7-5 victory over New Mexico.

Coach Vance Law has just changed BYU's pitching rotation, moving lefty Jake Wortham (3-3, 6.72) back to the game one starter. Wortham had been the opening starter over a month ago when BYU swept Air Force in Provo, but was switched to a game two starter in the interim.

Sophomore Blake Torgerson (4-3, 7.04) now moves up to the game two starter on Friday at 7 p.m. BYU's starting pitcher for Saturday's game at 1 p.m., is yet to be announced.

New head coach Ray Birmingham of New Mexico counters on the mound with Bobby LaFromboise (4-2, 3.66) on Thursday, Jacob Norton (5-3, 6.36) on Friday and Stephen Smith (4-2, 4.55) on Saturday.

New Mexico is the nation's No. 1 team completing double plays. Both BYU and UNM feature two of the MWC's top home run hitters in Sean McNaughton (11) and Brian Cavazos-Galvez (10), respectively, who both lead their teams also in batting average at .345 and .368, respectively. McNaughton, a sophomore outfielder, is the fifth player to lead the Cougars in batting average this season.

Now that Winter Semester is complete, BYU's schedule intensifies with a game every day for eight days in a row, except Sundays. All of BYU's remaining games are instate, concluding the regular season at Utah on May 15-17.

All of the BYU-UNM games will be televised live by BYUTV with Jay Monsen, Gary Sheide, Jarom Jordan and Kevin Schaefer calling the action. The games will also be broadcast live by Brent Norton over KSRR Radio (1400 AM).

Thursday's BYU-UNM game is only one of four baseball games played in the nation for the NCAA. The other games are Manhattan at New York Tech, Appalachian State at Elon in a doubleheader and Dallas Baptist at Texas A&M.

For more information, please download the PDF at the top of this page.