CULLOWHEE -- Michael Bowen’s ninth-inning grand slam provided the needed cushion Saturday afternoon for an 18-12 BYU victory and three-game sweep over Western Carolina.

However it was Kasey Ko’s single which scored BYU’s 13th run in the eighth, breaking a 12-12 deadlock in a game which had also been tied at 10-all . BYU’s lead had been 8-2 following a fourth-inning one-out homer by Kent Walton to left field.

This was the first three-game sweep of a non-conference opponent for BYU since 2005 at New Mexico State. The Cougars improved to 18-10 overall, while WCU falls to 18-9 after starting off the season winning two of three in Los Angeles at No. 24 USC.

"It's great to get a sweep over a scrappy team like Western Carolina," said BYU coach Vance Law. "I'm really proud of how we bounced back. Walton (Kent) had an unbelievable series."

Indications looked good for a Catamount defeat as Walton’s bat remained hot in a 3-for-5 outing, batting 10-for-14 for a .714 average in three games. Walton had good support on Saturday in addition to Bowen.

Andrew Law led off the second inning with a homer, his second in as many consecutive at bats, batting in the No. 9 hole, giving BYU a 4-1 margin. Bryce Ayoso hit a two-run homer to extend BYU’s lead 10-4 in the fifth.

Western Carolina countered with a homers of its own as BYU’s lead evaporated. A two-run blast by Reid Rollison chased Adam Miller off the mound in the fifth, closing the gap to 10-6. With Jared Miller in relief, WCU banged another two-run homer by Stephen Notaro before the inning was finished as the score closed to 10-9.

Cougar pitchers struggled until BYU went ahead after reliever Brandon Michon claimed his first victory of the season. Then Jordan Muir came in to slam the door on the Catamounts for the third day in a row. Muir earned his seventh save of the season as he retired WCU in order in the eighth and ninth innings.

The blue Cougars now travel to meet the red Cougars of Washington State in a two-game series that starts Monday at Pullman, Wash.

Brigham Young at Western Carolina
Apr 04, 2009 at Cullowhee, N.C. (Hennon Stadium)
Brigham Young 18 (18-10)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  6  1  2  0   0  2  1  0   1
BANKS, Stetson cf........  5  2  2  0   1  0  2  0   1
WALTON, Kent dh..........  5  3  3  2   0  1  0  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  5  1  3  0   1  1  0  5   0
RELF, Brandon ss.........  3  4  1  2   3  0  3  3   0
BOWEN, Michael rf........  6  2  3  5   0  0  1  0   1
KO, Kasey 1b.............  4  2  3  2   1  0 11  1   2
 VARGAS, Dan pr..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BILLS, Thomas 1b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
AYOSO, Bryce c...........  5  2  3  4   0  0  1  0   2
 MUSSO, J.T. c...........  1  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   0
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  5  1  2  2   0  1  4  4   1
MILLER, Adam p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MILLER, Jared p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HARDESTY, Shawn p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 46 18 22 17   6  6 27 14   8
Western Carolina 12 (18-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Nick Liles 2b............  6  2  3  3   0  0  3  1   3
Stephen Notaro c.........  5  2  2  2   1  1  6  3   2
Ross Heffley 3b..........  5  0  0  2   0  0  0  4   0
Brent Greer ss...........  5  1  1  0   0  1  1  3   2
J.C. Lyons rf............  3  1  2  2   1  0  6  0   0
Lee Murray dh............  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   1
 Kyle Stewart ph/dh......  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 Matt Johns pr/dh........  1  1  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Rembert Rollison 1b/lf...  5  3  3  2   0  0  6  0   0
Dylan de Graaf cf........  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Mitchell Hatley 1b......  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Trevor Collias lf/cf.....  2  2  0  0   2  1  3  0   0
Chris Masters p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 Andrew Blackwell p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Bryan Corbett p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Daniel Ottone p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Garrett Ozar p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Mike Tavernier p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Jason Sullivan p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Garrett Baker p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 39 12 12 11   6  4 27 13   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 313 120 035 - 18 22  2
Western Carolina.... 101 253 000 - 12 12  0
-------------------------------------------
E - PARKER 2(11). LOB - Cougars 8; Catamounts 8. 2B -
McNAUGHTON(7); WALTON(6); PARKER(5); BOWEN(8); AYOSO(2); LAW, An.(8);
Notaro(8); Rollison 2(4). 3B - Greer(2). HR - WALTON(6); BOWEN(3); AYOSO(1);
LAW, An.(2); Notaro(7); Rollison(2). HBP - WALTON; Collias. SF - Lyons(3).
SB - BANKS(10); WALTON(9); Liles(12); Lyons(13); Collias 2(14). CS -
BANKS(3); AYOSO(2).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
MILLER, Adam........  4.1  7  6  5  3  1 21 25  84
MILLER, Jared.......  0.2  2  3  0  0  0  5  5  19
HARDESTY, Shawn.....  1.0  3  3  3  2  0  5  8  28
MICHON, Brandon.....  1.0  0  0  0  1  0  2  3  14
MUIR, Jordan........  2.0  0  0  0  0  3  6  6  24
Western Carolina       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
Chris Masters.......  2.2  7  7  7  3  2 14 17  74
Andrew Blackwell....  1.1  3  1  1  0  0  7  7  28
Bryan Corbett.......  0.1  2  2  2  0  1  3  3  12
Daniel Ottone.......  3.0  5  3  3  2  2 13 15  57
Garrett Ozar........  0.0  2  0  0  0  0  2  2   6
Mike Tavernier......  1.0  2  3  3  0  0  4  5  23
Jason Sullivan......  0.0  0  1  1  1  0  0  1   5
Garrett Baker.......  0.2  1  1  1  0  1  3  3  14
Win - MICHON (1-2).  Loss - Ottone (2-1).  Save - MUIR (7).
WP - MILLER, A. 2(4); Masters 2(8); Ottone 2(3). HBP - by MILLER, A. (Collias);
by Tavernier (WALTON). PB - Notaro 2(4). Inherited runners/scored: Blackwell
1/1; Ozar 2/2; Tavernier 2/0; Sullivan 3/1; Baker 3/3. Pitches/strikes: MILLER,
A. 84/45; MILLER, J. 19/12; HARDESTY 28/15; MICHON 14/7; MUIR 24/18; Masters
74/38; Blackwell 28/21; Corbett 12/8; Ottone 57/34; Ozar 6/3; Tavernier 23/15;
Sullivan 5/1; Baker 14/9.
Umpires - HP: Randy Rogers  1B: Jamie Roebuck  3B: Gerald Trexler
Start: 2:03 pm   Time: 3:50   Attendance: 539
Weather: Mostly sunny, mid-70s
Ozar faced 2 batters in the 8th.
Sullivan faced 1 batter in the 9th.
Play-by-Play
BYU 1st - No play. McNAUGHTON doubled to left center (2-0). BANKS walked
(3-1); McNAUGHTON advanced to third on a wild pitch. BANKS advanced to second
on a passed ball; McNAUGHTON scored on a passed ball. BANKS stole third. WALTON
doubled down the lf line, RBI (2-2); BANKS scored. PARKER struck out swinging
(1-2). WALTON stole third. RELF walked (3-2). RELF advanced to second on the
throw; WALTON out at home p to 3b to c, picked off. BOWEN doubled to left
center, RBI (2-2); RELF scored. KO walked (3-0). KO advanced to second; BOWEN
advanced to third on a passed ball. AYOSO flied out to rf (2-2). 3 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Western Carolina 1st - Liles singled up the middle (1-0). Liles advanced
to second on a wild pitch. Notaro grounded out to 2b (1-1); Liles advanced to
third. Heffley grounded out to 2b, RBI (1-0); Liles scored. Greer lined out to
ss (3-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - LAW, An. homered to center field, RBI (3-2). McNAUGHTON struck
out looking (3-2). BANKS flied out to rf to right center (0-0). WALTON grounded
out to 3b (3-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 2nd - Lyons lined out to 2b (0-1). Murray walked (3-2).
Rollison flied out to lf (1-1). de Graaf singled through the right side (1-0);
Murray advanced to second. Collias hit by pitch (1-1); de Graaf advanced to
second; Murray advanced to third. Liles grounded out to 2b (2-2). 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 3rd - PARKER singled through the right side (0-2). RELF reached on a
fielder's choice (0-1); PARKER out at second p to ss. BOWEN grounded out to 3b
(2-2); RELF advanced to second. RELF advanced to third on a wild pitch. KO
singled up the middle, RBI (2-0); RELF scored. AYOSO doubled down the lf line,
RBI (2-2); KO scored. Blackwell to p for Masters. LAW, An. doubled to center
field, RBI (0-2); AYOSO scored. McNAUGHTON flied out to rf (2-2). 3 runs, 4
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Western Carolina 3rd - Notaro doubled to right center (2-2). Heffley
grounded out to ss (1-0). Greer grounded out to 3b (1-0). Lyons singled to
right center, RBI (1-1); Notaro scored. Murray grounded out to 2b (0-0). 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - BANKS flied out to lf (3-2). WALTON homered to left field, RBI
(1-1). PARKER doubled up the middle (0-2). RELF flied out to cf (1-2). BOWEN
flied out to lf (0-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Western Carolina 4th - Rollison doubled to right center (3-1). de Graaf
grounded out to ss (0-1); Rollison advanced to third. Collias walked (3-1).
Liles reached on a fielding error by 3b (0-1); Collias advanced to second;
Rollison scored. Notaro walked (3-1); Liles advanced to second; Collias
advanced to third. Heffley reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (2-1); Notaro out
at second ss to 2b; Liles advanced to third; Collias scored, unearned. Greer
struck out swinging (3-2). 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 5th - Corbett to p for Blackwell. KO singled to right center (3-2).
AYOSO homered to left center, 2 RBI (0-0); KO scored. LAW, An. struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b (1-2). Ottone to p for Corbett. McNAUGHTON
struck out swinging (2-2). BANKS singled up the middle (1-0). BANKS out at
second c to 2b, caught stealing. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 5th - Lyons singled to center field (0-0). Stewart
pinch hit for Murray. Stewart flied out to cf (1-0). Lyons advanced to second
on a wild pitch. Lyons stole third. Rollison homered to left field, 2 RBI
(2-0); Lyons scored. MILLER, J. to p for MILLER, A.. de Graaf popped up to 2b
(3-2). Collias reached on a throwing error by 3b, advanced to second (2-2).
Collias stole third. Liles singled through the left side, RBI (2-2); Collias
scored, unearned. Notaro homered to left field, 2 RBI, unearned (0-0); Liles
scored, unearned. Heffley grounded out to 3b (0-0). 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 error,
0 LOB.
BYU 6th - WALTON struck out looking (1-2). PARKER walked (3-2). RELF
walked (3-2); PARKER advanced to second. BOWEN reached on a fielder's choice
(0-1); RELF out at second ss to 2b; PARKER advanced to third. KO grounded out
to 2b (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Western Carolina 6th - HARDESTY to p for MILLER, J.. Greer tripled to
right field (1-1). Lyons popped up to 2b, SAC, RBI (0-0); Greer scored. Stewart
to dh. Stewart walked (3-2). Johns pinch ran for Stewart. Rollison doubled down
the lf line (2-1); Johns advanced to third. de Graaf fouled out to 1b, bunt
(0-0). Collias walked (3-2). Liles singled through the left side, 2 RBI (1-0);
Collias advanced to second; Rollison scored; Johns scored. Liles stole second;
Collias stole third. Notaro grounded out to 3b (1-1). 3 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 7th - AYOSO grounded out to ss (0-1). LAW, An. grounded out to ss
(2-0). McNAUGHTON singled to second base (2-2). McNAUGHTON advanced to second
on a wild pitch. BANKS flied out to rf (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Western Carolina 7th - MICHON to p for HARDESTY. Heffley popped up to ss
(1-1). Greer grounded out to 3b (2-2). Lyons walked (3-0). Johns to dh. Lyons
out at second p to 1b to ss, picked off. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 8th - Hatley to 1b for de Graaf. Collias to cf. Rollison to lf.
WALTON singled to third base (0-0). PARKER flied out to cf (2-2). WALTON stole
second, advanced to third on a wild pitch. RELF singled up the middle, RBI
(2-2); WALTON scored. BOWEN singled to third base (1-0); RELF advanced to
second. Ozar to p for Ottone. KO singled through the right side, RBI (3-1);
BOWEN advanced to third; RELF scored. VARGAS pinch ran for KO. AYOSO singled to
shortstop, RBI (0-0); VARGAS advanced to third; BOWEN scored. Tavernier to p
for Ozar. AYOSO out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. LAW, An. flied out to
rf (2-2). 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Western Carolina 8th - BILLS to 1b for VARGAS. MUSSO to c for AYOSO.
MUIR to p for MICHON. Johns struck out swinging (1-2). Rollison grounded out to
3b (3-2). Hatley flied out to rf (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - McNAUGHTON grounded out to 3b (0-0). BANKS singled through the
left side (3-2). WALTON hit by pitch (0-1); BANKS advanced to second. PARKER
singled to left field (3-2); WALTON advanced to second; BANKS advanced to
third. Sullivan to p for Tavernier. RELF walked, RBI (3-1); PARKER advanced to
second; WALTON advanced to third; BANKS scored. Baker to p for Sullivan. BOWEN
homered to left field, 4 RBI (3-2); RELF scored; PARKER scored; WALTON scored.
BILLS flied out to rf (0-0). MUSSO struck out looking (2-2). 5 runs, 3 hits,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 9th - Collias struck out swinging (0-2). Liles flied
out to cf (0-0). Notaro struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.

Western Carolina University is BYU baseball’s opponent this week during the Cougars’ designated bye week from league action.

The Cougars, now 15-10 overall, face the Catamounts, 17-6, in Cullowhee, N.C., in a three-game series starting Thursday evening.

Jeremy Toole (4-2, 4.42), Blake Torgerson (3-2,6.21) and Adam Miller (2-2, 3.69) are scheduled to take the mound in that order for the Cougars in the games Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

This will be the second meeting between BYU and Western Carolina. The Catamounts played a single game in Provo, losing 12-5, in May of 1993. One member of that 1993 BYU team was future Major Leaguer Brian Banks, uncle of current Cougar outfielder Stetson Banks.

Following the Carolina trip, the Cougars touch down briefly in Salt Lake City before continuing on to play a pair of games the start of next week at Washington State.