SAN -- A four-inning dry spell Tuesday prevented BYU's baseball team from overtaking UNLV in a 9-1 opening loss at the Conoco Mountain West Conference Tournament.

The Cougars, now 25-30 overall, were unable to generate a response to the Rebel runs after the first inning.

"I'm disappointed we didn't put more of an offensive attack together," said BYU coach Vance Law. "We weren't as disciplined and selective as we needed to be at the plate."

BYU evened the score quickly at 1-1 in the first inning when Brandon Relf crossed the plate on a Jonathan Cluff single to left-centerfield. The Cougars loaded the bases with one out, but were unable to punch in another run in the first. UNLV pitcher Tanner Peters had to throw 29 pitches compared to 12 by BYU hurler Chris Capper in that inning.

UNLV then took a turn loading the bases, but Capper got Hunter Beaty to fly out to rightfield to end the second.

A welcome three-up-three down inning came for Capper after his Cougars had suffered the same fate in the third and fourth innings. However, BYU went down in order again in the fifth.

UNLV tagged Capper for three more runs in the sixth, started by a lead-off throwing error. The final run of the sixth came when Brandon Bayardi doubled down the line off the first offerings from BYU reliever Kevin Sloan as the Rebel lead ballooned to 7-1.

Cluff's sixth-inning double over the leftfielder's head ended 17 consecutive hitless plate appearances for the Cougars. The scoring drought continued when Ryan Bernal lined into a double play. UNLV's first baseman leaped for the catch and was able to double up Cluff before he slid back into second to end that inning.

Sloan retired UNLV in order in the seven. Back-to-back singles went for naught in both the Cougar seventh and eighth innings.

"Peters did a good job mixing his curve and changeup," said Law. "We hit way too many fly balls (six--in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings).

BYU will start freshman lefty Mark Anderson (2-1, 6.15) on Wednesday morning when the Cougars fight for survival in the loser's bracket at 11 a.m. PDT.

UNLV at BYU
May 25, 2010 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
UNLV 9 (28-27)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BEATY, Hunter 2b.........  4  2  2  1   0  0  3  2   3
FRIERSON, Jarred cf......  4  3  4  1   1  0  2  0   0
BEUERLEIN, Drew 1b.......  3  1  1  1   1  1  8  1   1
BAYARDI, Brandon lf......  5  0  2  3   0  0  0  0   0
KRETCHMER, Kyle dh.......  5  0  1  0   0  2  0  0   3
ARNOLD, RJ 3b............  4  0  0  1   0  1  1  2   0
CLARK, Nolan c...........  5  1  0  0   0  0  8  1   1
THOMAS, Cash rf..........  4  1  2  0   0  0  4  0   0
JIMENEZ, Richie ss.......  3  1  1  0   1  0  1  2   0
PETERS, Tanner p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ZUNIGA, Brady p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  9 13  7   3  4 27  8   8
BYU 1 (25-30)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon ss.........  5  1  1  0   0  1  3  3   3
WELLS, Stephen cf........  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
WOLFE, Alex c............  4  0  1  0   0  1  3  1   0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  4  0  3  1   0  0  4  0   0
BERNAL, Ryan 1b..........  4  0  1  0   0  1  9  2   0
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  4  0  0  0   0  1  5  0   2
HALL, Austin 3b..........  4  0  1  0   0  2  0  2   3
ANDERSON, Mark dh........  3  0  1  0   1  1  0  0   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  3  0  0  0   1  0  3  4   0
CAPPER, Chris p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SLOAN, Kevin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PARRY, David p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  1  8  1   2  9 27 12   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV................ 102 103 020 -  9 13  1
BYU................. 100 000 000 -  1  8  2
-------------------------------------------
E - BEATY, H.(10); RELF(30); NIELSEN(16). DP - UNLV 1; BY 1. LOB - UNLV 8;
BY 9. 2B - FRIERSON, J.(15); BAYARDI, B.(22); THOMAS, Cash(9); CLUFF(18).
HBP - BEUERLEIN, D. SH - BEATY, H.(6); THOMAS, Cash(4). SF - ARNOLD, RJ(3).
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
PETERS, Tanner......  7.0  6  1  1  1  9 27 28 122
ZUNIGA, Brady.......  2.0  2  0  0  1  0  8  9  26
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
CAPPER, Chris.......  5.2 10  7  4  3  1 25 30 105
SLOAN, Kevin........  2.1  3  2  1  0  2  9 11  32
PARRY, David........  1.0  0  0  0  0  1  3  3  14
Win - PETERS, T. (7-5).  Loss - CAPPER (4-2).  Save - None.
WP - PETERS, T.(11); ZUNIGA, B.(5). HBP - by SLOAN (BEUERLEIN, D). Inherited
runners/scored: SLOAN 2/1. Pitches/strikes: PETERS, T. 122/73; ZUNIGA, B. 26/15;
CAPPER 105/65; SLOAN 32/20; PARRY 14/9.
Umpires - HP: Jason Rogers  1B: Rick Scarbery  2B: Dave Yeast  3B: Rich Padilla
Start: 3:03 pm   Time: 2:44   Attendance:
Weather: Clear, warm
UNLV 1st - BEATY, H. singled to right center (1-2). FRIERSON, J. singled
through the right side (0-0); BEATY, H. advanced to third. BEUERLEIN, D
grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-2); FRIERSON, J. out on the play;
BEATY, H. scored. BAYARDI, B. fouled out to lf (0-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 1st - RELF singled to left field (2-2). WELLS popped up to 3b (3-1).
WOLFE singled to left field (0-0); RELF advanced to second. CLUFF singled to
left field, RBI (2-2); WOLFE advanced to second; RELF scored. BERNAL reached on
a fielding error by 2b (2-2); CLUFF advanced to second; WOLFE advanced to
third. McNAUGHTON lined out to rf (3-1). HALL struck out swinging (1-2). 1
run, 3 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - KRETCHMER singled up the middle (2-2). ARNOLD, RJ flied out
to lf (0-0). CLARK, Nolan flied out to rf (2-0). THOMAS, Cash singled to left
field (1-2); KRETCHMER advanced to second. JIMENEZ, R. walked (3-0); THOMAS,
Cash advanced to second; KRETCHMER advanced to third. BEATY, H. flied out to rf
(1-0). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 2nd - ANDERSON walked (3-1). NIELSEN popped up to 2b (2-2). ANDERSON
advanced to second on a wild pitch. RELF popped up to 2b (1-1). WELLS struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
UNLV 3rd - FRIERSON, J. walked (3-1). BEUERLEIN, D walked (3-2);
FRIERSON, J. advanced to second. BAYARDI, B. singled to right field, RBI (3-2);
BEUERLEIN, D advanced to second; FRIERSON, J. scored. KRETCHMER grounded out to
2b (1-1); BAYARDI, B. advanced to second; BEUERLEIN, D advanced to third.
ARNOLD, RJ flied out to lf, SF, RBI (0-1); BEUERLEIN, D scored. CLARK, Nolan
grounded out to ss (1-1). 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - WOLFE struck out looking (3-2). CLUFF flied out to rf (0-0).
BERNAL struck out looking (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 4th - THOMAS, Cash doubled to right center (1-2). JIMENEZ, R.
grounded out to 2b (1-2); THOMAS, Cash advanced to third. BEATY, H. popped up
to ss (2-0). FRIERSON, J. singled to center field, RBI (0-0); THOMAS, Cash
scored. BEUERLEIN, D struck out looking (2-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 4th - McNAUGHTON flied out to rf (1-0). HALL struck out swinging
(2-2). ANDERSON struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
UNLV 5th - BAYARDI, B. flied out to lf (2-2). KRETCHMER popped up to 1b
(2-1). ARNOLD, RJ flied out to rf (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 5th - NIELSEN flied out to cf (1-2). RELF struck out swinging (2-2).
WELLS struck out looking (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 6th - CLARK, Nolan reached on a throwing error by ss (1-2). THOMAS,
Cash out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; CLARK, Nolan advanced to second.
JIMENEZ, R. flied out to lf (1-1); CLARK, Nolan advanced to third. BEATY, H.
singled to right center, RBI (1-2); CLARK, Nolan scored, unearned. FRIERSON, J.
singled through the right side (1-0); BEATY, H. advanced to third. BEUERLEIN, D
singled to center field, RBI (1-1); FRIERSON, J. advanced to third; BEATY, H.
scored, unearned. SLOAN to p for CAPPER. BAYARDI, B. doubled down the lf line,
RBI (1-1); BEUERLEIN, D advanced to third; FRIERSON, J. scored, unearned.
KRETCHMER struck out swinging (1-2). 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - WOLFE lined out to rf (1-2). CLUFF doubled to left field
(2-0). BERNAL lined into double play 1b to ss (3-2); CLUFF out on the play.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 7th - ARNOLD, RJ grounded out to 2b (0-0). CLARK, Nolan flied out
to rf (2-0). THOMAS, Cash grounded out to 3b (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (2-2). HALL singled through the
left side (1-1). ANDERSON singled through the left side (2-2); HALL advanced to
second. NIELSEN fouled out to 1b (1-0). RELF reached on a fielder's choice
(0-1); ANDERSON out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 8th - JIMENEZ, R. singled through the left side (1-0). BEATY, H.
out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt (0-1); JIMENEZ, R. advanced to second.
FRIERSON, J. doubled to right field (1-0); JIMENEZ, R. advanced to third.
BEUERLEIN, D hit by pitch (3-1). BAYARDI, B. reached on a fielder's choice, RBI
(1-2); BEUERLEIN, D out at second 3b to 2b; FRIERSON, J. advanced to third,
scored on a throwing error by 2b, unearned; JIMENEZ, R. scored. KRETCHMER
struck out swinging (0-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 8th - ZUNIGA, B. to p for PETERS, T.. WELLS grounded out to ss
(1-2). WOLFE grounded out to 3b (1-0). CLUFF singled to left field (0-0).
BERNAL singled to center field (0-0); CLUFF advanced to second. CLUFF advanced
to third on a wild pitch. McNAUGHTON flied out to cf (1-1). 0 runs, 2 hits,
0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 9th - PARRY to p for SLOAN. ARNOLD, RJ struck out swinging, out at
first c to 1b (2-2). CLARK, Nolan grounded out to ss (2-2). THOMAS, Cash lined
out to ss (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - HALL grounded out to 2b (0-0). ANDERSON grounded out to 2b
(2-2). NIELSEN walked (3-1). RELF grounded out to 3b (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits,
0 errors, 1 LOB.

UNLV is BYU’s opening game for the first time in the 10-year history of the Mountain West Conference baseball tournament.

The Cougars, now 25-29 overall, play UNLV, 27-27, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. PDT, in San Diego, Calif. No. 4-seeded BYU is scheduled to start freshman Chris Capper (4-1, 4.68) on the mound, while the Rebels will counter with Tanner Peters (6-5, 5.99). The two teams were 3-3 in head-to-head competition during the regular season.

“We are hoping our young players can step up in a significant way and take this opportunity to achieve a goal we set out to accomplish at the beginning of the season,” said BYU coach Vance Law.

Injuries have plagued the Cougars in recent weeks with the losses of starting pitcher Matthew Neil and catchers Bryce Ayoso and Wes Guenther. Ayoso had surgery last week on his rotator cuff.

“We’ve never had to deal with this many injuries,” said Law, who is hopeful that Alex Wolfe will be able to play in the MWC Tourney after going down with an injury in the 22-19 loss last Saturday at the Air Force Academy.

Depending on the fortunes of the UNLV game, BYU will advance in the winner’s bracket against either defending champion TCU or No. 2 seen New Mexico on Wednesday afternoon/evening. Should the Cougars falter against the Rebels, on Wednesday morning they would face the loser of the Utah-San Diego State game.

For more information, please see the multi-page PDF at the top of this page.

Tuesday, May 25
Game 1 - #4 BYU vs. #5 UNLV - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 2 - #3 San Diego State vs. #6 Utah - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Wednesday, May 26
Game 3 - Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 - 11 a.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 4 - #2 New Mexico vs. Highest Seed to Advance from Games #1 & #2 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Game 5 - #1 TCU vs. Lowest Seed to Advance from Games #1 & #2) - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Thursday, May 27
Game 6 - Lower Seed Game #4 or #5 vs. Winner Game #3 - 11 a.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C
Game 7 - Higher Seed Game #4 or #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Game 8 - Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #4 - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Friday, May 28
Game 9 - Loser Game #8 vs. Winner Game #7 - 3 p.m. PT The Mtn.
Game 10 - Championship Game (Winner Game #8 vs. Winner Game #9 - 7 p.m. PT The Mtn/CBS C
Saturday, May 29
Game 11 - Championship Game (if necessary), 1 p.m. PT The Mtn./CBS C