SAN -- Freshman Mark Anderson blanked San Diego State for five innings to lead BYU to a 16-8 victory Wednesday in the Conoco Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament.

Anderson, now 3-1, helped the Cougars improve to 26-30 and remain alive in the loser’s bracket of the MWC Tourney, while eliminating host SDSU. The southpaw pitcher had a no-hitter going through three innings as BYU built up a lead of 6-0 before the Aztecs scored in the two-run sixth.

“Mark (Anderson) did a tremendous job of throwing strikes today,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “He pitched a great game and gave our offense a chance to get going.”

That BYU offense was spread evenly amongst the Cougar lineup through the first three innings, highlighted by a second-inning high pop-up sun double to shallow left field by the hard-running Dane Nielsen and a double down the left-field line by Chase Frampton in the third with two outs.

“A key was our two-out RBI, you can’t beat them,” said Law in reference to Frampton’s second-inning poke. Other two-out RBI were registered by Cougars Sean McNaughton in the first, Alex Wolfe in the second, and Stephen Wells in the ninth.

The Aztecs quieted the Cougar attack with a pitching change to end the third inning from a lefty of their own, Robert Alcala. Alcala retired eight Cougars in a row until Nielsen, one of the nation’s toughest to strike out, drew a walk in the sixth inning.

Then the floodgates reopened against SDSU in the seventh, illustrating Law lauding his team’s discipline at the plate.

BYU opened the four-run seventh with four consecutive hits which all scored, driving Alcala out of the game. Among those hits were a lead-off double by Stephen Wells for the first hit surrendered by Alcala, a to-the-wall double in rightfield by Jonathan Cluff, and a sun single to leftfield by Ryan Bernal. Bernal’s single was of the same high pop-up variety of Nielsen’s in the third and ended up being the game-winning RBI.

Another key was the three double plays BYU turned in the first, third and seventh innings by the trio of Brandon Relf, Nielsen and Bernal. Nielsen also made a great diving catch of a line drive to end the fifth.

“The ground ball was beneficial for Mark,” said Relf of the support his teammates gave Anderson. Half of the dozen Aztec groundouts came in Anderson’s six-plus innings of work.

“My fastball had good downhill on it and it makes it hard to see,” said Anderson of many of his 110 pitches.

The Aztecs rallied for five runs in the seventh to close on a 10-2 BYU lead. However, the Cougars responded with a six-run sixth after BYU reliever David McKnight got a huge out to end the eighth with runners on second and third.

The Cougars next play on Thursday at 11 a.m. PDT, against Utah. The winner of the BYU-Utah game advances to play New Mexico at 3 p.m., PDT.

BYU at San Diego St.
May 26, 2010 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
BYU 16 (26-30)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon ss.........  5  3  1  1   1  1  2  5   1
WELLS, Stephen cf........  6  2  3  1   0  0  3  0   0
WOLFE, Alex c............  6  1  3  2   0  1  7  0   0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  6  2  3  1   0  0  2  0   1
BERNAL, Ryan 1b..........  5  2  1  1   1  1  9  0   2
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  5  2  3  1   0  1  0  0   0
HALL, Austin 3b..........  5  0  1  2   0  4  0  1   2
FRAMPTON, Chase dh.......  5  2  2  2   0  1  0  0   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  3  2  2  1   2  0  4  6   1
ANDERSON, Mark p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SHUTT, Justin p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 McKNIGHT, David p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BIRCH, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 46 16 19 12   4  9 27 12   7
San Diego St. 8 (28-28)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
TORRES, Jomel 1b.........  3  2  1  1   2  0  5  0   3
BLACKBURN, Mitch 2b......  5  2  3  3   0  1  5  3   0
MEREDITH, Brandon dh.....  5  1  2  2   0  0  0  0   0
VAUGHN, Cory cf..........  5  0  2  0   0  0  1  0   0
MOORE, Blair 3b..........  5  0  1  0   0  0  1  1   1
WILSON, Chris c..........  5  0  1  0   0  2  9  0   1
CHASSE, Josh rf..........  5  1  4  1   0  1  4  0   0
O'SULLIVAN, Ryan ss......  3  1  0  0   1  1  0  3   0
 WILLEFORD, Guy ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   3
DECKER, Brandon lf.......  4  1  2  0   0  1  2  0   1
BLACK, Corey p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 ALCALA, Robert p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MILLER, Ethan p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 RASMUSSEN, Craig p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 41  8 16  7   3  7 27  8   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 222 000 406 - 16 19  2
San Diego St........ 000 002 501 -  8 16  4
-------------------------------------------
E - RELF(31); McNAUGHTON(6); BLACKBURN(10); MOORE(4); O'SULLIVAN(8);
BLACK(4). DP - BY 3; SDSU 1. LOB - BY 7; SDSU 9. 2B - WELLS(9); WOLFE(15);
CLUFF(19); FRAMPTON(3); NIELSEN(12); WILSON(14). HR - BLACKBURN(4);
MEREDITH(7); CHASSE(3). SB - McNAUGHTON(10).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ANDERSON, Mark......  6.0  6  4  4  3  4 23 26 110
SHUTT, Justin.......  1.2  6  3  3  0  1 10 10  36
McKNIGHT, David.....  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1   3
BIRCH, Nick.........  1.0  4  1  1  0  2  7  7  24
San Diego St.          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
BLACK, Corey........  2.2  9  6  6  2  4 16 18  63
ALCALA, Robert......  3.2  5  4  4  1  3 15 16  55
MILLER, Ethan.......  2.1  2  5  0  1  1 11 12  46
RASMUSSEN, Craig....  0.1  3  1  1  0  1  4  4  16
Win - ANDERSON (3-1).  Loss - BLACK (2-2).  Save - None.
WP - ANDERSON(11); RASMUSSEN(3). Inherited runners/scored: SHUTT 1/1; McKNIGHT
2/0; ALCALA 1/0; MILLER 1/0; RASMUSSEN 3/3. Pitches/strikes: ANDERSON 110/71;
SHUTT 36/26; McKNIGHT 3/2; BIRCH 24/17; BLACK 63/37; ALCALA 55/36; MILLER 46/27;
RASMUSSEN 16/10.
Umpires - HP: Rick Scarbery  1B: Dave Yeast  2B: Rich Padilla  3B: Jason Rogers
Start: 11:02 am   Time: 3:10   Attendance:
Weather: Clear, warm, wind calm
ANDERSON faced 2 batters in the 7th.
BYU 1st - RELF walked (3-0). WELLS grounded out to 2b (3-2); RELF
advanced to second. WOLFE struck out swinging (1-2). CLUFF singled to pitcher,
advanced to second on an error by p (2-1); RELF scored. BERNAL walked (3-2).
McNAUGHTON singled to left field, RBI (1-1); BERNAL advanced to second; CLUFF
scored. HALL struck out swinging (1-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
San Diego St. 1st - TORRES walked (3-1). BLACKBURN struck out looking
(2-2). MEREDITH grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (0-1); TORRES out on
the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - FRAMPTON struck out swinging (1-2). NIELSEN doubled to left
field (0-1). RELF singled to center field, RBI (2-1); NIELSEN scored. WELLS
singled to center field, out at second p to 2b; RELF advanced to third. WOLFE
doubled to left center, RBI (1-0); RELF scored. CLUFF flied out to lf (1-1).
2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego St. 2nd - VAUGHN flied out to cf (1-1). MOORE lined out to cf
(1-0). WILSON struck out swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 3rd - BERNAL popped up to 3b (1-0). McNAUGHTON singled to right
field (1-2). McNAUGHTON stole second. HALL struck out swinging (3-2). FRAMPTON
doubled down the lf line, RBI (0-0); McNAUGHTON scored. NIELSEN singled to left
field, RBI (0-1); FRAMPTON scored. ALCALA to p for BLACK. RELF struck out
swinging (1-2). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego St. 3rd - CHASSE singled through the left side (0-2).
O'SULLIVAN popped up to 2b (0-1). DECKER struck out looking (3-2). TORRES
popped up to 1b (3-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - WELLS flied out to cf (3-1). WOLFE popped up to 2b (1-2).
CLUFF grounded out to ss (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 4th - BLACKBURN singled to center field (1-1). MEREDITH
grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (2-1); BLACKBURN out on the play.
VAUGHN singled to right field (0-2). MOORE grounded out to 2b (1-2). 0 runs,
2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - BERNAL grounded out to 2b (1-1). McNAUGHTON struck out
swinging (1-2). HALL struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego St. 5th - WILSON doubled to center field (1-1). CHASSE struck
out swinging (1-2). O'SULLIVAN flied out to rf (2-1); WILSON advanced to third.
DECKER lined out to 2b (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - FRAMPTON grounded out to 3b (1-2). NIELSEN walked (3-2). RELF
grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (0-1); NIELSEN out on the play. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 6th - TORRES walked (3-1). BLACKBURN singled to left field
(1-1); TORRES advanced to second. BLACKBURN advanced to second on a wild pitch;
TORRES advanced to third on a wild pitch. MEREDITH reached on a fielding error
by ss, RBI (1-2); BLACKBURN scored; TORRES scored. VAUGHN flied out to rf
(3-2); MEREDITH advanced to second. MOORE flied out to cf (0-1). WILSON
grounded out to 2b (1-2). 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - WELLS doubled to right center (1-0). WOLFE singled to left
field (2-1); WELLS advanced to third. CLUFF doubled to right field, RBI (0-1);
WOLFE advanced to third; WELLS scored. BERNAL singled to left field, RBI (0-0);
WOLFE scored. McNAUGHTON flied out to lf (2-0); BERNAL advanced to second;
CLUFF advanced to third. HALL singled through the left side, 2 RBI (0-1);
BERNAL scored; CLUFF scored. MILLER to p for ALCALA. FRAMPTON reached on a
fielder's choice (3-1); HALL out at second ss to 2b. NIELSEN flied out to rf
(1-2). 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego St. 7th - CHASSE homered to left field, RBI (3-2). O'SULLIVAN
walked (3-2). SHUTT to p for ANDERSON. DECKER singled to center field (0-0);
O'SULLIVAN advanced to third. TORRES singled through the right side, RBI (1-2);
DECKER advanced to third; O'SULLIVAN scored. BLACKBURN homered to right field,
3 RBI (0-1); TORRES scored; DECKER scored. MEREDITH singled to left field
(1-2). VAUGHN reached on a fielder's choice (2-1); MEREDITH out at second 3b to
2b. MOORE grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-2); VAUGHN out on the
play. 5 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 8th - RELF popped up to 2b (2-1). WELLS lined out to rf (0-2). WOLFE
flied out to rf (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 8th - WILSON grounded out to ss (1-2). CHASSE singled to
right field (1-1). O'SULLIVAN struck out looking (1-2). DECKER singled to left
field, advanced to second on a fielding error by lf (2-1); CHASSE advanced to
third. McKNIGHT to p for SHUTT. TORRES grounded out to 2b (1-1). 0 runs, 2
hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 9th - CLUFF flied out to rf (0-0). BERNAL reached on a fielding
error by 2b (1-0). McNAUGHTON singled through the left side (2-0); BERNAL
advanced to second. HALL struck out swinging (3-2). FRAMPTON singled through
the right side, RBI (2-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; BERNAL scored,
unearned. NIELSEN walked (3-2); FRAMPTON advanced to second; McNAUGHTON
advanced to third. RELF reached on a throwing error by 3b (0-1); NIELSEN
advanced to second; FRAMPTON advanced to third; McNAUGHTON scored, unearned.
RASMUSSEN to p for MILLER. WELLS singled to third base, RBI (1-2); RELF
advanced to second; NIELSEN advanced to third; FRAMPTON scored, unearned. WOLFE
singled, RBI (0-1); WELLS advanced to third; RELF advanced to third, scored on
a throwing error by ss, unearned; NIELSEN scored, unearned. WOLFE advanced to
second on a wild pitch; WELLS scored on a wild pitch, team unearned. CLUFF
singled through the right side (3-1); WOLFE advanced to third. BERNAL struck
out looking (2-2). 6 runs, 5 hits, 3 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego St. 9th - BIRCH to p for McKNIGHT. BLACKBURN grounded out to
ss (3-2). MEREDITH homered to center field, RBI (1-0). VAUGHN singled through
the left side (0-2). MOORE singled through the right side (1-1); VAUGHN
advanced to second. WILSON struck out swinging (1-2). CHASSE singled to
shortstop (0-0); MOORE advanced to second; VAUGHN advanced to third. WILLEFORD
pinch hit for O'SULLIVAN. WILLEFORD struck out looking (1-2). 1 run, 4 hits,
0 errors, 3 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