WACO, Texas -- Brandon Relf scored the winning run in the seventh on a two-out single from Alex Wolfe and BYU pitchers struck out 10 Tuesday as the Cougars defeated Baylor, 7-5.
Relf was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI as BYU (3-4) picked up its third straight victory before a crowd of 2,241.
Cougar starter Shawn Hardesty struck out five in as many innings before being relieved by freshman Chris Capper. Hardesty picked up his first win of the year.
"Our pitching was outstanding," said BYU coach Vance Law. "(Shawn) Hardesty really picked it up and threw well."
Bryce Ayoso drove in BYU's initial run in the first inning, then added a two-out RBI double in the third to give BYU a 3-2 lead.
Dane Nielsen led off the three-run seventh with a double down the left-field line and scored off Relf's two-out double that zipped just inside the third base bag, putting BYU up 4-2. That chased the Baylor starter off the mound and Wolfe singled off the reliever to score Relf. Wolfe then scored off a dropped fly in rightfield to make it 6-2.
"That was a huge insurance run," said Law. "Wolfe could have easily coasted, but he ran hard the whole way."
Alex Hancock led off the ninth with another Cougar double down the left-field line. Hancock advanced to third on a Sean McNaughton sacrifice bunt and scored BYU's seventh run on Relf's single, his fourth hit of the game.
Kevin Sloan came in a save situation in the seventh to relieve Capper with two aboard as the Bears closed the gap, 6-3. Sloan had to give up that save to David McKnight with two out in the ninth as Baylor loaded the bases narrowed the margin to 7-5.
• MEN'S GOLF: At Thousand Oaks, Calif., in a field featuring 11 ranked teams, the BYU men's golf team struggled at the USC Collegiate Invitational, finishing the event tied for 12th place overall at 17-over-par 286-293-290--869 after going plus-6 in the third round.
"We started slow today but were able to finish strong with some good back-nine scores," said BYU coach Bruce Brockbank. "Obviously, we didn't place where we wanted to. Our scores overall were respectable but not great."
No. 6 Oregon won the event at 21-under-par, 16 shots ahead of second-place No. 24 California.
Senior Robbie Fillmore was the lone Cougar to post a score under par on the day as he went minus-1 with five birdies on the final 18 holes. Fillmore finished the even at even par 213, tied for 22nd. Jordan Rodgers tied for 25th at 214, Brady Johnson finished at 220, Esteban Caliston was at 222 and Zac Blair 224.
BYU begins play Monday at the Fresno Lexus Classic.
• WOMEN'S GOLF: At Malibu, Calif., freshman Kelsey Vines helped the BYU women's golf team move up the leader board at the Bruin Wave Invitational. The Cougars gained one spot to place 16th in the field behind Vines' second-round 70.
"I could tell that the girls felt more comfortable out there today and played better," said BYU coach Robbie Bosco. "Kelsey played really well. She was putting well all day and had three or four birdie opportunities that just lipped out in addition to the three birdies she had. We're looking forward to improving even more tomorrow."
After going plus-8 in first-round action on Monday, Vines owned the Robinson Ranch Course on Tuesday with three birdies in her 2-under-par round. She is tied for 30th overall at plus-6.
In a field featuring 11 ranked teams, the Cougars are 62-over-par. No. 1 UCLA leads the field at even par.
Jade Bollinger was plus-8, Emily Copier plus-9 and Shayla Forsey plus-12 for the Cougars. Maggie Yuan came in at plus-15.
The Cougars will conclude action at the tournament on Wednesday.
• INDOOR TRACK: The All-Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field teams have been announced, with the BYU women leading the way with 11 honorees.
The 15th-ranked women's team won its ninth MWC Indoor title in the last eleven seasons last weekend and features four individual MWC champions. Senior Mindy McClurkin, who won the 200 meters at the MWC Championships, was all-conference in all three of her events (200 m, long jump, 60m).
"That's a good representation of what our team has done," BYU coach Craig Poole said. "We are really proud of all the young people that did such a marvelous job and performed so well. Being chosen by the conference is always a fine recognition."
Angela Wagner earned conference honores in the 800m and the mile. Lacey Cramer and Nachelle Stewart were also All-MWC in the mile.In high jump, Diana Blauer and Ada Robinson were honored, while Kari Clark and Rachel Fisher, who won the event, were honored in pole vault. Amy Otis was second in the penthathlon to earn all-conference honors. Poole was named MWC Coach of the Year at the meet.
Otis and pole vaulters Kelli Ehardt and Christen Botteron, will be in action this weekend at Last Chance Invitationals, while the rest of the team stays home to prepare for nationals and outdoor season.
• SWIMMING AND DIVING: BYU swimmers and divers came away with several honors after the women won the the MWC title and the men finished third.
BYU diving coach Keith Russell was named MWC Diving Coach of the Year for both the men and the women -- Cougar divers won four of the six diving events in the championship.
"The horse does all the work and the jockey gets the credit is how I feel," Russell said. "They are all just out there working hard and doing what they can do."
For the women, Natasha Menezes earned the Senior Recognition Award, finishined second in the 200-yard and 500-yard free and placing fourth in the mile at the MWC Championships. Rachel Grants shared Swimmer of the Year honots with Meghan Aimmer of San Diego State. Grant won the 400 individual medley and the 200 fy and placed second in the 200 IM at the chamionships. Tawni Jones won th 1- and 3-meter springboard titles at the MWC championships and was named MWC female Diver of the Year, while the Cougars' Brandon Watson, who also won titles on the 1- and 3-meter boards, was the men's MWC Diver of the Year.
In addition, nine men and 15 women, one men's relay team and five women's relay teams were named to the All-MWC team.
The men's All-Conference team included Travis Day, Sam Hatch, John Kendrick, David Mason, Ron Morris, Hayden Palmer, Vytenis Slenys, Nic Suder and Watson, while the women's team included Sara Jayne Christiansen Baldwin, Kassandra Bispo, Dana Christensen, Londyn Clawson, Mikenna Cloward, Kirsty Ferrell, Grant, Kelsey Higginson, Ava Jackman, Jones, Natasha Menezes, Aleesha Miller, Candice Smith, Taryn Toolson and Emily Woods.
The 800-yard free relay team of Kendrick, Christian Keil, Chad Fong and Joshua Tanner earned relay honors while the women took home honors in all four relays. In addition to the individual women named above, Amy Xu and Michelle Menezes helped make up the five relay teams.
• MEN'S VOLLEYBALL: At Honolulu, the No. 4 BYU men's volleyball team lost 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 to No. 8 Hawaii on Monday night in the match originally scheduled to be played Saturday. The match was delayed until Monday due to a tsunami warning on the Islands. BYU fell to 9-6 overall, 7-5 in MPSF play.
Sophomore opposite Robb Stowell led the Cougars with 12 kills on the night, hitting .400. Andrew Stewart had 11 kills and seven digs. Futi Tavana recorded a match-high five blocks.
The Cougars host No. 1 Pepperdine in a two-match series on Friday and Saturday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will mark the first time BYU has played at home in five weeks.
