daily herald

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.