BYU
BASEBALL: DAVIS, Calif. — Casey Nelson's home run wasn't enough for the Cougars to catch No. 8 Oregon State as BYU dropped its seventh straight Thursday, 12-2.
After the Beavers, who improved to 4-3, scored an early two runs, Nelson struck back for the Cougars in the top of the second. With two outs, Nelson hit a solo home run to left off Beaver All-American Dallas Buck (2-0, 2.50) on a full count to pull the Cougars within one. The homer was his first of the season and the third for BYU.
The Cougars fell to 0-7. They square off this morning against Washington State for their second game of the River City Classic at UC Davis.
SOFTBALL: BYU lost to Houston, 4-0, on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Tournament.
BYU (8-3) stranded six runners on base while Houston (11-3) took care of business when it had runners in scoring position. The game marked the first time BYU has been shut out this season.
"We weren't prepared to play," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We just didn't compete tonight. I was very disappointed."
BYU continues at the Crowne Plaza Classic when it takes on Wichita State and Iowa State today. Game times are 10 a.m. and noon (MST), respectively.
Utah
TRACK & FIELD: Utah wrapped up its regular-season competition Saturday at the Wildcat Tune-Up hosted by Weber State University. Several Ute women performed well. A.J. Roby led the team with a third-place finish in the shot put (42-3 1/2) and the weight throw (57-11). Haley McAllister and Vanessa Mortensen were also top finishers. McAllister finished third in the 55 meters (7.44). Mortensen came in second in the weight throw (57-10) and eighth in the shot put (36-4).
SOFTBALL: Utah (4-5) will play in the UTEP Invitational today through Sunday. On the schedule in El Paso, Texas, are San Jose State (3-4) and Northern Colorado (3-2 ) today, New Mexico State (9-4) and UTEP (2-7) on Saturday, and New Mexico State again on Sunday.
Utah State
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Nate Harris has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 14 team. Harris, a 6-foot-7 senior forward from Smithfield, currently ranks eighth in the Western Athletic Conference in scoring (17.4), first in field-goal percentage (.629), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89), sixth in rebounding (7.2), eighth in assists (3.46) and ninth in blocked shots (0.91).
GYMNASTICS: No. 24 Utah State (5-9, 0-4) will host 33rd-ranked Western Athletic Conference rival Sacramento State (7-8, 3-0) today at 6:35 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Southern Utah
MEN'S BASKETBALL:Steve Barnes has been named Mid-Continent Conference player of the week. Barnes, a 5-9 junior point guard from Cedar City, averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in the three games last week.
GYMNASTICS: SUU (4-4) will host the third of four straight home gymnastics meets tonight when the No. 22 Thunderbirds welcome No. 8 Michigan to the Centrum. SUU's Leah Sakhitab has been named this week's Western Athletic Conference gymnast of the week following her performance in Saturday's win over West Virginia. Sakhitab, a junior from Rochester, Minn., finished the meet as all-around champion with a season-high 39.175 points.
BASEBALL: SUU junior catcher Robbie Richards was named Mid-Continent Conference offensive player of the week for his performance last weekend in SUU's home series win over San Francisco. Richards, of Las Vegas, hit .625 with four extra-base hits, including three doubles and a home run, along with three RBIs and four runs scored.
TRACK & FIELD: SUU will look to return to championship form this Sunday and Monday as the Thunderbirds travel to Bloomington, Ill., for the 2006 Mid-Continent Conference indoor track and field championships. The meet will be held on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.
Weber State
TRACK & FIELD:Wiley King has been named the Big Sky Conference's track athlete of the week for the fourth time this season after the Portland, Ore., native won three events at Saturday's Wildcat Tune-up Meet. King took first in the 200 meters with a converted time of 22.04 seconds; first in the pole vault with a career-best 14 feet, 5.25 inches; and first among collegians in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.30, tying a school record.
Utah Valley
BASEBALL: Utah Valley State will try to collect its first series win this weekend when the Wolverines travel to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico. The Lobos are one of four Mountain West teams Utah Valley will play. The others are BYU, Utah and Air Force. This will be the first meeting between New Mexico and Utah Valley State in baseball.