April 1, 2000
SAN DIEGO - In what was a fitting end to a closely played series, the Brigham Young baseball team edged San Diego State, 7-6 in 11 innings at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Saturday.
The Aztecs (20-17 overall, 8-4 Mountain West Conference), who won the first two games of the three-game series, fell behind early and trailed, 3-1 after four. However, SDSU scored one in the fifth to cut the BYU lead to 3-2. The Aztecs then erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to claim a 6-3 lead, and that's when things got interesting.
After a scoreless seventh by both teams, the Cougars banged out four straight singles which resulted in two runs in the top of the eighth. With runners on the corners and one out and SDSU clinging to a 6-5 lead in the eighth, BYU catcher Michael Davies flew out to Aztec left fielder Sean Pierce. Cougar first baseman Ty Haguewood attempted to tag up from third and score on Davies' fly ball, but Pierce gunned him down with a perfect throw to home plate, helping SDSU get out of the inning with the lead.
After holding the Aztecs scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, BYU came up with one last chance in the top of the ninth.
Cougar right fielder Matt Carson started the ninth off with a routine grounder to SDSU shortstop Taber Lee. Lee, who made a remarkable catch on a little pop-up with his back to home plate earlier in the game, handled the ball smoothly, but his throw was high and pulled first baseman Chad Chop off the base. Carson slid under Chop's attempted tag and in so doing, gave BYU some hope. Cougar left fielder Aaron Whitley then moved Carson to second with a perfect sacrifice bunt. With BYU trailing by one in the top of the ninth, it now had the tying run in scoring position with only one out.
After Cougar third baseman Kainoa Obrey grounded out to second, moving Carson to third, designated hitter David Rock walked. BYU head coach Vance Law opted to have Nick Greene pinch run for Rock. With Carson on third and Greene on first with two outs in the top of the ninth, Cougar shortstop Nate Mathis hit a ball up the middle. Lee made a diving play to keep the ball in the infield. Lee then tried to scoop the ball to second baseman Matt Ricardy while still laid out on his stomach. Lee's toss pulled Ricardy off the bag, allowing Carson to score and sending the game into extra innings.
The game remained deadlocked at six until the top of the 11th, when Obrey hit a line drive home run over the left-center field fence to give BYU the win.
Rusty Gray picked up the win for the Cougars, improving to 1-1 on the year, while John Skinner fell to 1-5 after suffering the loss for SDSU.
The Aztecs take a break from their regular-season schedule tomorrow when they host the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (the Padres' Single-A affiliate) at 3 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Final
BYU 021 000 021 01 - 7 14 2SDSU 100 014 000 00 - 6 10 3
Win - Gray (1-1)Loss - Skinner (1-5)Save - Crump (3)
2B - Lockhart (SDSU), Rogers (SDSU)HR - Peterson (BYU), Whitley (BYU), Obrey (BYU)
Attendance - 484