May 19, 2001
SAN DIEGO -- Top-seeded Brigham Young rallied from a three-run deficit for the third consecutive game and defeated San Diego State, 4-3, Saturday night in a brisk Mountain West Conference baseball tournament championship game at Tony Gwynn Field, on the campus of San Diego State. The game was played in 2:13.
BYU pitcher and tournament most valuable player Nate Fernley went the distance, allowing three earned runs, all in the first two innings of the game. He struck out just one hitter, but blanked the Aztecs over the final seven innings. He improved his record to 16-2, including 2-0 in the tournament.
With the win, BYU advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1994 season.
The Aztecs scored a run in the first inning on a solo homer by Darrell Bowles. They scored two more runs in the second inning on RBI singles by Brian Manfred and Ben Leuthard.
BYU scored just one earned run against a potent SDSU pitching staff. The Cougars entered the game hitting .363 in the tournament. However, the resilient Cougars plated single runs in the seventh and eighth innings with the game-winning run coming on a two-out RBI single by Shane Belliston.
All-Tournament Team:
Kainoa Obrey, BYU
Ben Julianel, SDSU
Ryan Olson, UNLV
Chris Shelton, Utah
Brad Beasley, UNLV
Doug Jackson, BYU
Ben Leuthard, SDSU
Seth King, BYU
Nate Fernley, BYU
Trent Kitsch, UNLV, John Skinner, SDSU
MVP:
Nate Fernley, BYU