May 26, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY - Brigham Young scored four early runs, then withstood a San Diego State comeback as it defeated the Aztecs, 4-3, in second-day action at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Salt Lake City.
It was the Cougars' fifth win in seven games against SDSU this season as they improved to 38-17-1. The Aztecs saw their record fall to 24-34, and must now come back tonight to face New Mexico in an elimination game at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) at Franklin Covey Field.
BYU took a 3-0 lead with a trio of runs off SDSU starting pitcher Brett Douglas (2-4) in the bottom of the third. A leadoff home run by center fielder Ryan Chambers plus an RBI single from Jeff Hiestand and a run-scoring double by Brandon Taylor accounted for the scoring.
The Cougars made it a 4-0 contest with a single marker in the fourth as Sean McNaughton's two-out single scored Chambers, who had doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
The Aztecs received an excellent relief pitching performance from Dan Bruckart, who came on to start the fifth with his team trailing by four runs. Bruckart kept SDSU within striking distance the rest of the way as he went four innings, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out five.
San Diego State cut the deficit in half with a pair of runs in the fifth, as it loaded the bases on a walk to Jordan Swaydan, single by Quintin Berry, and a walk to Brock Ungricht. James Guerrero then delivered a two-run double down the left field line to score Swaydan and Berry.
Brigham Young starter Lance Beus (3-1) held the SDSU offense in check most of the afternoon, limiting it to just two runs on four hits over his 6.2 innings of work. He left the game in the seventh in favor of reliever Joshua Barrett, who sailed through his first inning and a third before SDSU mounted a rally in the top of the ninth.
A throwing error by Cougar shortstop Marcos Villezcas allowed Tim O'Brien to reach first base to begin the final frame. He was replaced on the base paths by Kevin Perry before Swaydan lined out sharply to third. After pinch hitter Joseph Scaperotta was hit by pitch, Berry singled up the middle to score Perry and keep runners at first and second.
A fly out to right advanced Scaperotta to third, but he was stranded there as BYU's Ryan Chambers, who had come on in relief from his center field position with one out and two on, retired Guerrero to end the game. It was the third save of the season for Chambers.
Quintin Berry was the lone Aztec with more than one hit on the day as he connected for a pair of singles, a run scored and one RBI. In the process, he extended his current hitting streak to 14 games and maintained his season batting average at the .425 mark.
Should San Diego State defeat New Mexico Thursday evening, it would take on the loser of the Utah-UNLV contest on Friday morning (May 27) at 11:00 a.m.
Brigham Young 4, San Diego State 3SDS 000 020 001 - 3 5 1BYU 003 100 00x - 4 11 2Douglas, Bruckart (5) and SwaydanBeus, Barrett (7), Chambers (9) and ClowardW - Beus (3-1)L - Douglas (2-4)Sv - Chambers (3)HR - BYU: Chambers (11)Time - 2:35