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Ralph R. Zobell | Posted: 4 Apr 2000 | Updated: 4 Apr 2000
Ralph R. Zobell

PROVO, UTAH-Four Cougars had three hits each in their respective games of BYU's doubleheader non-conference sweep Tuesday over Southern Utah, 8-0 and 12-3.

In the shutout, second baseman Tyler Perry was three-for-three as teammate Jordan Opdahl kept his pitching record unblemished at 3-0. Perry accounted for BYU's final two runs in the opener, scoring Nick Greene off his left-field single and then scoring himself off a double play.

The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Nick Day extended his hitting streak to seven games with a left field single which scored lead-off batter D.J. Jackson, who had also gotten aboard with a left field single. Michael Davies drove in Tyler Haguewood and Day with a single to centerfield.

The closest SUU got was in the fifth inning when they stranded three T Birds after loading the bases with two outs, starting with Corey Jeppsen's centerfield single.

BYU got a two-run homer in the fourth by David Rock and a solo blast by Ty Haguewood in the fifth. Game one lasted only one hour and 23 minutes.

In the nightcap, Cameron Coughlan, Aaron Whitley and Shane Belliston each had three-for-four performances. Coughlan scored as BYU's leadoff batter when he singled, stoled second and was driven in by Craig Peterson's single to center in the first inning.

The Cougars scored three runs in the third, starting with singles from Whitley and Belliston, who were both driven in by Steve Snow's single down the leftfield line. Peterson got the game-winning RBI in the third when he hit a sacrifice fly with no outs to score Perry.

Whitley and Belliston scored again in the third and fourth innings. The Cougars scored six runs, four unearned, in the fourth inning when they batted around the order. Matt Carson extended his team-leading hitting streak to 16 games with a pair of singles in that fourth inning.

The T-Birds led briefly at 2-1 after the second inning when Amos Bright singled and stayed alive on an error off Keith Dickinson's fielder's choice to third. Bright scored off Jarod Ingersoll's single to left and Dickinson scored off a passed ball.

BYU starter Rusty Gray got his first victory of the season, while teammate Nate Fernley pitched three solid innings to earn his fifth save of the year.

BYU, now 21-14 overall, hosts SUU, now 12-13, in a single game on Wednesday at noon.

 

 
Ralph R. Zobell | Posted: 3 Apr 2000 | Updated: 28 Apr 2011
Ralph R. Zobell

Out of first place for the first time this season, BYU baseball travels to league-leading New Mexico. The Cougars, now 19-14 overall and 9-3 in the Mountain West Conference, first host a three-game series with Southern Utah, 12-11, before flying to New Mexico, 22-12 and 10-1.

The probable BYU pitching rotation for Tuesday's noon doubleheader against Southern Utah in Provo will be Jordan Opdahl (2-0, 3.08) and Rusty Gray (0-1, 4.38). On Wednesday at noon vs. SUU, Sean Noorda (2-3, 8.25) will likely get the nod. On Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at Albuquerque's Duke Stadium, Jeff Stone (6-3, 5.61) and Micah Mangrum (5-4, 4.35) are the respective starters. And in Saturday's 1 p.m. game with the Lobos, James Ray (3-2, 4.81) is scheduled to take the hill.

"We are not playing to our potential, especially on offense," says BYU Coach Vance Law. "As soon as we get our bats going, then we can make some noise there, too. We need to tend to our business. Right now our pitching and execution are our strengths. New Mexico is playing the best of anyone in the conference. With us falling out of first place to New Mexico, it makes for an interesting series."

The Cougars had some success last week even though they fell out of first.

Mangrum had a 3-0 lead going into the fifth inning and had struck out eight batters at San Diego State. He ended up with 13 strikeouts in the 6 3 loss. Those 13 strikeouts ties for fifth-best in school history along with former Detroit Tiger Jack Morris when he pitched seven innings vs. Utah in 1976.

The 11-inning 7-6 BYU victory in the finale at SDSU was the Cougars' first extra inning game since 1997. Kainoa Obrey's 11th-inning homer lifted BYU to the victory, Opdahl earned the win in relief, and Todd Crump posted his third save of the season.

Matt Carson extended his BYU hitting streak to 15, followed by Nick Day with a six-game current hitting streak. Craig Peterson continues to lead the Cougars with a .418 batting average while the team is hitting .317.

Because of conflicts with the Utah Jazz schedule, only Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcast live via KSRR Radio (1400 AM). That station will carry Cougar baseball updates on Thursday and Friday evening.