Frank Sancet Field
Frank Sancet Field Tucson AZ 85719
TUCSON -- Back-to-back home runs Thursday by Seth King and Matt Carson and 11 strikeouts by Nate Fernley lifted BYU to a season-opening 8-4 victory over Arizona.
King's two-run homer in the eighth inning was followed by Carson's solo. King led the Cougars with four hits, including a triple. The Cougars got a solo homer in the ninth from catcher Lance Birkeland.
Birkeland, a transfer from Salt Lake City, had three hits and was on the receiving end of Fernley's eight-inning, three-hit performance which only included one walk and one run. Fernley gave BYU a 7-1 lead going into the ninth inning.
King and Cameron Coughlan each had a stolen base. Coughlan, Carson, Kainoa Obrey, and Tyler Perry each had a pair of hits for the afternoon. All but one of the nine Cougar batters recorded a hit.
Arizona, who falls to 3-2, hosts the Cougars again in single games on Friday and Saturday.
BYU Cougars at Arizona WildcatsJan 25, 2001 at Tucson, Arizona (Frank Sancet Field)
BYU Cougars 8 (1-0)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Cameron Coughlan dh...... 5 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 2
Shane Belliston cf....... 5 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
Seth King ss............. 6 2 4 2 0 2 0 4 0
Matt Carson rf........... 5 1 2 2 1 2 2 0 2
Kainoa Obrey 3b.......... 5 0 2 1 1 1 0 2 2
Aaron Whitley lf......... 5 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 7
Tyler Perry 2b........... 4 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 0
Ty Haguewood 1b.......... 5 1 1 0 0 0 5 0 2
Lars Birkeland c......... 5 2 3 1 0 0 14 0 0
Nate Fernley p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Justin Su'a p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 45 8 17 7 4 7 27 7 15
Arizona Wildcats 4 (3-2)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Jason Shroyer cf......... 5 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 0
Justyn St. Clair lf...... 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 2
Ernie Durazo 1b.......... 4 0 1 0 0 2 4 0 1
Shelley Duncan rf........ 3 1 0 0 1 2 3 0 0
Matt Abram 2b............ 4 1 1 1 0 2 5 1 3
Kenny Huff dh............ 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Erik Torres 3b........... 4 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0
Ken Riley c.............. 3 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0
Kyle Tasco ph........... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Brad Hassey ss........... 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1
Marc Kaiser ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Sean Rierson p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chris Goodman p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rob Elias p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nathan Staggs p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Britt Echols p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 36 4 6 3 1 13 27 5 7
Score by Innings R H E
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BYU Cougars......... 020 101 031 - 8 17 4
Arizona Wildcats.... 000 100 003 - 4 6 3
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E - Obrey; Whitley; Haguewood; Birkeland; St. Clair; Abram; Staggs. LOB -
BYU 15; Arizona 7. 2B - Obrey; Abram. 3B - King. HR - King(1); Carson(1);
Birkeland(1). HBP - Perry; St. Clair. SB - Coughlan(1); King(1); Durazo(1).
CS - Perry.
BYU Cougars IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
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Nate Fernley........ 8.0 3 1 0 1 11 28 30
Justin Su'a......... 1.0 3 3 0 0 2 8 8
Arizona Wildcats IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
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Sean Rierson........ 4.0 7 3 2 3 4 20 24
Chris Goodman....... 3.0 7 4 4 1 1 15 16
Rob Elias........... 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 4 4
Nathan Staggs....... 0.1 2 1 1 0 1 4 4
Britt Echols........ 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Win - Fernley (1-0). Loss - Rierson (0-1). Save - None.
WP - Su'a; Rierson. HBP - by Rierson (Perry); by Fernley (St. Clair). BK -
Goodman.
Umpires - Home:Ron Barnes 1st:Del Blunk 3rd:Marty Camacho
Start: 3:02 Time: 2:42 Attendance: 300
Game: BYU1
Goodman faced 3 batters in the 8th.
Baseball begins for BYU this season on Thursday in a three-game series at the University of Arizona.
This is a long-awaited season for the Cougars who play 23 road games before opening in their new 2,300-seat home facility, Miller Park, currently under construction.
"Our time is over being intimidated by big programs," said second-year BYU Coach Vance Law, whose team was 29-29 last season. "The next three weeks will tell us if we can compete with the big boys. We're not going to Arizona to steal some victories, we are trying to win each series."
BYU plays at the University of Arizona at 3 p.m., on Thursday and Friday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Expected to start on the mound for BYU are senior Nate Fernley (1-4, 3.46 in 2000), junior lefty James Ray (3-4, 7.49), and either freshman Jeff Stearman or transfer Ryan Adams. Fernley is BYU's most experienced pitcher with 24 appearances and six saves last season.
Other probable Cougar starters are: Lance Birkeland at catcher, Ty Haguewood at first base, Tyler Perry at second base, Seth King at shortstop, Kainoa Obrey at third base, Aaron Whitley in left field, Shane Belliston in centerfield, Matt Carson in right field, and either Cameron Coughlan or Michael Davies as the designated hitter.
The Cougars will take a 27-man squad to Arizona. Injuries have forced BYU pitchers Jeff Stone (elbow) and Brandon Boothe (shoulder) to delay appearances.
"We are less experienced on the mound, but our nucleus on the whole team is of players who are more confident. They know what to expect of me.
"We've been able to hit fly balls outside for the past two weeks and we are getting more swings than anybody, so there isn't an area we haven't covered," said Law.
Among the Cougars to watch are sophomores Carson, who played in Tucson for a week last summer in a tryout for the U.S. National Team, and Obrey, who was selected along with Carson for freshman All-America honors. King, a senior shortstop, has shown a lot of improvement in the off-season. King, Belliston, and Fernley were selected as team captains.
Arizona, currently with a 3-1 record after opening the season last week at Hawai'i-Hilo, was the opponent who provided Law with his first collegiate victory last season. The Cougars won a two-game series last season at Tucson, 15-9 and 8-1. Arizona leads the series with BYU, 17-7. None of this week's games will be broadcast on the radio or the Internet.
Following the games at Arizona, the Cougars are next in action, Feb. 1-3, at Fresno State.
