AIR FORCE ACADEMY -- Alex Wolfe and Jonathan Cluff highlighted BYU’s 16-6 baseball victory Thursday over the Air Force Academy.

Wolfe entered his name into the BYU record books with six hits to join eight other players in school history. Wolfe, starting his first game at catcher this season for an injured Bryce Ayoso, went 6-for-6 with three doubles and three singles.

“It was the funnest game of the year so far, not because I was 6-for-6, but because I was catching.,” said Wolfe. “I was fortunate enough and lucky to hit some pretty good pitches and they left a couple up.”

Cluff, a right fielder, threw his third runner out in the game to end the fifth inning when he nabbed Addison Gentry at the plate to hold AFA to its first scoreless inning of the day. Earlier Cluff had thrown out a runner at second and third.

“I was very pleased, it was one of the most complete games we have played all year,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “Cluff was one of the main reasons we won today with three unbelievable throws that knock out potential big innings.

“Anything can happen here and it was a bit shaky after we got out to a 5-1 lead, but we continued to battle. We were able to save our bullpen today for the last two games.”

Freshman starter Chris Capper picked up his fourth win of the year. Relievers Justin Shutt and Nick Birch each pitched for an inning to close the game, both throwing just four pitches for three outs.

Sean McNaughton went 4-for 6 and Austin Hall went 5-for-6 to add to the BYU victory. Hall had a three-run homer in the eighth to account for most of his five RBI.

All the Cougar starters registered at least one hit as BYU improved to 24-28 overall and evened it record at 11-11 in the Mountain West Conference. BYU and the Falcons continue the three-game series on Friday afternoon.

BYU at Air Force
May 20, 2010 at USAF Academy, Colo. (Falcon Field)
BYU 16 (24-28,11-11 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon ss.........  5  2  2  1   0  1  3  3   1
WELLS, Stephen cf........  3  4  1  0   2  0  2  0   1
WOLFE, Alex c............  6  1  6  1   0  0  2  0   0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  5  1  1  3   0  0  3  3   2
BERNAL, Ryan 1b..........  5  2  2  1   0  0  8  0   1
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  6  2  4  2   0  1  7  0   0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  3  2  2  0   1  1  1  3   0
HALL, Austin 3b..........  5  2  4  6   0  0  1  1   0
HANCOCK, Alex dh.........  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   1
 FRAMPTON, Chase ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
CAPPER, Chris p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SHUTT, Justin p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BIRCH, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 43 16 23 14   3  4 27 10   8
Air Force 6 (12-41,2-19 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RANDHAWA 3b..............  5  1  1  0   0  0  2  2   1
ROBERTS, B. 2b...........  5  0  1  0   0  0  6  3   0
GENTRY 1b................  3  1  2  2   1  0  7  1   0
ALEXANDER dh.............  4  0  2  0   0  0  0  0   2
CUSTONS c................  4  1  1  0   0  0  5  2   1
BAST rf..................  4  3  4  1   0  0  2  0   0
ROBERTS, M. ss...........  4  0  1  1   0  0  0  5   0
AUSBUN lf................  4  0  2  1   0  0  3  1   1
CARTER cf................  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
ABRECHT p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 KOEHLER p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BAKER p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 37  6 15  5   1  1 27 15   6
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 410 021 431 - 16 23  0
Air Force........... 111 100 020 -  6 15  2
-------------------------------------------
E - CUSTONS(8); KOEHLER(2). DP - Cougars 1; Falcons 1. LOB - Cougars 8;
Falcons 6. 2B - WOLFE 3(13); McNAUGHTON 3(13); NIELSEN(11); GENTRY(12); BAST
2(13); AUSBUN(16). 3B - HALL(5); BAST(3). HR - HALL(2); GENTRY(12). HBP -
RELF; WELLS. SH - NIELSEN(5). SF - CLUFF(2); BERNAL(1); GENTRY(4). SB -
RELF(7). CS - CLUFF(4); McNAUGHTON(4).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
CAPPER, Chris.......  7.0 15  6  6  1  1 32 34 100
SHUTT, Justin.......  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  2   3
BIRCH, Nick.........  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  3  3   4
Air Force              IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ABRECHT.............  6.0 13  8  8  2  2 27 32 103
KOEHLER.............  2.0  8  7  7  1  1 13 15  48
BAKER...............  1.0  2  1  1  0  1  3  4  13
Win - CAPPER (4-1).  Loss - ABRECHT (1-7).  Save - None.
HBP - by ABRECHT (RELF); by ABRECHT (WELLS). PB - CUSTONS(8). Inherited
runners/scored: SHUTT 2/1. Pitches/strikes: CAPPER 100/64; SHUTT 3/3; BIRCH 4/4;
ABRECHT 103/61; KOEHLER 48/31; BAKER 13/9.
Umpires - HP: Randy Upton  1B: Ron Barnes  3B: Scott Johnston
Start: 2 p.m.   Time: 2:25   Attendance: 117
Weather: Mid 60's, sunny w/hazy clouds
CAPPER faced 3 batters in the 8th.
BYU 1st - RELF hit by pitch (2-2). WELLS walked (3-2); RELF advanced to
second. WOLFE singled up the middle, RBI (0-1); WELLS advanced to third; RELF
scored. CLUFF reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (1-1); WOLFE out at second ss
to 2b; WELLS scored. BERNAL singled to center field, advanced to second on the
throw (1-0); CLUFF advanced to third. McNAUGHTON doubled to left center, 2 RBI
(1-1); BERNAL scored; CLUFF scored. NIELSEN walked (3-1); McNAUGHTON out at
third c to 3b, caught stealing. HALL singled through the left side (0-0);
NIELSEN advanced to second. HANCOCK singled to left field (2-2); HALL advanced
to second; NIELSEN advanced to third, out at home lf to c. 4 runs, 5 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Air Force 1st - RANDHAWA singled to left field (0-0). ROBERTS, B.
singled up the middle (1-2); RANDHAWA advanced to third. GENTRY flied out to lf
down the lf line, SF, RBI (0-2); RANDHAWA scored. ALEXANDER singled through the
right side (0-0); ROBERTS, B. advanced to second, out at third rf to 3b.
CUSTONS reached on a fielder's choice (0-1); ALEXANDER out at second 3b to 2b.
1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - RELF flied out to lf (0-1). WELLS hit by pitch (2-1). WOLFE
singled to center field (2-2); WELLS advanced to third. CLUFF reached on a
fielder's choice, RBI (0-0); WOLFE out at second 3b to 2b; WELLS scored. BERNAL
lined out to 3b (0-0). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 2nd - BAST doubled to right center (0-0). ROBERTS, M. grounded
out to ss (1-1); BAST advanced to third. AUSBUN doubled to right center, RBI
(1-0); BAST scored. CARTER flied out to rf (0-0); AUSBUN advanced to third.
RANDHAWA flied out to lf (3-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - McNAUGHTON singled through the left side (1-0). NIELSEN struck
out looking (1-2). McNAUGHTON advanced to second on a passed ball. HALL
grounded out to 3b (2-1). HANCOCK grounded out to 2b (0-1); McNAUGHTON advanced
to third. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 3rd - ROBERTS, B. grounded out to 2b (0-2). GENTRY homered to
left center, RBI (3-1). ALEXANDER flied out to cf (1-1). CUSTONS fouled out to
1b (1-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - RELF grounded out to ss (1-1). WELLS out at first 1b to p
(0-1). WOLFE doubled to center field (2-2). CLUFF grounded out to ss (2-0).
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 4th - BAST tripled to center field (3-2). ROBERTS, M. grounded
out to 2b, RBI (0-0); BAST scored. AUSBUN singled to right field, out at second
rf to ss (2-0). CARTER struck out looking (3-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 5th - BERNAL grounded out to ss (2-1). McNAUGHTON doubled to left
field (3-2). NIELSEN doubled to center field (2-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to
third. HALL singled up the middle, 2 RBI (0-0); NIELSEN scored; McNAUGHTON
scored. HANCOCK flied out to lf (0-0). RELF struck out swinging (2-2). 2
runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 5th - RANDHAWA grounded out to 2b (1-0). ROBERTS, B. flied out
to cf (0-2). GENTRY doubled to left center (0-0). ALEXANDER singled through the
right side (2-0); GENTRY advanced to third, out at home rf to c. 0 runs, 2
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - WELLS singled to third base, bunt (1-1). WOLFE singled down
the rf line (3-1); WELLS advanced to third. CLUFF flied out to lf, SF, RBI
(0-0); WELLS scored. BERNAL grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (1-1);
WOLFE out on the play. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 6th - CUSTONS popped up to ss (0-0). BAST singled through the
left side (0-1). ROBERTS, M. flied out to lf (2-1). AUSBUN grounded out to ss
(3-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - KOEHLER to p for ABRECHT. McNAUGHTON doubled to left field
(1-0). NIELSEN out at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt (1-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to
third. HALL tripled to left field, RBI (3-1); McNAUGHTON scored. HANCOCK struck
out looking (1-2). RELF singled to left field, RBI (1-0); HALL scored. RELF
stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by c. WELLS walked (3-1).
WELLS advanced to second on a throwing error by p, scored; RELF scored. WOLFE
doubled to center field (0-2). CLUFF grounded out to 2b (1-1). 4 runs, 4
hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 7th - CARTER singled through the left side (0-0). RANDHAWA
fouled out to lf (3-1). ROBERTS, B. fouled out to 1b (0-2). GENTRY walked
(3-1); CARTER advanced to second. ALEXANDER fouled out to lf (1-0). 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 8th - BERNAL singled up the middle (1-0). McNAUGHTON flied out to rf
(0-1). NIELSEN singled through the right side (0-2); BERNAL advanced to second.
HALL homered to left field, 3 RBI (0-2); NIELSEN scored; BERNAL scored.
FRAMPTON pinch hit for HANCOCK. FRAMPTON flied out to rf (3-2). RELF singled to
shortstop (1-0). WELLS popped up to 2b (0-1). 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Air Force 8th - CUSTONS singled to center field (0-0). BAST doubled down
the lf line, RBI (1-2); CUSTONS scored. ROBERTS, M. singled to right field
(0-1); BAST advanced to third. SHUTT to p for CAPPER. AUSBUN grounded into
double play ss to 1b (0-0); ROBERTS, M. out on the play; BAST scored. CARTER
flied out to rf (0-1). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - BAKER to p for KOEHLER. WOLFE doubled to left center (2-2).
CLUFF singled to third base (0-1); WOLFE advanced to third. BERNAL flied out to
cf, SF, RBI (0-0); WOLFE scored. McNAUGHTON struck out looking (2-2); CLUFF out
at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 9th - BIRCH to p for SHUTT. RANDHAWA flied out to lf (0-0).
ROBERTS, B. flied out to rf (0-0). GENTRY flied out to lf (0-1). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Final league games and the last home game of the season are on tap for BYU’s baseball team this week.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., BYU, 23-27 overall, hosts Utah Valley University, 33-17, in the last game of the season at Larry H. Miller Field. Then the Cougars bus to the Air Force Academy, 12-40, for the remaining regular season games in the Mountain West Conference. BYU is 10-11 in MWC games, while the Falcons are 2-18.

Scheduled to start on the mound for BYU against UVU is senior southpaw Brandon Michon (0-2, 7.36) in the first start of his career which has 69 appearances. The probable Cougar pitchers for the games at AFA are freshmen Chris Capper (3-1, 4.37) on Thursday at 2 p.m., and lefties Mark Anderson (1-1, 6.47) and Chris Howard (1-0, 4.15) at 2 p.m. on Friday, and noon on Saturday.

BYU defeated UVU earlier this month, 14-10, in Orem. The BYU-UVU game will be televised live by BYUtv and the Cougar-Falcon games will be broadcast live on the radio, 960 AM, 92.9 FM.

For more information, please see the multi-page PDF release at the top of this page.