Koffman Keeps Cougars Undefeated

PROVO -- Scott Koffman held the UNLV offense just long enough to earn a 13-11 victory for BYU in the four-hour game Thursday night.

In the longest game in Mountain West Conference Tournament history, both teams took advantage of wet conditions in the second inning, chasing both starting pitchers from the game and crossing the plate 11 times between the two teams.

UNLV loaded the bases with three consecutive hits before giving up an out. Right fielder Matt Reuss followed with a three-RBI double to right center. Robert Vankirk hit in Reuss with an RBI single to center field. Ryan Ruiz hit a double to score Reuss and Brent Johnson hit in Ruiz.

After giving up five runs in led by a bases-clearing double by Matt Reuss, Koffman came out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding for BYU. David Trujillo and Joe Wickman flew and grounded out to end the inning.

With the weather still soggy, the Cougars began the bottom of the second with three straight base hits of their own. With one run across the plate, center fielder Doug Jackson hit a three-run home run to right field. Cameron Coughlan followed with his first of two triples on the night and scored on a Dave Jensen single up the middle.

Koffman followed by registering more strikeouts than hits in his next five innings. Koffman surrendered just two runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

"Both teams had poor starting pitching," UNLV Coach Jim Schlossnagle said. "And it came down to who came out of the bullpen the best. You have to tip your hat to (Scott) Koffman. He pitched a good game."

Koffman fought his way out of a jam in the fifth. With Garett Shitanishi on first base and one out, Koffman hit the next two batters on consecutive pitches to load the bases. With a 2-2 count, Vankirk grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to keep the Rebels from widening their lead.

"I was real proud of (Scott) Koffman," BYU Coach Vance Law said. "If the game is on the line, (Koffman) is the guy who can put us ahead."

The Rebels made a comeback in the top of the eighth to bring the score to 11-12. Koffman walked Vankirk to lead off the inning before being replaced by Jason Garcia. With Koffman off the mound, UNLV scored three runs on three hits. Closer Tyler Dabo came in with men on second and third and a two-run lead. Joe Wickman scored on a fielder's choice, but Dabo got Tony Schuler to ground into a double play to keep the one-run lead for BYU.

"Offensively, we did everything you could ask for," Schlossnagle said. "We had the winning run at the plate, Trujillo was on it, but (Tyler) Dabo made a good pitch."

Coughlan and Jensen led the way for the Cougars offense for the second day in a row. Coughlan went 5-for-6 with two triples, three runs scored and two RBI. Jensen went 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI.

Reuss and Eric Nielsen put up the biggest fight for the Rebels. Reuss went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a double. Nielsen went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Dabo went 1.2 innings, giving up no runs on no hits earning his fourth save of the season.

The Cougars return to Larry H. Miller Field less than twelve hours from the end of Thursday night's game to face No. 1 seed San Diego State in an 11 a.m. matchup. The Aztecs defeated BYU in all six of their contests this season.

"As much as I would have liked to have won, I am glad we won't be playing at 11 a.m.," Schlossnagle said. "It will be tough for BYU to come out in less than ten hours and play the best team in the conference."

Mountain West Conference Tournament
                          UNLV at Brigham Young Univ.
               May 23, 2002 at Provo, Utah (Larry H Miller Field)
UNLV 11 (29-29)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RUIZ, Ryan ss............  5  1  1  1   1  0  4  2   2
JOHNSON, Brent cf........  6  1  2  1   0  0  1  0   0
TRUJILLO, David dh.......  6  1  1  1   0  3  0  0   2
WICKMAN, Joe lf..........  5  2  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
NIELSEN, Eric 1b.........  5  2  3  1   0  1  6  0   0
SHITANISHI, Garett 2b....  4  1  2  1   1  0  2  2   0
SCHULER, Tony 3b.........  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   1
REUSS, Jason rf..........  4  1  2  4   0  1  2  0   2
VANKIRK, Robert c........  2  2  1  1   2  0  9  0   2
 AMUNDSEN, Derek ph......  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
HALL, Courtney p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 SCHEINBAUM, Ben p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 WATTS, Donnie p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GUERRA, Jason p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WEINBERG, Jeremy p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MARUFFI, Joe p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 41 11 14 10   5  6 24  7  10
Brigham Young Univ. 13 (26-28-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JACKSON, Doug cf.........  3  2  2  3   0  1  0  0   0
 YI, Han lf..............  3  0  0  0   0  3  0  0   3
COUGHLAN, Cameron 2b.....  6  3  5  2   0  1  2  6   0
JENSEN, Dave 1b..........  6  1  3  2   0  0  9  0   1
CARSON, Matt rf..........  4  2  2  0   1  2  7  0   0
ITRI, Rob 3b.............  5  0  0  1   1  0  1  0   3
WIENS, Ranger ss.........  5  1  2  1   1  0  1  3   2
STUBBLEFIELD, Jake dh....  4  2  1  0   2  0  0  0   3
BIRKELAND, Lars c........  4  1  2  1   1  1  7  1   0
CHAMBERS, Ryan lf/cf.....  4  1  1  0   1  1  0  0   3
ADAMS, Ryan p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 KOFFMAN, Scott p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GARCIA, Jason p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DABO, Tyler p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 44 13 18 10   7  9 27 11  15
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV................ 061 000 040 - 11 14  4
Brigham Young Univ.. 050 121 31X - 13 18  3
-------------------------------------------
E - RUIZ 2; SHITANISHI; SCHEINBAUM; JACKSON; YI; CHAMBERS. DP - Rebels 1;
BYU Cougars 2. LOB - Rebels 10; BYU Cougars 15. 2B - RUIZ; NIELSEN 2; REUSS;
WIENS. 3B - COUGHLAN 2. HR - JACKSON(5). HBP - SCHULER; REUSS; CARSON M.. SB
- JACKSON; COUGHLAN; JENSEN; CARSON M.; CHAMBERS.
UNLV                   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
HALL, Courtney......  1.1  7  5  5  0  3 11 11  38
SCHEINBAUM, Ben.....  4.0  7  4  4  2  3 19 21  75
WATTS, Donnie.......  0.2  3  3  1  2  2  5  8  24
GUERRA, Jason.......  1.0  0  0  0  1  0  4  5  17
WEINBERG, Jeremy....  0.1  1  1  0  1  1  3  4  14
MARUFFI, Joe........  0.2  0  0  0  1  0  2  3  11
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ADAMS, Ryan.........  1.1  7  6  6  0  0 11 11  25
KOFFMAN, Scott......  5.2  4  2  2  3  5 20 25 106
GARCIA, Jason.......  0.1  3  3  2  0  0  5  5  22
DABO, Tyler.........  1.2  0  0  0  2  1  5  7  32
Win - KOFFMAN (3-4).  Loss - SCHEINBAUM (2-3).  Save - DABO (4).
WP - SCHEINBAUM; DABO. HBP - by KOFFMAN (SCHULER); by KOFFMAN (REUSS); by WATTS
(CARSON M.). BK - GUERRA. PB - VANKIRK. Pitches/strikes: HALL 38/28; SCHEINBAUM
75/51; WATTS 24/11; GUERRA 17/7; WEINBERG 14/8; MARUFFI 11/4; ADAMS 25/17;
KOFFMAN 106/61; GARCIA 22/13; DABO 32/17.
Umpires - HP: Joe Burleson  1B: Blake Jensen  2B: Kelly Gonzales  3B: Billy Jo
Speck  Start: 7:15   Time: 4:03   Attendance: 767
Game notes:
Game 6 (Game 3 of 3 on Thursday) Day 3 of MWC Tournament...BYU advances
to play SDS at 11 am  on Friday, UNLV plays at 3 p.m. on
Friday vs. Utah...this is the longest MWC Tournament Game in history.
WATTS faced 3 batters in the 7th.
KOFFMAN faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Game: MWC6
Play-by-Play 
                      Mountain West Conference Tournament
                   UNLV at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
               May 23, 2002 at Provo, Utah (Larry H Miller Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV................ 061 000 040 - 11 14  4
Brigham Young Univ.. 050 121 31X - 13 18  3
-------------------------------------------
UNLV starters: 4/ss RUIZ; 45/cf JOHNSON; 27/dh TRUJILLO; 12/lf WICKMAN, Jo;
   36/1b NIELSEN; 10/2b SHITANISHI; 2/3b SCHULER; 7/rf REUSS; 16/c VANKIRK;
   44/p HALL;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 13/cf JACKSON; 11/2b COUGHLAN; 17/1b JENSEN;
   28/rf CARSON M.; 21/3b ITRI; 8/ss WIENS; 33/dh STUBBLEFIELD; 12/c
   BIRKELAND; 27/lf CHAMBERS; 25/p ADAMS;
UNLV - inning 1
   RUIZ lined out to 2b (1-1). JOHNSON grounded out to p (0-1). TRUJILLO
   flied out to rf (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   JACKSON struck out swinging (1-2). COUGHLAN struck out looking (1-2).
   JENSEN singled to left field (2-0). CARSON M. singled to center field
   (2-2); JENSEN advanced to third. ITRI grounded out to p (0-2). 0 runs, 2
   hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV - inning 2
   WICKMAN, Jo singled to center field (0-0). NIELSEN singled up the middle
   (1-0); WICKMAN, Jo advanced to second. SHITANISHI singled, bunt (1-0);
   NIELSEN advanced to second; WICKMAN, Jo advanced to third. SCHULER fouled
   out to c (1-1). REUSS doubled to right center, 3 RBI (2-1); SHITANISHI
   scored; NIELSEN scored; WICKMAN, Jo scored. VANKIRK singled to center
   field, advanced to second on an error by cf, RBI (0-1); REUSS scored.
   RUIZ doubled down the lf line, RBI (0-0); VANKIRK scored. JOHNSON singled
   to left field, advanced to second on the throw, RBI (1-0); RUIZ scored.
   KOFFMAN to p for ADAMS. TRUJILLO flied out to rf (0-2). WICKMAN, Jo
   grounded out to 2b (2-2). 6 runs, 7 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   WIENS singled to center field (1-2). STUBBLEFIELD singled to left field
   (0-0); WIENS advanced to second. BIRKELAND singled through the left side,
   RBI (0-0); STUBBLEFIELD advanced to second; WIENS scored. CHAMBERS struck
   out swinging (3-2). JACKSON homered to right field, 3 RBI (0-0);
   BIRKELAND scored; STUBBLEFIELD scored. COUGHLAN tripled to right field
   (0-0). SCHEINBAUM to p for HALL. JENSEN singled up the middle, RBI (1-2);
   COUGHLAN scored. CARSON M. struck out looking (0-2). ITRI grounded out to
   p (0-0). 5 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV - inning 3
   NIELSEN doubled to right field (2-2). SHITANISHI fouled out to 3b (1-1).
   SCHULER struck out swinging (3-2). REUSS singled to left field, advanced
   to second on a fielding error by lf, RBI (1-1); NIELSEN scored. VANKIRK
   walked (3-1). RUIZ flied out to rf (1-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   WIENS reached on a fielding error by ss (3-2). STUBBLEFIELD grounded into
   double play p to ss to 1b (0-0); WIENS out on the play. BIRKELAND singled
   through the left side (1-1). CHAMBERS grounded out to 1b unassisted
   (3-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
UNLV - inning 4
   JOHNSON grounded out to ss (1-2). TRUJILLO struck out swinging (2-2).
   WICKMAN, Jo grounded out to c (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   JACKSON singled up the middle (2-2). COUGHLAN singled to center field
   (0-0); JACKSON advanced to second. JENSEN lined out to ss (1-1). COUGHLAN
   stole second; JACKSON stole third. CARSON M. struck out looking (0-2).
   ITRI walked (3-2); COUGHLAN advanced to third; JACKSON scored on a wild
   pitch. WIENS reached on a fielder's choice (1-1); ITRI out at second ss
   to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV - inning 5
   YI to lf for JACKSON. CHAMBERS to cf. NIELSEN grounded out to 2b (0-2).
   SHITANISHI singled to center field (1-2). SCHULER hit by pitch (3-1);
   SHITANISHI advanced to second. REUSS hit by pitch (0-0); SCHULER advanced
   to second; SHITANISHI advanced to third. VANKIRK grounded into double
   play ss to 2b to 1b (2-2); REUSS out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   STUBBLEFIELD walked (3-1). BIRKELAND popped up to 2b (0-0). CHAMBERS
   singled to right center (0-0); STUBBLEFIELD advanced to third. YI struck
   out swinging (3-2); CHAMBERS stole second. COUGHLAN singled to center
   field, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI (0-0); CHAMBERS scored;
   STUBBLEFIELD scored. JENSEN flied out to rf (0-1). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV - inning 6
   RUIZ grounded out to 2b (1-0). JOHNSON flied out to rf (3-2). TRUJILLO
   struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   CARSON M. singled to center field (1-1). CARSON M. stole second, advanced
   to third on a throwing error by p. ITRI grounded out to 2b, RBI (0-0);
   CARSON M. scored. WATTS to p for SCHEINBAUM. WIENS doubled through the
   left side (1-1). STUBBLEFIELD walked (3-0). BIRKELAND struck out swinging
   (0-2). CHAMBERS walked (3-0); STUBBLEFIELD advanced to second; WIENS
   advanced to third. YI struck out swinging (0-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error,
   3 LOB.
UNLV - inning 7
   WICKMAN, Jo grounded out to 2b (2-2). NIELSEN struck out looking (0-2).
   SHITANISHI walked (3-0). SCHULER singled to left field (1-2); SHITANISHI
   advanced to second. REUSS struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   COUGHLAN tripled to left field (3-1). JENSEN singled up the middle, RBI
   (0-0); COUGHLAN scored. CARSON M. hit by pitch (0-0); JENSEN advanced to
   second. GUERRA to p for WATTS. ITRI flied out to rf (0-1). CARSON M.
   advanced to second on a balk; JENSEN advanced to third. WIENS grounded
   out to 2b (2-0). STUBBLEFIELD reached on a throwing error by ss (3-0);
   CARSON M. scored, unearned; JENSEN scored, unearned. STUBBLEFIELD
   advanced to second on a passed ball. BIRKELAND walked (3-0). CHAMBERS
   popped up to ss (1-0). 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
UNLV - inning 8
   VANKIRK walked (3-0). GARCIA to p for KOFFMAN. RUIZ flied out to rf
   (2-1). JOHNSON singled to left field (1-2); VANKIRK advanced to second.
   TRUJILLO singled to center field, RBI (1-2); JOHNSON advanced to third;
   VANKIRK scored. WICKMAN, Jo reached on a fielding error by lf (3-1);
   TRUJILLO advanced to second; JOHNSON scored. NIELSEN doubled down the rf
   line, RBI (2-2); WICKMAN, Jo advanced to third; TRUJILLO scored. DABO to
   p for GARCIA. SHITANISHI reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (1-2);
   NIELSEN advanced to third; WICKMAN, Jo scored, unearned. SCHULER grounded
   into double play 2b to ss to 1b; SHITANISHI out on the play. 4 runs, 3
   hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   WEINBERG to p for GUERRA. YI struck out swinging (3-2). COUGHLAN singled
   up the middle. JENSEN reached on a fielding error by 2b (1-0); COUGHLAN
   advanced to third. JENSEN stole second. CARSON M. intentionally walked
   (2-1). MARUFFI to p for WEINBERG. ITRI infield fly to ss (3-2). WIENS
   walked, RBI (3-0); CARSON M. advanced to second; JENSEN advanced to
   third; COUGHLAN scored, unearned. STUBBLEFIELD flied out to cf (0-0). 1
   run, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
UNLV - inning 9
   REUSS flied out to rf (1-2). AMUNDSEN pinch hit for VANKIRK. AMUNDSEN
   walked (3-2). AMUNDSEN advanced to second on a wild pitch. RUIZ walked
   (3-0). JOHNSON flied out to rf (3-2). TRUJILLO struck out swinging (2-2).
   0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.