Lobos Win on Ninth-inning Homer

ALBUQUERQUE -- Despite two home runs by Clayton Carson and great pitching from Ken Gravley, BYU was unable to hold on in a 11-10 loss to New Mexico Saturday.

In extreme contrast to the first two games of the series where the Lobos (15-7, 5-1) and Cougars (6-12, 1-2) combined to score 17 runs in the first two innings, the two teams failed to score in either of the first two innings. Cougar starting pitcher Gravley looked sharp, holding the high powered Lobo offense to just four runs in six innings.

BYU got on the board in the third on back-to-back RBI doubles by Jake Stubblefield and Kainoa Obrey, but the Lobos quickly evened the score, posting two runs on a solo home run and a pair of singles in the bottom of the same inning.

An RBI single in the fourth by Doug Jackson, who was a double shy of a cycle Friday, allowed Ryan Chambers to score, breaking the deadlock.

The Cougars pulled away in the fifth when Carson hit a towering three-run homer over the center field fence, bringing the score to 6-2. The homer was Carson's first of his collegiate career.

New Mexico first baseman Chris Alexander, who has 14 home runs on the season including four this series, took advantage of the light Albuquerque air, hitting the first of two homers in the finale, shortening the Cougars' lead to 6-4 after six.

BYU got two much-needed insurance runs in the seventh on a two-out, two-run home run by Ryan Chambers, which increased the BYU lead to 8-4. The margin proved to be short-lived, however, as the Lobos tagged Cougar relief pitcher, Tyler Dabo, for five runs in the bottom of that inning, including Alexander's second home run of the game, giving New Mexico its first lead of the afternoon.

The Cougars tied the score in the eighth on an two-out RBI single by Obrey, but saw their lead slip again when Lobo outfielder Joe Salas sent a dribbler just past the outstretched mitt of a diving Rob Itri, to again give New Mexico a one-run lead.

Despite a dramatic one-out home run in the ninth by Carson, his second of the game, which tied the score at 10, the Cougars were defeated when Lobo outfielder Cory Lizarraga sent Jason Garcia's first pitch of the ninth over the centerfield fence.

"It was a disappointing loss for everybody," said BYU Head Coach Vance Law. "Our relief pitching just hasn't been effective in holding our leads."

After playing 18 straight road games, the Cougars will host to UNLV next week in their first series of the season at Larry Miller Park in Provo. Thursday and Friday's games will begin at 7 p.m. with Saturday's finale starting at 1 p.m., MST. All games will be broadcast locally on KOVO 960 AM and will be webcast over the Internet.

Brigham Young Univ. at New Mexico Lobos
Mar 15, 2003 at Albuquerque, N.M. (Lobo Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (6-12,1-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JACKSON, Doug lf.........  3  2  1  1   1  0  1  0   0
WIENS, Ranger ss.........  5  0  2  0   0  0  1  4   0
STUBBLEFIELD, Jake 1b....  5  1  2  1   0  0  9  0   2
OBREY, Kainoa 3b.........  5  0  2  2   0  2  2  3   2
JACOBSEN, Brock cf.......  3  1  0  0   1  2  2  0   1
ITRI, Rob 2b.............  4  1  1  0   0  0  3  3   2
CARSON, Clayton dh.......  5  3  3  4   0  0  0  0   0
CHAMBERS, Ryan rf........  5  2  2  2   0  0  2  0   1
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  4  0  1  0   0  0  4  1   0
 BARNES, Clayton ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WILKES, Adam c..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
GRAVLEY, Kenneth p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 DABO, Tyler p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GARCIA, Jason p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 40 10 14 10   2  4 24 12   8
New Mexico Lobos 11 (15-7,5-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
YOUNG, Matt lf...........  4  2  2  0   0  0  3  0   2
YOUNG, Dusty ss..........  5  0  1  1   0  0  0  2   0
MURRAY, Sean rf..........  4  2  1  1   1  2  1  0   0
ALEXANDER, C 1b..........  4  2  2  3   1  0 15  0   0
SALAS, Joe dh............  4  0  2  1   1  0  0  0   0
MADER, Josh 3b...........  5  2  3  0   0  0  0  1   3
LIZARRAGA, C cf..........  3  2  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
BARBA, Ryan 2b...........  4  0  2  2   0  0  2  5   2
GRADY, Jeff c............  4  1  2  2   0  1  4  1   1
GROSS, Kris p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BULLEN, Matt p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 37 11 16 11   3  3 27 11   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 002 130 211 - 10 14  1
New Mexico Lobos.... 002 002 511 - 11 16  0
-------------------------------------------
E - WIENS. DP - BYU 1. LOB - BYU 8; UNM 8. 2B - WIENS; STUBBLEFIELD; OBREY;
YOUNG, Dusty; MURRAY, Sean; MADER, Josh. HR - CARSON 2; CHAMBERS; ALEXANDER,
C 2; LIZARRAGA, C; GRADY, Jeff. HBP - JACKSON; JACOBSEN; ITRI; YOUNG, Matt;
LIZARRAGA, C 2. SB - YOUNG, Matt. CS - WIENS; YOUNG, Matt.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
GRAVLEY, Kenneth....  6.0  9  5  4  2  3 24 28
DABO, Tyler.........  0.2  5  4  4  0  0  7  8
GARCIA, Jason.......  1.1  2  2  2  1  0  6  7
New Mexico Lobos       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
GROSS, Kris.........  5.0  9  6  6  2  1 23 27
BULLEN, Matt........  4.0  5  4  4  0  3 17 18
Win - BULLEN, Matt (4-0).  Loss - GARCIA (0-3).  Save - None.
WP - GARCIA; GROSS, Kris. HBP - by GRAVLEY (YOUNG, Matt); by GRAVLEY (LIZARRAGA,
C); by GROSS, Kris (JACOBSEN); by GROSS, Kris (ITRI); by DABO (LIZARRAGA, C); by
BULLEN, Matt (JACKSON). BK - GRAVLEY 2; DABO; BULLEN, Matt.
Umpires - HP: McCall  1B: Chavira, Ruben  3B: Hendrickson
Start: 1:03 pm   Time: 3:04   Attendance: 398
Play-by-Play
Brigham Young Univ. at New Mexico Lobos - Play-by-Play
Mar 15, 2003 at Albuquerque, N.M. (Lobo Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 002 130 211 - 10 14  1
New Mexico Lobos.... 002 002 511 - 11 16  0
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 13/lf JACKSON; 8/ss WIENS; 33/1b STUBBLEFIELD;
   32/3b OBREY; 3/cf JACOBSEN; 21/2b ITRI; 23/dh CARSON; 22/rf CHAMBERS; 9/c
   CLOWARD; 19/p GRAVLEY;
New Mexico Lobos starters: 5/lf YOUNG, Matt; 8/ss YOUNG, Dusty; 17/rf
   MURRAY, Sean; 29/1b ALEXANDER, C; 10/dh SALAS, Joe; 4/3b MADER, Josh;
   21/cf LIZARRAGA, C; 6/2b BARBA, Ryan; 15/c GRADY, Jeff; 24/p GROSS, Kris;
   Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   JACKSON grounded out to 1b unassisted. WIENS grounded out to 2b.
   STUBBLEFIELD singled to center field. OBREY fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 1
   YOUNG, Matt hit by pitch. YOUNG, Matt advanced to second on a balk.
   YOUNG, Dusty grounded out to 2b. YOUNG, Matt out at third c to 3b, caught
   stealing. MURRAY, Sean struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   JACOBSEN grounded out to 2b. ITRI singled, bunt. CARSON flied out to cf.
   CHAMBERS flied out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 2
   ALEXANDER, C flied out to cf. SALAS, Joe singled to right center. MADER,
   Josh singled to left center; SALAS, Joe advanced to second. LIZARRAGA, C
   hit by pitch; MADER, Josh advanced to second; SALAS, Joe advanced to
   third. BARBA, Ryan hit into double play ss to 1b; LIZARRAGA, C out on the
   play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   CLOWARD grounded out to p. JACKSON walked. WIENS singled to right field;
   JACKSON advanced to third. WIENS out at second c to 2b, caught stealing.
   STUBBLEFIELD doubled to right field, RBI; JACKSON scored. OBREY doubled
   to left center, RBI; STUBBLEFIELD scored. JACOBSEN hit by pitch. ITRI
   grounded out to 1b unassisted. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 3
   GRADY, Jeff homered to left field, RBI. YOUNG, Matt singled, bunt. YOUNG,
   Matt stole second. YOUNG, Dusty doubled down the lf line, RBI; YOUNG,
   Matt scored. MURRAY, Sean struck out swinging. ALEXANDER, C intentionally
   walked. SALAS, Joe flied out to lf. MADER, Josh flied out to 2b. 2 runs,
   3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   CARSON fouled out to lf. CHAMBERS singled to right field. CLOWARD singled
   to center field; CHAMBERS advanced to third. JACKSON singled to center
   field, RBI; CLOWARD advanced to second; CHAMBERS scored. WIENS flied out
   to rf. STUBBLEFIELD flied out to cf. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 4
   LIZARRAGA, C flied out to rf. BARBA, Ryan singled to center field. BARBA,
   Ryan advanced to second on a balk. BARBA, Ryan out at second p to 2b,
   picked off. GRADY, Jeff grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   OBREY struck out looking. JACOBSEN walked. JACOBSEN advanced to second on
   a wild pitch. ITRI hit by pitch. CARSON homered to right center, 3 RBI;
   ITRI scored; JACOBSEN scored. CHAMBERS grounded out to 1b unassisted.
   CLOWARD grounded out to ss. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 5
   YOUNG, Matt grounded out to 2b. YOUNG, Dusty grounded out to ss. MURRAY,
   Sean grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   BULLEN, Matt to p for GROSS, Kris. JACKSON grounded out to 2b. WIENS
   doubled to left field. STUBBLEFIELD grounded out to 2b; WIENS advanced to
   third. OBREY struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 6
   ALEXANDER, C homered to center field, RBI. SALAS, Joe walked. MADER, Josh
   singled; SALAS, Joe advanced to second. MADER, Josh advanced to second on
   an error by ss; SALAS, Joe advanced to third on an error by ss.
   LIZARRAGA, C reached on a fielder's choice; MADER, Josh advanced to
   third; SALAS, Joe out at home 3b to c. BARBA, Ryan grounded out to 1b
   unassisted, RBI; LIZARRAGA, C advanced to second; MADER, Josh scored,
   unearned. GRADY, Jeff struck out looking. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   JACOBSEN struck out swinging. ITRI flied out to lf. CARSON singled to
   center field. CARSON advanced to second on a balk. CHAMBERS homered to
   right field, 2 RBI; CARSON scored. CLOWARD grounded out to 1b unassisted.
   2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 7
   YOUNG, Matt singled to right field. DABO to p for GRAVLEY. YOUNG, Matt
   advanced to second on a balk. YOUNG, Dusty flied out to cf. MURRAY, Sean
   doubled to right center, RBI; YOUNG, Matt scored. ALEXANDER, C homered to
   center field, 2 RBI; MURRAY, Sean scored. SALAS, Joe grounded out to 2b.
   MADER, Josh doubled down the lf line. LIZARRAGA, C hit by pitch. BARBA,
   Ryan singled to left field, RBI; LIZARRAGA, C advanced to second; MADER,
   Josh scored. GRADY, Jeff singled to right field, RBI; BARBA, Ryan
   advanced to second; LIZARRAGA, C scored. GARCIA to p for DABO. YOUNG,
   Matt reached on a fielder's choice; GRADY, Jeff out at second ss to 2b. 5
   runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   JACKSON hit by pitch. WIENS grounded out to p; JACKSON advanced to
   second. STUBBLEFIELD grounded out to 3b. OBREY singled down the lf line,
   RBI; JACKSON scored. JACOBSEN struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors,
   1 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 8
   YOUNG, Dusty flied out to rf. MURRAY, Sean walked. MURRAY, Sean advanced
   to second on a wild pitch. ALEXANDER, C grounded out to 3b. SALAS, Joe
   singled to center field, RBI; MURRAY, Sean scored. MADER, Josh fouled out
   to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 9
   ITRI grounded out to ss. CARSON homered to left center, RBI. CHAMBERS
   grounded out to 2b. BARNES pinch hit for CLOWARD. BARNES flied out to lf.
   1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico Lobos - inning 9
   WILKES to c for BARNES. LIZARRAGA, C homered to left field, RBI. 1 run, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.