Knell's Ninth Inning Single Conquers Portland, 5-4

FRESNO -- Rallying twice in the final two innings, BYU mounted a 5-4 comeback victory over Portland on Friday at the Pepsi-Johnny Quik Classic.

The Cougars (10-15) scored three runs in the eighth inning to pull ahead of the Pilots, 4-2. After Portland (3-12) tied the game in the top of the ninth, Kory Knell singled in Wade Vest for the walk-off win, BYU's season high sixth straight victory.

Knell finished the day 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored. He also doubled to knock in Ryan Chambers in the eighth inning, tying the game at two and opening the door for the Cougars' comeback.

For the second time this week and third time this year, junior catcher Casey Cloward homered, giving BYU its first run in the fifth inning. Cloward finished 2-for-4. Chambers hit his third triple in as many days and also finished 2-for-4. Ranger Wiens led BYU with three hits, finishing 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Vest and Tim Law extended their hitting streaks to eight.

Jusin Su'a (2-1) started for the Cougars, allowing two runs off eight hits through seven innings. The junior struck out two in a no-decision effort. Lance Beus (2-1) picked up his second win, striking out the final out in the ninth inning.

Portland took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by Nik Kosach who went 3-for-5. After BYU tied the game in the fifth, the Pilots took a 2-1 lead in the seventh. Colton Homme led Portland with a 4-for-4 performance, singling in the seventh inning run. The Pilots then tied the game in the ninth inning, scoring two runs on wild pitches.

The Cougars now wait to see who they will face in the tournaments' championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (PST). BYU (5-0) is the only undefeated team in the tournament hosted by Fresno State. Portland, Fresno State and Dallas Baptist are all currently in second place with two losses. A second place tie will be decided by run totals in the tournament.

In six Classic appearances, the Cougars have won one title back in 1983. The '83 team featured five future major leaguers and is the only BYU team to be ranked No. 1 at one point in the season. The Cougars have come in second twice at the Classic.

BYU plays Fresno State in the championship game, as the Bulldogs defeated Monmouth, 11-3 on Friday night. Carrying the best record in the tournament, the Cougars will be the home team in the championship. Saturday's championship game will be available for live audio. A link to the audio cast and immediate results following the game can be found at www.byucougars.com.

Portland vs Brigham Young
Mar 12, 2004 at Fresno, Calif. (Beiden Field)
Portland 4 (10-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Little 2b................  4  0  1  0   1  0  3  4   1
Kosach lf................  5  0  3  1   0  1  3  0   1
Vetters 3b...............  4  0  2  0   0  0  2  1   1
McRae dh.................  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
Crinklaw c...............  4  1  1  0   0  0  2  0   2
Parker rf................  4  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Krause cf................  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
Homme 1b.................  4  2  4  1   0  0  7  1   0
Rodgers ss...............  3  0  0  0   0  1  2  4   1
 Kerr ph.................  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 Hahn pr/ss..............  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Kristjanson p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
 Ball p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 36  4 11  2   2  4 25 11   7
Brigham Young 5 (3-12)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........  4  1  2  0   0  0  1  0   0
KNELL, Kory lf...........  5  1  2  2   0  1  2  0   0
WIENS, Ranger 3b.........  4  1  3  1   0  0  1  0   0
ITRI, Rob dh.............  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon ss.......  3  0  0  0   1  1  1  7   2
SAYLOR, Ben rf...........  4  0  1  1   0  0  6  0   1
LAW, Tim 1b..............  4  0  1  0   0  0 10  1   1
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  4  1  2  1   0  0  4  0   2
VEST, Wade 2b............  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  3   1
SU'A, Justin p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 BURGER, Bryce p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 LEMON, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BEUS, Lance p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 36  5 12  5   1  2 27 12   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Portland............ 001 000 102 -  4 11  0
Brigham Young....... 000 010 031 -  5 12  0
-------------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
DP - Cougars 1. LOB - Pilots 7; Cougars 8. 2B - Kosach; Crinklaw; Homme;
KNELL; WIENS. 3B - CHAMBERS. HR - CLOWARD(3). SH - CHAMBERS. SB - WIENS(7).
Portland               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Kristjanson.........  8.0 10  4  4  1  2 34 35
Ball................  0.1  2  1  1  0  0  2  3
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
SU'A, Justin........  7.0  8  2  2  0  2 27 27
BURGER, Bryce.......  1.0  2  0  0  0  0  5  5
LEMON, Nick.........  0.2  1  2  2  2  1  3  5
BEUS, Lance.........  0.1  0  0  0  0  1  1  1
Win - BEUS (2-1).  Loss - Ball (0-2).  Save - None.
WP - Kristjanson; LEMON 5.
Umpires - HP: Blake Jensen  1B: Rick Saxton  3B: Robert Drake
Start: 10:00 am   Time: 2:32   Attendance: 103
Play-by-Play 
Portland vs Brigham Young - Play-by-Play
Mar 12, 2004 at Fresno, Calif. (Beiden Field)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Portland............ 001 000 102 -  4 11  0
Brigham Young....... 000 010 031 -  5 12  0
-------------------------------------------
Portland starters: 1/2b Little; 17/lf Kosach; 30/3b Vetters; 7/dh McRae; 6/c
   Crinklaw; 29/rf Parker; 13/cf Krause; 16/1b Homme; 20/ss Rodgers; 24/p
   Kristjanson;
Brigham Young starters: 22/cf CHAMBERS; 12/lf KNELL; 8/3b WIENS; 21/dh ITRI;
   3/ss TAYLOR; 25/rf SAYLOR; 1/1b LAW; 9/c CLOWARD; 5/2b VEST; 27/p SU'A;
Portland - inning 1
   Little singled through the left side. Kosach grounded into double play 2b
   to ss to 1b; Little out on the play. Vetters singled to shortstop. McRae
   flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 1
   CHAMBERS singled to right field. KNELL reached on a fielder's choice;
   CHAMBERS out at second ss to 2b. WIENS singled through the right side;
   KNELL advanced to second. ITRI flied out to lf. TAYLOR out at first ss to
   2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Portland - inning 2
   Crinklaw grounded out to ss. Parker grounded out to ss. Krause grounded
   out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 2
   SAYLOR out at first 1b to p. LAW grounded out to 2b. CLOWARD singled.
   CLOWARD advanced to second on a wild pitch. VEST grounded out to 3b. 0
   runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland - inning 3
   Homme singled through the left side. Rodgers grounded out to 2b; Homme
   advanced to second. Little flied out to rf; Homme advanced to third.
   Kosach doubled to right center, RBI; Homme scored. Vetters flied out to
   cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 3
   CHAMBERS popped up to 3b. KNELL struck out swinging. WIENS grounded out
   to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland - inning 4
   McRae flied out to lf. Crinklaw flied out to lf. Parker grounded out to
   ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 4
   ITRI grounded out to 2b. TAYLOR walked. SAYLOR popped up to ss. LAW flied
   out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland - inning 5
   Krause grounded out to ss. Homme doubled to left field. Rodgers out at
   first 1b to p; Homme advanced to third. Little flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 5
   CLOWARD homered to left field, RBI. VEST popped up to ss. CHAMBERS lined
   out to lf. KNELL popped up to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland - inning 6
   Kosach singled to right field. Vetters reached on a fielder's choice;
   Kosach out at second ss to 2b. Vetters out at first p to 1b, picked off.
   McRae lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 6
   WIENS doubled to right field. ITRI grounded out to ss; WIENS advanced to
   third. TAYLOR struck out swinging. SAYLOR out at first 2b to p. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland - inning 7
   Crinklaw doubled down the lf line. Parker flied out to rf; Crinklaw
   advanced to third. Krause struck out swinging. Homme singled to pitcher,
   RBI; Crinklaw scored. Rodgers struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 7
   LAW grounded out to ss. CLOWARD flied out to rf. VEST flied out to cf. 0
   runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland - inning 8
   BURGER to p for SU'A. Little grounded out to ss. Kosach singled up the
   middle. Vetters singled to third base; Kosach advanced to second. McRae
   popped up to 1b. Crinklaw flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
   LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 8
   CHAMBERS tripled down the rf line. KNELL doubled to left field, RBI;
   CHAMBERS scored. WIENS singled to right field, RBI; KNELL scored. WIENS
   stole second. ITRI flied out to cf. TAYLOR flied out to rf. SAYLOR
   singled through the left side, RBI; WIENS scored. LAW singled up the
   middle; SAYLOR advanced to third. CLOWARD popped up to 2b. 3 runs, 5
   hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Portland - inning 9
   LEMON to p for BURGER. Parker flied out to rf. Krause struck out
   swinging. Homme singled to right field. Kerr pinch hit for Rodgers. Homme
   advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kerr walked; Homme advanced to third
   on a wild pitch. Hahn pinch ran for Kerr. Hahn advanced to second on a
   wild pitch; Homme scored on a wild pitch. Hahn advanced to third on a
   wild pitch. Little walked, advanced to second; Hahn scored on a wild
   pitch. BEUS to p for LEMON. Kosach struck out looking. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young - inning 9
   Hahn to ss. Ball to p for Kristjanson. VEST singled, bunt. CHAMBERS
   grounded out to p, SAC; VEST advanced to second. KNELL singled to right
   field, RBI; VEST scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.