Craig Throws One-Hitter

ST. GEORGE -- Jesse Craig threw a one-hitter and five Cougars homered Tuesday as BYU defeated Southern Utah, 20-2.

Craig, who improves to 1-1, struck out eight and gave up one earned run and a walk in his five innings. He got off to a good start when teammate Leon Johnson led off with a solo homer in the first inning. Danny Vargas also homered in the first inning to give BYU an early 7-0 lead.

Craig had a no-hitter going through the first three and one-third innings, but surrendered a one-out single to Chester Wilson in the fourth inning. Catcher Cameron Nelson erased the shutout by scoring in the fourth. Craig set the Thunderbirds down in order in the first, third and fifth innings.

BYU freshman Austin Hall led off the third with a homer and J.T. Musso added a three-run blast in the fourth to put BYU up 12-0. When Apana Nakayama hit a grand slam in the sixth, he put BYU up, 16-1. Nakayama was walked four times and also singled in the second inning.

The Cougar pitchers tallied 15 strikeouts amongst the staff, with four relievers each getting an inning apiece after Craig.

"The pitching was just outstanding," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "Jesse Craig dominated the strike zone.

"We played well in all facets. We scored often and early. It was fun for me as a coach to keep the morale up by getting everyone in the game.

"The wind was really blowing, but Leon Johnson's homer was probably the only one that was wind-aided."

Kent Walton extended his current hitting streak to 16 games with a single up the middle in the second inning. BYU stranded a total of 13 runners on base in the game.

The Cougars improve to 5-3 as they get ready to host Northern Colorado, 5-1, in BYU's home opener at Larry H. Miller Field on Thursday at 5 p.m. SUU falls to 2-9.

The game was moved from Cedar City to Snow Canyon High School in St. George because of weather. The two teams are scheduled to meet again on April 17 and May 8 in Provo.

Brigham Young Univ. vs Southern Utah
Feb 27, 2007 at St. George, Utah (Snow Canyon HS)
Brigham Young Univ. 20 (5-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon cf.........  2  1  2  1   2  0  0  0   0
 WELLS, Stephen ph/cf....  2  1  1  0   0  0  1  0   1
FANNING, Collin rf.......  7  1  3  0   0  0  1  0   2
WALTON, Kent 2b..........  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   4
 JOHNSON, Jason ph/2b....  2  2  1  0   1  1  0  1   0
NAKAYAMA, Apana lf.......  3  4  2  4   4  0  1  0   0
CLUFF, Jonathan dh.......  2  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 FRAMPTON, Chase dh......  4  1  2  1   0  0  0  0   0
MC KEEVER, Mike 1b.......  2  1  0  0   1  0  3  0   2
 KO, Kasey ph/1b.........  2  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
 BILLS, Thomas ph/1b.....  1  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   2
HALL, Austin 3b/ss.......  5  3  2  3   1  1  2  2   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  4  1  1  3   0  2 10  0   2
 GUENTHER, Wes ph/c......  2  0  0  1   0  1  5  0   0
VARGAS, Danny ss.........  3  3  3  3   1  0  1  1   0
 JOHNSON, Chris ph/3b....  2  0  2  2   0  0  0  0   0
CRAIG, Jesse p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 HOWELL, Blaine p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 WARD, Michael p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARNES, Clayton p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 47 20 21 18  12  6 27  6  13
Southern Utah 2 (2-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
ZABLAN, Keli'i ss........  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  3   0
WRIGHT, Joe 1b...........  4  1  1  0   0  3 10  0   0
NELSON, Cameron c........  2  1  1  0   1  0  3  1   0
 LIBKE, Jerahmie pr/ph...  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BEZZANT, Matthew c......  1  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
WILSON, Chester 3b.......  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  2   2
AONA, Bucky dh...........  3  0  0  1   1  0  0  0   0
ROMNEY, Jacob cf.........  2  0  0  0   0  1  2  0   1
 ALVAREZ, Ricardo ph/cf..  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
RICHARDS, Robbie rf......  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   1
 SANDSTROM, Robert rf....  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
NELSON, Mac 2b...........  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
 FORD, Colby 2b..........  1  0  0  0   0  0  2  2   1
NIELSEN, Tyler lf........  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   0
NOYES, Jacob p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ROMERO, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HUDSON, Chase p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 HAMMAN, Kyle p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 EVERETT, Devin p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  2  4  1   2 15 27  9   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 701 404 040 - 20 21  1
Southern Utah....... 000 100 010 -  2  4  1
-------------------------------------------
E - HALL; RICHARDS; ROMERO. LOB - Cougars 13; Thunderbirds 5. 2B - JOHNSON,
J.; HALL; VARGAS. HR - JOHNSON, L.; NAKAYAMA; HALL; MUSSO; VARGAS. HBP -
WELLS. SB - FANNING; NAKAYAMA. CS - JOHNSON, L..
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CRAIG...............  5.0  1  1  1  1  8 17 18
HOWELL..............  1.0  1  0  0  0  2  4  4
WARD................  1.0  0  0  0  1  2  3  4
BARNES..............  1.0  2  1  1  0  1  5  5
MICHON..............  1.0  0  0  0  0  2  3  3
Southern Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NOYES, Jacob........  0.2  4  7  7  3  1  6  9
ROMERO, Brandon.....  3.0  6  5  4  4  1 14 18
HUDSON, Chase.......  2.1  5  4  4  2  1 13 15
HAMMAN, Kyle........  1.0  3  4  4  2  1  6  9
EVERETT, Devin......  2.0  2  0  0  1  2  8  9
Win - CRAIG (1-1).  Loss - NOYES (0-3).
WP - NOYES 2. HBP - by HAMMAN (WELLS). BK - BARNES. PB - BEZZANT.
Umpires - Home:Jerry Leonard  1st:Terry Balser  3rd:Chad Vater
Start: 11:00 am   Time: 3:00   Attendance: 62
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 14/cf JOHNSON, L.; 17/rf FANNING; 9/2b WALTON;
   24/lf NAKAYAMA; 8/dh CLUFF; 33/1b MC KEEVER; 18/3b HALL; 10/c MUSSO;
   13/ss VARGAS; 35/p CRAIG;
Southern Utah starters: 7/ss ZABLAN; 12/1b WRIGHT; 18/c NELSON, C.; 28/3b
   WILSON, C.; 36/dh AONA; 9/cf ROMNEY; 27/rf RICHARDS; 13/2b NELSON, M.;
   10/lf NIELSEN; 15/p NOYES;
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
   JOHNSON, L. homered to center field, RBI. FANNING singled to left field.
   FANNING stole second. WALTON popped up to 1b. FANNING advanced to third
   on a wild pitch. NAKAYAMA walked. NAKAYAMA advanced to second; FANNING
   scored on a wild pitch. CLUFF walked. MC KEEVER walked; CLUFF advanced to
   second; NAKAYAMA advanced to third. HALL doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI;
   MC KEEVER advanced to third; CLUFF scored; NAKAYAMA scored. MUSSO struck
   out looking. VARGAS homered, 3 RBI; HALL scored; MC KEEVER scored. ROMERO
   to p for NOYES. JOHNSON, L. singled up the middle. JOHNSON, L. out at
   second c to 2b, caught stealing. 7 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 1
   ZABLAN struck out looking. WRIGHT struck out swinging. NELSON, C. flied
   out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
   FANNING lined out to ss. WALTON singled to shortstop. NAKAYAMA singled to
   right center; WALTON advanced to second. CLUFF flied out to cf. MC KEEVER
   lined out to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 2
   WILSON, C. reached on an error by 3b. AONA reached on a fielder's choice;
   WILSON, C. out at second 3b to 2b. ROMNEY grounded out to 3b; AONA
   advanced to second. RICHARDS lined out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1
   LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
   HALL homered, RBI. MUSSO struck out looking. VARGAS walked. VARGAS
   advanced to second on an error by p. JOHNSON, L. walked. FANNING popped
   up to 3b. WALTON flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 3
   NELSON, M. grounded out to p. NIELSEN struck out swinging. ZABLAN popped
   up to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
   NAKAYAMA walked. NAKAYAMA stole second. CLUFF grounded out to ss;
   NAKAYAMA advanced to third. MC KEEVER popped up to 3b. HALL walked. MUSSO
   homered, 3 RBI; HALL scored; NAKAYAMA scored. VARGAS singled to
   shortstop. HUDSON to p for ROMERO. JOHNSON, L. walked; VARGAS advanced to
   second. FANNING singled to rf; JOHNSON, L. advanced to third;
   VARGAS scored. WALTON flied out to rf. 4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors,
   2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 4
   WRIGHT struck out swinging. NELSON, C. walked. WILSON, C. singled to
   center field; NELSON, C. advanced to third. AONA grounded out to ss, RBI;
   WILSON, C. advanced to second; NELSON, C. scored. ROMNEY struck out
   swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
   NAKAYAMA grounded out to p. FRAMPTON to dh for CLUFF. FRAMPTON singled up
   the middle. KO pinch hit for MC KEEVER. KO singled through the left side;
   FRAMPTON advanced to second. HALL flied out to cf. MUSSO grounded out to
   3b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 5
   KO to 1b. RICHARDS struck out looking. NELSON, M. struck out swinging.
   NIELSEN struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
   SANDSTROM to rf for RICHARDS. VARGAS doubled to right center. WELLS pinch
   hit for JOHNSON, L.. WELLS singled to right field; VARGAS advanced to
   third. FANNING popped up to 1b. JOHNSON, J. pinch hit for WALTON.
   JOHNSON, J. walked; WELLS advanced to second. NAKAYAMA homered, 4 RBI;
   JOHNSON, J. scored; WELLS scored; VARGAS scored. FRAMPTON grounded out to
   ss. KO struck out looking. 4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 6
   WELLS to cf. JOHNSON, J. to 2b. HOWELL to p for CRAIG. ZABLAN struck out
   swinging. WRIGHT struck out swinging. NELSON, C. singled up the middle.
   LIBKE pinch ran for NELSON, C.. WILSON, C. grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1
   hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
   BEZZANT to c for LIBKE. HAMMAN to p for HUDSON. FORD to 2b for NELSON,
   M.. HALL popped up to 2b. GUENTHER pinch hit for MUSSO. GUENTHER struck
   out swinging. JOHNSON, C. pinch hit for VARGAS. JOHNSON, C. singled to
   left field. WELLS hit by pitch; JOHNSON, C. advanced to second. FANNING
   popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 7
   HALL to ss. GUENTHER to c. JOHNSON, C. to 3b. WARD to p for HOWELL. AONA
   walked. ALVAREZ pinch hit for ROMNEY. ALVAREZ struck out looking.
   SANDSTROM struck out swinging. FORD reached on a fielder's choice; AONA
   out at second 2b to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
   ALVAREZ to cf. JOHNSON, J. doubled to left field. NAKAYAMA walked.
   FRAMPTON singled to left field, RBI; NAKAYAMA advanced to second;
   JOHNSON, J. scored. BILLS pinch hit for KO. FRAMPTON advanced to second;
   NAKAYAMA advanced to third on a passed ball. BILLS walked. EVERETT to p
   for HAMMAN. HALL struck out swinging. GUENTHER grounded out to 2b, RBI;
   BILLS advanced to second; FRAMPTON advanced to third; NAKAYAMA scored.
   JOHNSON, C. singled to right field, 2 RBI; BILLS scored; FRAMPTON scored.
   WELLS reached on a fielder's choice; JOHNSON, C. out at second ss to 2b.
   4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 8
   BILLS to 1b. BARNES to p for WARD. NIELSEN flied out to cf. BEZZANT to c
   for ZABLAN. ZABLAN to ss for BEZZANT. BEZZANT lined out to lf. WRIGHT
   singled to center field. LIBKE pinch hit for ZABLAN. LIBKE singled to
   left field; WRIGHT advanced to third. LIBKE advanced to second; WRIGHT
   scored on a balk. WILSON, C. struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
   errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 9
   LIBKE to ss. FANNING singled to first base. JOHNSON, J. struck out
   looking. NAKAYAMA walked; FANNING advanced to second. FRAMPTON grounded
   out to 2b; NAKAYAMA advanced to second; FANNING advanced to third. BILLS
   grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Southern Utah - inning 9
   MICHON to p for BARNES. AONA popped up to p. ALVAREZ struck out looking.
   SANDSTROM struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.