Muir, Cluff Lead To Gonzaga Defeat

PROVO -- Jonathan Cluff had two RBI and scored two runs to lead BYU to a 10-3 victory over Gonzaga (10-9) on Friday night.

Cluff was a perfect 3-for-3 in the game and drew a walk, and second baseman Kent Walton was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI for BYU (9-6).

Pitcher Jordan Muir started the game off strong retiring the side in the top of the first. In the bottom of the first Kent Walton ripped a double to right field, but BYU wasn't able to capitalize with the runner in scoring position.

In the second Muir gave up a lead-off single, but responded by retiring the next three batters.

The offense immediately gave Muir some run support in the bottom of the second, as Cluff hit a lead-off single and then scored thanks to a fielding error by the Bulldogs. J.T. Musso then laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored Kasey Ko and gave BYU a 2-0 lead.

Steve Parker got things started in the bottom of the third drawing a walk. Apana Nakayama then hit a double off the center field wall to advance Parker to third. Cluff then hit a monster triple to left field to bring in two runs, giving him the game-winning RBI. A sacrifice fly by Ko would bring in Cluff and give BYU a commanding 5-0 lead.

"Tonight we just wanted to be aggressive and see if we could take the first pitch and hit," Cluff said.

In the top of the fourth Gonzaga was finally able to get to Muir, as it started things off with a lead off single and followed that up with a double by second baseman Ryan Wiegand. The Bulldogs were able to get two runs across the plate in the inning to make the score 5-2.

Muir was in a tough jam in the top of the fifth with bases loaded, but he calmly struck out Dustin Colclough to end the inning and prevent any runs from crossing the plate.

Heading into the seventh inning BYU had a 9-2 lead, but Gonzaga was threatening with the bases loaded. Michael Ward was on the mound for the Cougars and forced designated hitter Mike Terry to hit into the 1-2-3 double-play to end the inning with only one run scoring for the Bulldogs, to make the score 9-3.

The Cougars defense held strong and their offense tacked on another run to preserve the 10-3 victory. The win snaps the Cougars' three-game losing streak.

"We were really stressing to put the ball into play in the right way tonight," said head coach Vance Law. "I thought out pitching was outstanding, we really did well in every facet of the game."

Muir, 4-0, picked up the win for BYU striking out six and throwing 101 pitches to remain undefeated at 10-0 as a collegian. Brandon Harmon, 0-4, got the loss for the Bulldogs.

"When I go out there and pitch, I don't really think about it (being undefeated)," Muir said. "I just go out and try to pitch hard and get in a good start for my team."

BYU will play the rubber-match with Gonzaga at 1:00 p.m. at Larry H. Miller Field on Saturday.

Gonzaga University at Brigham Young Univ.
Mar 09, 2007 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Gonzaga University 3 (10-9)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WELLS, Evan 2b...........  3  0  1  0   1  1  1  4   0
MCGUINNESS, Aaron ss.....  5  0  1  0   0  2  3  1   4
HOLCOMB, Darin 3b........  4  1  1  0   1  1  1  0   0
WIEGAND, Ryan 1b.........  3  2  2  0   2  0  7  1   0
COLCLOUGH, Dustin c......  3  0  0  1   1  1  3  1   3
 BLANK, Brandon c........  1  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   3
CASTELLITTO, Mark lf.....  3  0  0  0   0  1  2  0   0
 ELLIS, Mark ph/lf.......  2  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
WINSTON, Brian rf........  5  0  4  2   0  0  1  0   1
TERRY, Mike dh...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   3
 GREENSLITT, Ben ph......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
RHODES, Michael cf.......  4  0  0  0   1  2  4  0   1
HARMON, Brandon p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 GRIFFITH, Chris p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MCEWEN, Bobby p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38  3 10  3   6 11 24  8  15
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (9-6)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon cf.........  5  1  1  1   0  0  2  0   1
WALTON, Kent 2b..........  3  0  2  2   0  0  1  3   0
 JOHNSON, Chris 2b.......  1  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  1  0  0   1  0  0  3   2
NAKAYAMA, Apana lf.......  4  1  1  0   0  1  1  0   1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  3  3  3  2   1  0  1  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  1  1  0  1   2  0  9  0   0
JOHNSON, Jason dh........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HALL, Austin ph.........  1  0  0  1   0  0  0  0   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  4  1  1  1   0  1  9  2   1
 FRAMPTON, Chase c.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  4  2  2  0   0  2  1  0   0
MUIR, Jordan p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 STAMBAUGH, J.D. p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WARD, Michael p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 PARRY, David p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 33 10 12  8   4  4 27 10   5
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Gonzaga University.. 000 200 100 -  3 10  4
Brigham Young Univ.. 023 103 10X - 10 12  2
-------------------------------------------
E - MCGUINNESS; COLCLOUGH 2; WINSTON; PARKER; KO. DP - BYU Cougars 1. LOB -
GU Bulldogs 15; BYU Cougars 5. 2B - MCGUINNESS; WINSTON; WALTON; NAKAYAMA;
MUSSO; VARGAS. 3B - CLUFF. HBP - WELLS. SF - WALTON; KO. SB - JOHNSON, L.;
WALTON. CS - CLUFF.
Gonzaga University     IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HARMON, Brandon.....  6.0 11  9  5  2  3 26 30
GRIFFITH, Chris.....  0.2  0  1  1  2  0  2  4
MCEWEN, Bobby.......  1.1  1  0  0  0  1  5  5
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MUIR, Jordan........  5.2  6  2  0  3  6 24 27
STAMBAUGH, J.D......  0.2  3  1  1  2  1  5  7
WARD, Michael.......  1.2  0  0  0  1  2  5  7
PARRY, David........  1.0  1  0  0  0  2  4  4
Win - MUIR (4-0).  Loss - HARMON (0-4).  Save - None.
WP - GRIFFITH; MUIR. HBP - by WARD (WELLS). BK - GRIFFITH.
Umpires - HP: Alan White  1B: Jeff Jenkins  3B: Dan Weikle
Start: 5:03 pm   Time: 2:55   Attendance: 954
Gonzaga University starters: 5/2b WELLS; 11/ss MCGUINNESS; 6/3b HOLCOMB; 31/1b
WIEGAND; 12/c COLCLOUGH; 23/lf CASTELLITTO; 4/rf WINSTON; 45/dh TERRY; 7/cf RHODES;
26/p HARMON;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 14/cf JOHNSON, L.; 9/2b WALTON; 5/3b PARKER; 24/lf
NAKAYAMA; 8/rf CLUFF; 22/1b KO; 7/dh JOHNSON, J.; 10/c MUSSO; 13/ss VARGAS; 12/p
MUIR;
Gonzaga University 1st - WELLS grounded out to p. MCGUINNESS grounded out to
3b. HOLCOMB flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, L. flied out to lf. WALTON doubled down
the rf line. PARKER grounded out to 2b; WALTON advanced to third. NAKAYAMA fouled
out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Gonzaga University 2nd - WIEGAND singled to right field. COLCLOUGH flied out
to cf. CASTELLITTO popped up to 2b. WINSTON grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - CLUFF singled to left center. KO walked; CLUFF
advanced to second. JOHNSON, J. singled, bunt; KO advanced to third; CLUFF advanced
to third, scored on a throwing error by c. MUSSO out at first 1b to p, RBI; JOHNSON,
J. advanced to second; KO scored, unearned. VARGAS struck out. JOHNSON, L. grounded
out to p. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Gonzaga University 3rd - TERRY grounded out to 2b. RHODES flied out to lf.
WELLS singled up the middle. MCGUINNESS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - WALTON flied out to cf. PARKER walked. NAKAYAMA
doubled to center field; PARKER advanced to third. CLUFF tripled to left center, 2
RBI; NAKAYAMA scored; PARKER scored. KO flied out to cf, SF, RBI; CLUFF scored.
JOHNSON, J. flied out to lf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Gonzaga University 4th - HOLCOMB singled to left field. WIEGAND reached on a
fielder's choice, advanced to second; HOLCOMB advanced to second on a throwing error
by 1b, advanced to third. COLCLOUGH grounded out to 2b, RBI; WIEGAND advanced to
third; HOLCOMB scored, unearned. CASTELLITTO grounded out to 3b. WINSTON singled to
right center, RBI; WIEGAND scored, unearned. TERRY grounded out to 1b unassisted.
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - MUSSO struck out looking. VARGAS doubled to left
field. VARGAS advanced to third on a fielding error by ss. JOHNSON, L. popped up to
ss. WALTON singled to shortstop, RBI; VARGAS scored, unearned. WALTON stole second.
PARKER grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Gonzaga University 5th - RHODES struck out swinging. WELLS struck out
swinging. MCGUINNESS doubled down the lf line. HOLCOMB walked. WIEGAND walked;
HOLCOMB advanced to second; MCGUINNESS advanced to third. COLCLOUGH struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - NAKAYAMA struck out looking. CLUFF singled to
center field. CLUFF out at second c to ss, caught stealing. KO flied out to cf. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Gonzaga University 6th - CASTELLITTO struck out swinging, out at first c to
1b. WINSTON doubled to right center. TERRY struck out looking. RHODES walked. RHODES
advanced to second; WINSTON advanced to third on a wild pitch. STAMBAUGH to p for
MUIR. WELLS walked. MCGUINNESS reached on a fielder's choice; WELLS out at second 2b
to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - JOHNSON, J. grounded out to 2b. MUSSO doubled
through the left side. VARGAS singled to left field; MUSSO advanced to third.
JOHNSON, L. singled to right field, RBI; VARGAS advanced to third, scored on a
throwing error by rf, unearned; MUSSO scored. JOHNSON, L. stole second, advanced to
third on a throwing error by c. WALTON fouled out to 2b, SF, RBI; JOHNSON, L.
scored, unearned. PARKER flied out to rf. 3 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 0 LOB.
Gonzaga University 7th - HOLCOMB struck out looking. WIEGAND singled to left
field. COLCLOUGH walked; WIEGAND advanced to second. ELLIS pinch hit for
CASTELLITTO. ELLIS singled through the right side; COLCLOUGH advanced to second;
WIEGAND advanced to third. WINSTON singled to left field, RBI; ELLIS advanced to
second; COLCLOUGH advanced to third; WIEGAND scored. WARD to p for STAMBAUGH. TERRY
grounded into double play p to c to 1b; COLCLOUGH out on the play. 1 run, 3 hits,
0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - ELLIS to lf. BLANK to c for COLCLOUGH. GRIFFITH to
p for HARMON. NAKAYAMA grounded out to 1b unassisted. CLUFF walked. CLUFF advanced
to second on a balk. KO walked. HALL pinch hit for JOHNSON, J.. KO advanced to
second; CLUFF advanced to third on a wild pitch. HALL grounded out to 2b, RBI; CLUFF
scored. MCEWEN to p for GRIFFITH. MUSSO grounded out to ss. 1 run, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Gonzaga University 8th - JOHNSON, C. to 2b for WALTON. RHODES popped up to
2b. WELLS hit by pitch. MCGUINNESS struck out swinging. HOLCOMB reached on a
throwing error by 3b, advanced to second; WELLS advanced to third. WIEGAND walked.
BLANK struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - VARGAS struck out swinging. JOHNSON, L. lined out
to ss. JOHNSON, C. singled to left field. PARKER flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit,
0 errors, 1 LOB.
Gonzaga University 9th - FRAMPTON to c for MUSSO. PARRY to p for WARD. ELLIS
flied out to cf. WINSTON singled to center field. GREENSLITT pinch hit for TERRY.
GREENSLITT struck out swinging. RHODES struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.