Comeback Falls Short in 9th

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PROVO, Utah (March, 13, 2009) – After trailing the University of Utah in the first three innings, the BYU Baseball team fought back to tie the game twice, finally falling to the Utes, 15-13, Friday at Miller Park in Provo.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said BYU head coach Vance Law. “I was very pleased with the effort, competiveness and desire the team showed tonight.”

The Utes jumped on starting pitcher Blake Torgerson quickly and scored seven runs in the first inning. Utah’s offense continued to be effective, adding four more runs in the top of the third inning to take an 11-0 advantage.

BYU’s offensive reply began in the bottom of the third inning. Starting with a double to left center-field by right fielder Michael Bowen, four straight hits got the momentum swinging for the Cougars, to score three runs.

The bottom of the fourth inning was big for BYU, as they plated six runs on five hits. Senior first baseman Kasey Ko had a two-RBI double, and Steve Parker’s bloop single to shallow left-center field scored two more runs as well, closing the gap to 11-6.

“We did a nice job making adjustments at the place tonight,” said Law.

Freshman pitcher Marc Oslund, who came on in relief of Torgerson in the middle of the third inning, dominated the Utes over five innings, striking out the side twice for a total of nine strikeouts.

Utah pulled ahead 12-6 on a Rick Cornu homerun in the top of the sixth inning, but the Cougars would continue their rally. BYU put together three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at 12 apiece.

Cornu hit another ball out of the park to put the Utes back on top, 13-12 in the top of the eighth inning. BYU manufactured a response in the bottom of the inning. J.T. Musso singled up the middle scored pinch-runner Stetson Banks from third.

A throwing error by first baseman Thomas Bills allowed the Utes to score the first of two runs in the top of the ninth.

BYU brought the two-, three-, and four-hole hitters to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the batters were retired in order by Utah relief pitcher Robert Chimpky, ending the Cougars comeback-bid.

Brandon Michon takes the loss for the Cougars and goes to 0-2 on the season. Joe Pond picks up the win for Utah, and is now 1-0. The save was Chimpky’s second on the season.

3,081 fans attended the game, the fourth-most for a baseball game played at BYU and second-most at Miller Park.

BYU falls to 9-7, (1-1, MWC), while Utah improves to 7-7 (1-1, MWC). The loss ends the Cougars six-game winning streak. The series is now tied, 1-1.

BYU out-hit the Utes, 16-17, and Cougar pitchers notched 12 strikeouts, to only eight for the Utah hurlers.

The Cougars face Utah Saturday at Miller Park at 1:00 p.m. in the rubber match of the series.

Univ. of Utah at BYU
Mar 13, 2009 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Univ. of Utah 15 (7-7,1-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BELTRAN, Michael ss......  6  2  3  5   0  1  0  2   0
CORNU, Rick rf...........  5  3  3  4   0  1  5  0   1
SHIMADA, Corey 2b........  3  1  1  0   2  0  1  1   0
CRON, C.J. dh............  5  1  1  1   0  1  0  0   0
JONES, Austin 1b.........  5  1  2  1   0  0  5  0   1
KUROCZKO, Nick 3b........  5  2  3  0   0  1  0  0   1
 CHRISTENSEN, Austin 3b..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BLANC, Cooper cf.........  5  1  0  0   0  3  8  0   1
SHARRAR, Jo Jo c.........  4  2  2  2   0  2  8  0   0
HUSSEY, Kevin lf.........  3  2  1  0   1  2  0  0   0
 JONES, Zach lf..........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
WILDING, Andrew p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CARD, Bryn p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 STREICH, Stephen p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 POND, Joe p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CHIMPKY, Robert p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 42 15 16 13   3 12 27  3   4
BYU 13 (9-7,1-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WALTON, Kent dh..........  6  3  3  3   0  1  0  0   1
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  6  1  3  1   0  1  3  1   0
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  5  1  1  1   1  3  0  0   0
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  5  1  2  3   1  0  1  1   0
CLUFF, Jonathan cf.......  5  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   3
KO, Kasey 1b.............  4  0  2  2   1  0  4  2   2
 BANKS, Stetson pr.......  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BILLS, Thomas 1b........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
RELF, Brandon ss.........  3  2  1  0   1  1  1  2   1
BOWEN, Michael rf........  5  1  1  0   0  0  1  0   2
MUSSO, J.T. c............  5  3  4  3   0  0 12  3   0
TORGERSON, Blake p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 OSLUND, Marc p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 MICHON, Brandon p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 44 13 17 13   4  8 27  9   9
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Univ. of Utah....... 704 001 012 - 15 16  0
BYU................. 003 600 310 - 13 17  4
-------------------------------------------
E - McNAUGHTON(2); CLUFF(1); BILLS(1); RELF(7). LOB - UT 4; Cougars 9. 2B -
HUSSEY(2); McNAUGHTON(4); KO(5); BOWEN(6); MUSSO 2(2). 3B - BELTRAN(1). HR -
CORNU 3(7). HBP - RELF. SH - SHARRAR(2). SB - BELTRAN(3); JONES, A.(3);
BANKS(5). CS - BELTRAN(2); BLANC(1).
Univ. of Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WILDING, Andrew.....  3.1  7  6  6  1  3 17 19  74
CARD, Bryn..........  0.1  3  3  3  2  1  4  6  36
STREICH, Stephen....  3.0  5  3  3  1  0 14 15  43
POND, Joe...........  1.1  2  1  1  0  2  6  6  21
CHIMPKY, Robert.....  1.0  0  0  0  0  2  3  3  15
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
TORGERSON, Blake....  2.2  9  9  7  2  2 16 18  58
OSLUND, Marc........  5.1  5  4  2  1  9 22 23  88
MICHON, Brandon.....  0.0  1  1  0  0  0  1  1   4
MUIR, Jordan........  1.0  1  1  0  0  1  3  4  10
Win - POND (1-0).  Loss - MICHON (0-2).  Save - CHIMPKY (2).
WP - WILDING(2). HBP - by WILDING (RELF). Pitches/strikes: WILDING 74/48; CARD
36/19; STREICH 43/28; POND 21/14; CHIMPKY 15/11; TORGERSON 58/40; OSLUND 88/57;
MICHON 4/3; MUIR 10/7.
Umpires - HP: Rich Padilla  1B: Randy Upton  3B: Ray Leible
Start: 6:07 pm   Time: 3:28   Attendance: 3081 (Fourth-largest crowd in school history, second-largest in Miller Park)
Weather: 46 degrees, sunny
Play-by-Play
Univ. of Utah 1st - BELTRAN singled to center field (1-1). CORNU struck
out swinging (2-2). BELTRAN stole second. SHIMADA walked (3-1). CRON singled up
the middle, RBI (0-0); SHIMADA advanced to third; BELTRAN scored. JONES, A.
singled to left field, RBI (1-2); CRON advanced to second; SHIMADA scored.
KUROCZKO singled to shortstop (0-0); JONES, A. advanced to second; CRON
advanced to third. BLANC struck out swinging (0-2). SHARRAR singled to right
field, 2 RBI (3-2); KUROCZKO advanced to second; JONES, A. scored; CRON scored.
HUSSEY walked (3-2); SHARRAR advanced to second; KUROCZKO advanced to third.
BELTRAN tripled to left field, 3 RBI (0-1); HUSSEY scored; SHARRAR scored;
KUROCZKO scored. CORNU grounded out to ss (0-2). 7 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 1st - WALTON grounded out to 2b (0-1). LAW, An. flied out to rf
(1-2). McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Univ. of Utah 2nd - SHIMADA out at first 1b to p (0-0). CRON flied out
to rf (0-1). JONES, A. fouled out to 1b (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 2nd - PARKER grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-0). CLUFF fouled out
to 2b (1-0). KO walked (3-1). RELF flied out to rf (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 3rd - KUROCZKO singled to left field (0-2). BLANC reached
on a fielder's choice (0-0); KUROCZKO out at second c to ss. BLANC out at
second c to 2b, caught stealing. SHARRAR singled to left field (1-0). HUSSEY
doubled to left field (1-2); SHARRAR advanced to third. OSLUND to p for
TORGERSON. BELTRAN reached on a fielding error by ss, advanced to second, RBI
(3-1); HUSSEY advanced to third, scored on a fielding error by lf, unearned;
SHARRAR scored, unearned. CORNU homered to center field, 2 RBI, unearned (0-0);
BELTRAN scored, unearned. SHIMADA out at first 1b to p (0-0). 4 runs, 4
hits, 2 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - BOWEN doubled to center field (0-0). MUSSO doubled to left
field, RBI (3-2); BOWEN scored. WALTON singled to left field, RBI (3-1); MUSSO
scored. LAW, An. singled to left field (1-1); WALTON advanced to second.
McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (0-2). PARKER singled to center field, RBI
(2-0); LAW, An. advanced to second; WALTON scored. CLUFF struck out swinging
(1-2). KO flied out to cf (2-1). 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 4th - CRON flied out to cf (1-2). JONES, A. singled to
left field (1-2). KUROCZKO struck out swinging (3-2); JONES, A. stole second.
BLANC struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - RELF hit by pitch (2-2). BOWEN flied out to cf (0-1). RELF
advanced to second on a wild pitch. MUSSO doubled to left field, RBI (2-1);
RELF scored. WALTON singled to right field (1-2); MUSSO advanced to third. CARD
to p for WILDING. LAW, An. singled to right field, RBI (2-1); WALTON advanced
to third; MUSSO scored. McNAUGHTON walked (3-1); LAW, An. advanced to second.
PARKER singled to left field, 2 RBI (3-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; LAW,
An. scored; WALTON scored. CLUFF struck out looking (1-2). KO doubled down the
rf line, 2 RBI (3-2); PARKER scored; McNAUGHTON scored. RELF walked (3-2).
STREICH to p for CARD. BOWEN flied out to cf (1-2). 6 runs, 5 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 5th - SHARRAR struck out swinging (0-2). HUSSEY struck out
swinging (0-2). BELTRAN struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
BYU 5th - MUSSO fouled out to 1b (1-2). WALTON grounded out to ss (3-2).
LAW, An. flied out to rf (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 6th - CORNU homered to right field, RBI (1-0). SHIMADA
singled to right center (3-2). CRON struck out swinging (0-2). JONES, A.
grounded out to 2b (0-0); SHIMADA advanced to second. KUROCZKO grounded out to
ss (1-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - McNAUGHTON flied out to cf (0-1). PARKER flied out to cf
(0-0). CLUFF flied out to rf (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 7th - BLANC struck out swinging (0-2). SHARRAR struck out
looking (2-2). HUSSEY struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 7th - JONES, Z. to lf for HUSSEY. KO flied out to rf (2-1). RELF
singled to center field (0-0). BOWEN flied out to cf (1-0). MUSSO singled to
left center, advanced to second on the throw (1-0); RELF advanced to third.
WALTON singled up the middle, 2 RBI (0-1); MUSSO scored; RELF scored. LAW, An.
singled to third base (1-1); WALTON advanced to second. McNAUGHTON doubled to
left field, RBI (0-0); LAW, An. advanced to third; WALTON scored. PARKER
intentionally walked (3-0). POND to p for STREICH. CLUFF flied out to cf (0-0).
3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 8th - BELTRAN flied out to cf (1-0). CORNU homered to
center field, RBI (0-0). SHIMADA walked (3-1). CRON popped up to 3b (2-2).
JONES, A. reached on a fielder's choice (2-2); SHIMADA out at second 2b
unassisted. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 8th - KO singled up the middle (1-0). BANKS pinch ran for KO. BANKS
stole second. RELF struck out swinging (0-2). BOWEN grounded out to ss (1-2);
BANKS advanced to third. MUSSO singled to shortstop, RBI (3-2); BANKS scored.
WALTON struck out swinging (2-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 9th - BILLS to 1b for BANKS. MICHON to p for OSLUND.
KUROCZKO singled to center field, advanced to second on a fielding error by cf
(1-2). MUIR to p for MICHON. BLANC reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to
second (0-0); KUROCZKO advanced to third on a throwing error by 1b, scored,
unearned. SHARRAR grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt (0-0); BLANC advanced to third.
JONES, Z. struck out swinging (0-2). BELTRAN singled to third base, RBI (0-0);
BLANC scored, unearned. BELTRAN out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 2
runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - CHRISTENSEN to 3b for KUROCZKO. CHIMPKY to p for POND. LAW,
An. struck out swinging (2-2). McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (2-2). PARKER
flied out to cf (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.