Utes Take Extra-Inning Tilt

FORT WORTH -- A two-out single gave Utah a 10th-inning 2-1 victory Tuesday over BYU in the Conoco Mountain West Conference Championships, negating Cougar pitching prowess.

In the first extra-inning game since the 2007 MWC Tourney, Tyler Yagi’s two-out single up the middle scored Cooper Blanc. BYU, now 28-23, falls into the loser’s bracket for a Wednesday game against UNLV at 11 a.m. CDT, while Utah, now 22-28, remains in the winner’s bracket to face top-seeded TCU in the afternoon.

“We got the pitching performance we needed, but we didn’t support it run-wise,” said BYU coach Vance Law.

Blake Torgerson fanned seven Utes in as many innings and reliever Jordan Muir got timely outs until Yagi and Blanc teamed up for the second time in the game.

“We had plenty of opportunities, we just didn’t get the big hit when needed.”

The Cougars had two on with two out in the first, but Michael Bowen’s grounder didn’t make it through the hole and Stetson Banks was thrown out at third to end an initial threat.

Andrew Law’s two-out double to left-center in the second inning set up BYU’s first run as he scored two pitches later off J.T. Musso’s single to rightfield.

Ute Pitcher Jordan Whatcott picked off Musso on first before another threat emerged in the fifth as two Cougars were stranded in scoring position.

Blanc’s lead-off single in the sixth caused BYU grief as he advanced on a sac-bunt and tied the score at one-all from Yagi’s leftfield single.

Nathan Bunch relieved Torgerson in the eighth with the score still tied, 1-1. Bunch gave up consecutive singles with one out and was replaced by Jordan Muir. Muir coaxed Yagi to line into third baseman Steve Parker for a double play two pitches later to end the inning.

Muir withstood Utah’s challenge in the ninth after Nick Kuroczko led off with a single to rightfield and advanced to third thanks to a pair of groundouts to Brandon Relf at shortstop.

BYU got a base runner in the bottom of that frame when Andrew Law watched four straight pitches for balls by Stephen Streich. Law advanced to second on a sac-bunt by Musso before the Utes brought Greg Krause to the mound. Then Law was thrown out by catcher C.J. Cron as he tried to steal third.

BYU’s Kasey Ko set a new MWC tourney record with four walks, but none came to fruition as the Cougars produced only five hits.

Univ. of Utah vs. BYU
May 19, 2009 at Fort Worth, Texas (Lupton Stadium)
Univ. of Utah 2 (22-28)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SHIMADA, Corey 2b........  4  0  1  0   1  1  5  3   0
YAGI, Tyler lf...........  5  0  2  2   0  1  0  0   1
KUROCZKO, Nick 3b........  4  0  1  0   1  1  2  2   1
CRON, C.J. c.............  4  0  0  0   0  3  4  2   3
WALKER, Devin dh.........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
JONES, Austin 1b.........  4  0  1  0   0  0 12  0   1
CORNU, Rick rf...........  4  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   2
BLANC, Cooper cf.........  4  2  2  0   0  0  2  0   0
BELTRAN, Michael ss......  3  0  1  0   0  0  2  4   0
WHATCOTT, Jordan p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 STREICH, Stephen p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 KRAUSE, Greg p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 36  2  8  2   2  7 30 15   8
BYU 1 (28-23)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  4  0  1  0   1  1  2  0   1
BANKS, Stetson cf........  5  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
WALTON, Kent dh..........  5  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  0  0  0   1  2  1  2   0
BOWEN, Michael rf........  4  0  1  0   0  0  6  0   2
KO, Kasey 1b.............  0  0  0  0   4  0 11  1   0
RELF, Brandon ss.........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  7   3
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  3  1  1  0   1  0  3  1   0
MUSSO, J.T. c............  1  0  1  1   1  0  7  0   0
TORGERSON, Blake p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 BUNCH, Nathan p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 30  1  5  1   8  4 30 14   9
Score by Innings                      R  H  E
---------------------------------------------
Univ. of Utah....... 000 001 000 1 -  2  8  0
BYU................. 010 000 000 0 -  1  5  3
---------------------------------------------
E - McNAUGHTON(5); KO(4); MUSSO(7). DP - UT 1; BY 1. LOB - UT 8; BY 9. 2B -
LAW, An.(14). HBP - MUSSO. SH - CRON(2); BELTRAN(10); MUSSO(3). SB -
BLANC(9); McNAUGHTON(9); BANKS 2(23). CS - KO(1); LAW, An.(2).
Univ. of Utah          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
WHATCOTT, Jordan....  7.0  4  1  1  6  3 22 29 129
STREICH, Stephen....  1.1  1  0  0  2  0  4  7  20
KRAUSE, Greg........  1.2  0  0  0  0  1  4  4  14
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
TORGERSON, Blake....  7.0  3  1  1  0  7 24 25  83
BUNCH, Nathan.......  0.1  2  0  0  0  0  3  3   4
MUIR, Jordan........  2.2  3  1  1  2  0  9 12  43
Win - KRAUSE (1-4).  Loss - MUIR (0-3).  Save - None.
WP - TORGERSON(4). HBP - by WHATCOTT (MUSSO). Pitches/strikes: WHATCOTT 129/73;
STREICH 20/9; KRAUSE 14/8; TORGERSON 83/55; BUNCH 4/3; MUIR 43/24.
Umpires - HP: Billy Van Raaphorst  1B: Ray Belfiore  2B: Keith Bailey  3B: Blake
Jensen  Start: 3:05 PM   Time: 2:33   Attendance: 975
Weather: Sunny and breezy
Play-by-Play
Univ. of Utah 1st - SHIMADA flied out to lf (2-1). YAGI out at first p
to ss to 1b (2-0). KUROCZKO struck out looking (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON walked (3-2). BANKS reached on a fielder's choice,
bunt (0-1); McNAUGHTON out at second p to ss. WALTON flied out to rf down the
rf line (0-2). BANKS stole second. PARKER walked (3-2). BOWEN reached on a
fielder's choice (2-2); PARKER advanced to second; BANKS out at third ss to 3b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 2nd - CRON struck out swinging (2-2). WALKER flied out to
rf to right center (0-1). JONES, A. singled, advanced to second on a fielding
error by lf (1-0). CORNU grounded out to 3b (0-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1
LOB.
BYU 2nd - KO walked (3-2). RELF grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b
(0-0); KO out on the play. LAW, An. doubled to center field (1-0). MUSSO
singled to center field, RBI (1-1); LAW, An. scored. McNAUGHTON popped up to ss
(0-1). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 3rd - BLANC grounded out to ss (1-0). BELTRAN flied out to
rf to right center (1-1). SHIMADA grounded out to p (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - BANKS flied out to rf (3-2). WALTON grounded out to ss (0-1).
PARKER struck out looking (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 4th - YAGI struck out swinging (1-2). KUROCZKO grounded
out to 2b (0-0). CRON struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 4th - BOWEN popped up to 2b (1-2). KO walked (3-2). KO out at second
c to 2b, caught stealing. RELF struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 5th - WALKER grounded out to ss (1-2). JONES, A. grounded
out to ss (1-2). CORNU lined out to lf (3-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 5th - LAW, An. popped up to 1b, bunt (1-0). MUSSO walked (3-2).
MUSSO out at first p to 1b, picked off. McNAUGHTON singled through the left
side (3-2). BANKS singled to right center (1-2); McNAUGHTON advanced to third.
BANKS stole second. WALTON grounded out to 3b (2-2). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 6th - BLANC singled to left field (0-0). BELTRAN out at
first p to 2b, SAC (0-1); BLANC advanced to second. SHIMADA struck out swinging
(1-2). YAGI singled through the left side, RBI (1-1); BLANC scored. KUROCZKO
flied out to rf (1-1). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - PARKER struck out looking (3-2). BOWEN grounded out to 2b
(1-2). KO walked (3-1). RELF fouled out to 1b (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 7th - CRON struck out swinging (0-2). WALKER struck out
swinging (1-2). JONES, A. reached on a fielding error by 1b (2-2). JONES, A.
advanced to second on a wild pitch. CORNU grounded out to ss up the middle
(2-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - LAW, An. flied out to rf down the rf line (3-2). MUSSO hit by
pitch (2-0). McNAUGHTON reached on a fielder's choice (0-1); MUSSO out at
second ss to 2b. McNAUGHTON stole second. BANKS grounded out to 3b (3-2). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 8th - BUNCH to p for TORGERSON. BLANC flied out to rf
(0-0). BELTRAN singled to right field (1-0). SHIMADA singled up the middle
(0-0); BELTRAN advanced to second. MUIR to p for BUNCH. YAGI lined into double
play 3b to 2b (0-1); BELTRAN out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 8th - STREICH to p for WHATCOTT. WALTON grounded out to p, bunt
(0-0). PARKER flied out to cf to left center (0-2). BOWEN singled to left field
(3-0). KO walked (3-0); BOWEN advanced to second. RELF reached on a fielder's
choice (0-2); KO out at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Univ. of Utah 9th - KUROCZKO singled through the right side (1-1). CRON
out at first 1b to 2b, SAC (0-1); KUROCZKO advanced to second. WALKER grounded
out to ss (1-2); KUROCZKO advanced to third. JONES, A. grounded out to ss
(1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 9th - LAW, An. walked (3-0). MUSSO grounded out to p, SAC (0-0);
LAW, An. advanced to second. KRAUSE to p for STREICH. LAW, An. out at third c
to 3b, caught stealing. McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Utah 10th - CORNU fouled out to rf (2-1). BLANC singled up the
middle (2-1). BELTRAN flied out to rf down the rf line (1-0). BLANC stole
second, advanced to third on a throwing error by c. SHIMADA walked (3-1). YAGI
singled up the middle, RBI (2-0); SHIMADA advanced to third; BLANC scored.
KUROCZKO walked (3-2); YAGI advanced to second. CRON grounded out to 1b
unassisted (1-1). 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
BYU 10th - BANKS fouled out to 1b (1-0). WALTON flied out to cf to right
center (1-0). PARKER grounded out to 2b (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.