Texan Nielsen Helps Upset No. 4 TCU

FT. WORTH -- BYU upset No. 4 TCU, its first loss at home this season, with a 5-4 victory on the heels of an 11-3 loss in a Friday doubleheader.

It was BYU's first victory over defending MWC Champion TCU since 2007 when the Cougars won in Ft. Worth and Provo. BYU improved to an 8-11 record and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference, while the Horned Frogs are now 15-3 and 2-1.

“One of the toughest things in baseball is to sweep a doubleheader, said BYU coach Vance Law, whose charges had been thumped earlier in the day before heading into the nightcap. “I wasn't encouraged when we fell behind early, 4-0.”

In the BYU victory in game two, Jonathan Cluff got aboard, leading off in the third, by way of a two-base error. Cluff later scored when Dane Nielsen hit a one-out single to put the Cougars on the board. Nielsen scored two plays later when Sean McNaughton singled him in to make the score, 4-2 in favor of TCU.

Cluff led off with a triple in the fifth and scored on Nielsen's one out single, closing the margin to 4-3.

“When we get down, we just battle and battle,” said Nielsen, from Sugar Land, Texas. “I just waited for softer stuff that I could really drive.”

The Cougars took their first lead in the series in the seventh when Cluff led off with a double. Wes Gunther got on base via an error, putting BYU runners at the corners. Stephen Wells grounded out for the second out of the seventh, but it scored Cluff to tie the game. Guenther then scored on Brandon Relf's single to give BYU a 5-4 lead.

In the eighth, Ryan Bernal turned an inning-ending double play when TCU lined to him and he caught the runner off second base to get reliever Kevin Sloan out of a jam. That set up David McKnight to throw his 90-plus mile-an-hour fastballs for his third save of the season.

“(Chris) Capper did a wonderful job. Sloan gave us a strong effort and McKnight did a great job again,” said Law. “Our defense was very good. I'm proud of our guys. We've got a fairly young team, particularly in our pitching staff, and I think they were a big star-struck early on.”

In the loss of game one on Friday, BYU tied the game at one-all in the third when Nielsen scored on an overthrow error by the catcher after getting aboard earlier with a lead-off single.

In the sixth of game one, Bernal and Chase Frampton got on base thanks to Frog miscues and were doubled in by Alex Wolfe, making the score 9-3. That double was only the third hit surrendered by freshman Matt Purke.

The Cougars return to Provo to ready for a three-game series this week against UNLV, starting Thursday.

BYU at #4 TCU Horned Frogs
Mar 19, 2010 at Fort Worth, Texas (Lupton Stadium)
BYU 5 (8-11,1-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HANCOCK, Alex rf.........  1  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
 WELLS, Stephen cf.......  3  0  0  1   0  0  4  0   0
RELF, Brandon ss.........  5  0  1  1   0  2  2  5   1
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  4  0  2  1   0  0  0  0   1
AYOSO, Bryce dh..........  1  0  0  0   2  0  0  0   0
BERNAL, Ryan 1b..........  3  0  0  0   0  0 10  1   0
WOLFE, Alex 3b...........  3  0  0  0   1  1  0  2   1
CLUFF, Jonathan cf/rf....  4  3  2  0   0  0  1  0   0
GUENTHER, Wes c..........  3  1  0  0   0  0  4  0   2
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  4  1  2  2   0  0  4  1   0
NYBERG, Chunner p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CAPPER, Chris p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SLOAN, Kevin p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 McKNIGHT, David p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  5  8  5   3  3 27 10   6
TCU Horned Frogs 4 (15-3,2-1 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
PENA 2b..................  3  1  1  0   2  0  4  2   1
HOLADAY c................  4  1  2  0   1  0  2  2   1
COATS lf.................  4  1  2  0   0  2  2  1   2
CURRY 1b.................  3  1  1  1   1  0 10  1   1
ELANDER rf...............  3  0  1  1   0  0  1  0   0
PHARR dh.................  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
SCHULTZ 3b...............  4  0  0  0   0  1  1  2   0
RIVERA cf................  3  0  0  0   0  0  4  0   0
 VonTUNGELN ph...........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
FEATHERSTON ss...........  3  0  0  0   1  0  2  4   0
WINKLER p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
 APPLEBY p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MERCK p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 31  4  7  2   5  4 27 13   7
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 002 010 200 -  5  8  2
TCU Horned Frogs.... 400 000 000 -  4  7  3
-------------------------------------------
E - HANCOCK(2); McNAUGHTON(4); PENA(5); ELANDER(1); RIVERA(1). DP - BY 1;
TCU 1. LOB - BY 6; TCU 7. 2B - CLUFF(5); PENA(5); COATS(8). 3B - CLUFF(2).
HBP - HANCOCK. SH - AYOSO(1); BERNAL(1); GUENTHER(1); PHARR(1). SF -
ELANDER(2). CS - HANCOCK(2).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NYBERG, Chunner.....  4.1  5  4  2  4  2 17 22
CAPPER, Chris.......  2.2  1  0  0  0  2  9  9
SLOAN, Kevin........  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  3
McKNIGHT, David.....  1.0  0  0  0  1  0  3  4
TCU Horned Frogs       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WINKLER.............  6.0  6  3  1  1  2 21 24
APPLEBY.............  1.0  2  2  0  1  0  5  7
MERCK...............  2.0  0  0  0  1  1  5  7
Win - CAPPER (1-0).  Loss - APPLEBY (1-1).  Save - McKNIGHT (3).
HBP - by WINKLER (HANCOCK). PB - GUENTHER(2).
Umpires - HP: Keith Bailey  1B: John Ausmus  3B: Jason Rogers
Start: 7:17 pm   Time: 2:41   Attendance: 2948
Weather: Couldy and Windy
APPLEBY faced 1 batter in the 8th.
BYU 1st - HANCOCK singled to third base. RELF fouled out to 2b.
McNAUGHTON flied out to cf. HANCOCK out at second c to 2b, caught stealing.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 1st - PENA walked. HOLADAY singled to left field; PENA
advanced to second. COATS singled to third base; HOLADAY advanced to second;
PENA advanced to third. CURRY singled to right field, advanced to third on a
throwing error by rf, RBI; COATS advanced to third, scored on the error,
unearned; HOLADAY advanced to third, scored on the error; PENA scored. ELANDER
flied out to rf, SF, RBI; CURRY scored, unearned. PHARR grounded out to ss.
SCHULTZ popped up to 2b. 4 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - AYOSO popped up to 3b. BERNAL flied out to lf. WOLFE struck
out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 2nd - RIVERA popped up to ss. FEATHERSTON lined out to
rf. PENA doubled down the rf line. HOLADAY walked. COATS struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - CLUFF reached on a fielding error by rf, advanced to second on
the error. GUENTHER grounded out to ss. NIELSEN singled to left center, RBI;
CLUFF scored, unearned. HANCOCK hit by pitch; NIELSEN advanced to second. RELF
struck out swinging. McNAUGHTON singled to left field, RBI; HANCOCK advanced to
second, out at second lf to 3b to 2b; NIELSEN scored, unearned. 2 runs, 2
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 3rd - WELLS to cf for HANCOCK. CLUFF to rf. CURRY
grounded out to 1b unassisted. ELANDER grounded out to 3b. PHARR flied out to
cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - AYOSO walked. BERNAL grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b;
AYOSO out on the play. WOLFE grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 4th - SCHULTZ struck out looking. RIVERA grounded out
to ss. FEATHERSTON walked. PENA reached on a fielder's choice; FEATHERSTON out
at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - CLUFF tripled to right field. GUENTHER popped up to ss.
NIELSEN singled to center field, advanced to second on a fielding error by cf,
RBI; CLUFF scored. WELLS flied out to cf; NIELSEN advanced to third. RELF
grounded out to ss. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 5th - HOLADAY grounded out to 3b. COATS doubled down
the lf line. CURRY walked. CAPPER to p for NYBERG. CURRY advanced to second on
a passed ball; COATS advanced to third on a passed ball. ELANDER flied out to
cf. PHARR struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - McNAUGHTON singled up the middle. AYOSO grounded out to p,
SAC; McNAUGHTON advanced to second. BERNAL flied out to lf. WOLFE out at first
1b to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 6th - SCHULTZ flied out to cf. RIVERA grounded out to
ss up the middle. FEATHERSTON grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
BYU 7th - APPLEBY to p for WINKLER. CLUFF doubled down the rf line.
GUENTHER reached on a fielding error by 2b, SAC; CLUFF advanced to third.
NIELSEN popped up to 1b. WELLS grounded out to 1b unassisted, RBI; GUENTHER
advanced to second; CLUFF scored, unearned. RELF singled to center field, RBI;
GUENTHER scored, unearned. McNAUGHTON flied out to cf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 7th - PENA flied out to cf. HOLADAY singled through the
left side, advanced to second on a fielding error by lf. COATS struck out
swinging. CURRY lined out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 8th - AYOSO walked. MERCK to p for APPLEBY. BERNAL grounded out to
3b, SAC; AYOSO advanced to second. WOLFE walked. CLUFF flied out to rf; AYOSO
advanced to third. GUENTHER reached on a fielder's choice; WOLFE out at second
ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 8th - SLOAN to p for CAPPER. ELANDER singled up the
middle. PHARR grounded out to p, SAC; ELANDER advanced to second. SCHULTZ lined
into double play 1b to ss; ELANDER out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
BYU 9th - NIELSEN flied out to cf. WELLS grounded out to 2b. RELF struck
out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 9th - McKNIGHT to p for SLOAN. VonTUNGELN pinch hit for
RIVERA. VonTUNGELN popped up to 2b. FEATHERSTON grounded out to 2b. PENA
walked. HOLADAY reached on a fielder's choice; PENA out at second ss to 2b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU at #4 TCU Horned Frogs (Game 1)
Mar 19, 2010 at Fort Worth, Texas (Lupton Stadium)
BYU 3 (7-11,0-2 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  4  0  1  0   0  2  3  0   1
RELF, Brandon ss.........  4  0  0  0   0  0  5  2   1
AYOSO, Bryce c...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  2   1
BERNAL, Ryan dh..........  3  1  0  0   1  3  0  0   1
FRAMPTON, Chase 1b.......  4  1  0  0   0  2  6  1   0
WOLFE, Alex 3b...........  4  0  1  2   0  1  2  0   1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf.......  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   1
NIELSEN, Dane 2b.........  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  3   1
WELLS, Stephen cf........  3  0  1  0   0  1  3  0   0
NEIL, Matthew p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 HARDESTY, Shawn p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BIRCH, Nick p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 33  3  4  2   1 11 24 11   7
TCU Horned Frogs 11 (15-2,2-0 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
PENA 2b..................  4  2  2  1   0  0  1  4   2
 WRIGHT ph/2b............  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
HOLADAY c................  2  1  1  0   1  0  7  1   1
 PHARR ph/c..............  0  0  0  0   1  0  3  0   0
COATS lf.................  5  2  2  2   0  1  1  0   2
CURRY 1b.................  5  0  2  2   0  0  9  1   0
ELANDER rf/cf............  5  2  2  1   0  1  0  0   1
SCHULTZ 3b/cf............  3  1  1  2   1  0  1  1   0
FEATHERSTON ss...........  4  2  2  0   0  0  2  7   1
VonTUNGELN cf............  1  0  0  0   1  0  1  0   0
 WITTE 3b................  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 JORDAN ph/rf............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RIVERA dh................  3  1  3  3   0  0  0  0   0
PURKE p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 MARSHALL p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35 11 15 11   4  2 27 15   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 001 002 000 -  3  4  2
TCU Horned Frogs.... 103 232 00X - 11 15  3
-------------------------------------------
E - RELF(9); WOLFE(4); PENA 2(4); HOLADAY(2). DP - BY 1; TCU 1. LOB - BY 7;
TCU 8. 2B - WOLFE(7); PENA 2(4); COATS(7); CURRY(8). HR - ELANDER(1). HBP -
CLUFF; WELLS; SCHULTZ; FEATHERSTON. SH - McNAUGHTON(2); HOLADAY(3);
RIVERA(1). SB - PENA(3); ELANDER(9). CS - RELF(1); COATS(1); SCHULTZ(1).
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
NEIL, Matthew.......  4.2  8  7  7  2  2 19 23
HARDESTY, Shawn.....  2.1  6  4  2  2  0 13 16
BIRCH, Nick.........  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  3  4
TCU Horned Frogs       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PURKE...............  7.0  3  3  1  0  8 27 29
MARSHALL............  2.0  1  0  0  1  3  6  8
Win - PURKE (3-0).  Loss - NEIL (2-2).  Save - None.
WP - PURKE 2(2). HBP - by PURKE (WELLS); by HARDESTY (FEATHERSTON); by BIRCH
(SCHULTZ); by MARSHALL (CLUFF). BK - PURKE(4).
Umpires - HP: Keith Bailey  1B: John Wolfe  3B: John Ausmus
Start: 4:04 pm   Time: 2:31   Attendance:
Weather: Warm and windy
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON singled through the left side. McNAUGHTON advanced
to second on a balk. RELF lined out to lf to left center. AYOSO out at first 1b
to p; McNAUGHTON advanced to third. BERNAL struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 1st - PENA doubled to left field. HOLADAY grounded out
to p, SAC; PENA advanced to third. COATS singled through the left side, RBI;
PENA scored. CURRY lined out to lf. COATS out at second c to ss, caught
stealing. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - FRAMPTON struck out swinging. WOLFE grounded out to 2b. CLUFF
grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 2nd - ELANDER struck out swinging. SCHULTZ lined out to
cf. FEATHERSTON grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - NIELSEN singled to left field. WELLS hit by pitch; NIELSEN
advanced to second. McNAUGHTON reached on a throwing error by c, SAC, advanced
to second on the error; WELLS advanced to second, advanced to third on the
error; NIELSEN advanced to third, scored on the error, unearned. RELF reached
on a fielder's choice; WELLS out at home ss to c. RELF out at second c to 2b,
caught stealing; McNAUGHTON advanced to third. AYOSO flied out to cf. 1 run,
1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 3rd - VonTUNGELN walked. RIVERA grounded out to 1b
unassisted, SAC; VonTUNGELN advanced to second. PENA reached on a fielder's
choice; VonTUNGELN out at third p to 3b. PENA stole second. HOLADAY walked.
COATS doubled to left center, RBI; HOLADAY advanced to third; PENA scored.
CURRY doubled to right center, 2 RBI; COATS scored; HOLADAY scored. ELANDER
flied out to cf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - BERNAL struck out swinging, reached first on a wild pitch.
FRAMPTON reached on a fielder's choice; BERNAL out at second 2b to ss. WOLFE
struck out swinging. CLUFF struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 4th - SCHULTZ fouled out to c, bunt. FEATHERSTON
singled to right center. VonTUNGELN grounded out to 2b; FEATHERSTON advanced to
second. RIVERA singled to center field, RBI; FEATHERSTON scored. PENA doubled
to right center, RBI; RIVERA scored. HOLADAY flied out to lf. 2 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - SCHULTZ to cf. WITTE to 3b for VonTUNGELN. NIELSEN grounded
out to ss. WELLS struck out swinging. McNAUGHTON reached on a fielding error by
2b. RELF grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 5th - COATS struck out looking. CURRY fouled out to ss.
ELANDER homered to left field, RBI. HARDESTY to p for NEIL. SCHULTZ walked.
FEATHERSTON hit by pitch; SCHULTZ advanced to second. WITTE reached on a
fielding error by ss; FEATHERSTON advanced to second; SCHULTZ advanced to
third. RIVERA singled to right center, 2 RBI; WITTE advanced to second;
FEATHERSTON scored, unearned; SCHULTZ scored, unearned. PENA flied out to lf.
3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - AYOSO grounded out to ss. BERNAL struck out swinging, reached
first on a wild pitch. FRAMPTON reached on a fielding error by 2b; BERNAL
advanced to second. WOLFE doubled to left center, 2 RBI; FRAMPTON scored,
unearned; BERNAL scored. CLUFF grounded out to ss. NIELSEN lined out to cf.
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 6th - HOLADAY singled up the middle. COATS reached on a
fielder's choice; HOLADAY out at second 1b to ss. CURRY flied out to cf.
ELANDER singled to right field; COATS advanced to third. ELANDER stole second.
SCHULTZ singled through the left side, 2 RBI; ELANDER scored; COATS scored.
FEATHERSTON singled to shortstop; SCHULTZ advanced to second. SCHULTZ out at
third c to 3b, caught stealing. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - WELLS grounded out to 2b. McNAUGHTON struck out looking. RELF
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 7th - JORDAN pinch hit for WITTE. JORDAN popped up to
2b. RIVERA singled to third base, advanced to second on a throwing error by 3b.
WRIGHT pinch hit for PENA. WRIGHT flied out to rf. PHARR pinch hit for HOLADAY.
PHARR walked. COATS out at first p to ss to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2
LOB.
BYU 8th - WRIGHT to 2b. PHARR to c. ELANDER to cf. SCHULTZ to 3b. JORDAN
to rf. MARSHALL to p for PURKE. AYOSO struck out swinging. BERNAL walked.
FRAMPTON struck out swinging. WOLFE reached on a fielder's choice; BERNAL out
at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU Horned Frogs 8th - BIRCH to p for HARDESTY. CURRY singled to right
field. ELANDER reached on a fielder's choice; CURRY out at second 2b to ss.
SCHULTZ hit by pitch; ELANDER advanced to second. FEATHERSTON grounded into
double play ss to 1b; SCHULTZ out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 9th - CLUFF hit by pitch. NIELSEN grounded into double play 2b to ss
to 1b; CLUFF out on the play. WELLS singled up the middle. McNAUGHTON struck
out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.