Bernal's Homer Provides 7-6 Win

PORTLAND -- For the second straight day with the same score, BYU baseball defeated the University of Portland on Tuesday, 7-6.

Freshman starter Desmond Poulson (Taylorsville, Utah) earned his first win as BYU improved to 8-4. Poulson set the Pilots down in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings before tiring. Senior lefty Jared Miller (Redlands, Calif.), one of four relievers, was credited with his first save when he retired all three batters of the ninth inning.

Senior Ryan Bernal (Grand Junction. Colo.), who extended his hitting streak to eight games, gave BYU a 7-5 cushion in the seventh inning with a solo homer, his second of the year. That was the second homer of the season by Bernal, who played left field in this game, and proved to be the winning run.

Freshman rightfielder Kelton Caldwell (Draper, Utah) made a diving catch to end the eighth inning with runners on second and third, preserving the 7-6 lead as BYU went through two relievers.

"Caldwell's catch was fantastic," said BYU coach Vance Law. "It was one of the best outfield plays I have seen at BYU. The ball was hit to deep right-center and he dove towards the fence for a spectacular catch.

"Our pitching was outstanding. The reason we changed relievers so often was because of matchups. We have pitchers who do certain roles. In spite of four errors, we played solid defense and were outstanding against a very good team."

Caldwell increased BYU’s lead in the fifth inning to 6-1 with a two-run single.

After leading off the fifth frame with a double to the corner, junior Stephen Wells (Kenmore, Wash.) advanced on Andrew Law’s sac-bunt and scored on Alex Wolfe’s single to extend BYU’s margin to 4-1.

Freshman Dillon Robinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah) got the first of consecutive singles in the second inning and scored on Kelton Caldwell’s fielder’s choice to tie the score, 1-1. A two-out, two-run double by Dane Nielsen scored Caldwell and Chase Frampton to give BYU a 3-1 advantage.

The Cougars start a three-game series on Thursday at the University of Oregon.

Brigham Young at Portland
Mar 08, 2011 at Portland, Ore. (Joe Etzel Field)
Brigham Young 7 (8-4)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WELLS cf.................  5  1  1  0   0  2  2  0   1
LAW ss...................  4  0  0  0   0  1  1  8   0
WOLFE c..................  5  1  1  1   0  2  6  0   0
BERNAL lf................  4  2  3  1   0  0  1  0   0
ROBINSON 3b..............  4  1  1  0   0  2  2  1   1
HALL 1b..................  4  0  3  0   0  0 11  0   0
CALDWELL rf..............  4  1  1  3   0  1  1  0   0
FRAMPTON dh..............  4  1  1  0   0  1  0  0   2
NIELSEN 2b...............  4  0  1  2   0  0  3  3   1
POULSON p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 SECHREST p..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOWARD p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 NYBERG p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MILLER p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 38  7 12  7   0  9 27 12   5
Portland 6 (6-4)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SMITH, Craig cf..........  5  1  1  0   0  2  5  0   1
THOMPSON, Chet lf........  4  1  3  0   0  1  0  0   0
 FELDTMAN, Colin ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
HENRICKS, Riley 2b.......  5  0  1  0   0  0  0  6   0
GILL, Turner dh..........  3  1  1  2   1  0  0  0   0
 QUEEN, Garrett ph.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MARDESICH, Matt 3b.......  5  1  0  0   0  3  0  1   2
SCOTT, Kramer rf.........  3  1  1  1   0  0  0  0   2
 FRASER, Beau ph.........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 WESTENDORF, Sam pr......  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
ARMIJO, Kevin 1b.........  4  0  2  2   0  0 10  0   0
GRUBB, Ben c.............  4  0  1  1   0  0  8  1   0
KAUPPILA, Kris ss........  4  0  1  0   0  0  3  1   1
BUNDA, J.R. p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 BURRIS, Scott p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 THOMPSON, Tyler p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 BRYNTESON, Keeler p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 40  6 12  6   1  6 27 10   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 030 030 100 -  7 12  4
Portland............ 100 004 010 -  6 12  0
-------------------------------------------
E - LAW (6); WOLFE(3); CALDWELL (1), ROBINSON(1). DP - BYU 1. LOB - BYU 5; Portland 8. 2B
- WELLS(7); BERNAL(5); NIELSEN(4); THOMPSON, C(1); SCOTT, K(3); GRUBB, B(3).
HR - BERNAL(2). SH - LAW(6). SB - HALL(7); ARMIJO, K(1).
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
POULSON.............  5.1  8  5  4  0  4 25 25  70
SECHREST............  1.2  1  0  0  1  0  6  7  21
HOWARD..............  0.0  2  1  1  0  0  2  2   8
NYBERG..............  0.2  1  0  0  0  1  3  3  10
MILLER..............  1.1  0  0  0  0  1  4  4  16
Portland               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
BUNDA, J.R..........  4.1  9  6  6  0  4 21 22  62
BURRIS, Scott.......  0.1  2  0  0  0  1  3  3   5
THOMPSON, Tyler.....  3.1  1  1  1  0  4 11 11  40
BRYNTESON, Keeler...  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  3  3   7
Win - POULSON (1-0).  Loss - BUNDA, J (0-1).  Save - MILLER (1).
Inherited runners/scored: SECHREST 1/0; NYBERG 2/1; MILLER 2/0; BURRIS, S 2/2;
THOMPSON, T 2/0. Pitches/strikes: POULSON 70/55; SECHREST 21/11; HOWARD 8/3;
NYBERG 10/9; MILLER 16/10; BUNDA, J 62/42; BURRIS, S 5/5; THOMPSON, T 40/28;
BRYNTESON, K 7/5.
Umpires - HP: Mike Whitty  1B: John Black  3B: Terry Fischer
Start: 2:00 PM   Time: 2:27   Attendance: 323
Weather: Some clouds
Brigham Young starters: 5/cf WELLS; 6/ss LAW; 18/c WOLFE; 10/lf BERNAL; 3/3b
ROBINSON; 26/1b HALL; 12/rf CALDWELL; 30/dh FRAMPTON; 16/2b NIELSEN; 19/p
POULSON;
Portland starters: 9/cf SMITH, C; 28/lf THOMPSON, C; 7/2b HENRICKS, R; 17/dh
GILL, T; 1/3b MARDESICH, M; 12/rf SCOTT, K; 4/1b ARMIJO, K; 19/c GRUBB, B; 2/ss
KAUPPILA, K; 26/p BUNDA, J;
Brigham Young 1st - WELLS grounded out to p (0-0). LAW popped up to ss
(1-1). WOLFE struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 1st - SMITH, C singled to right field (2-2). THOMPSON, C
singled to catcher, bunt, advanced to second on a throwing error by c (0-1);
SMITH, C advanced to third. HENRICKS, R popped up to 2b (1-1). GILL, T reached
on a fielder's choice, RBI (0-1); SMITH, C scored, unearned. MARDESICH, M
struck out swinging (0-2). SCOTT, K grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-1). 1
run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - BERNAL grounded out to 2b (1-0). ROBINSON singled to
right field (1-0). HALL singled to right field (2-2); ROBINSON advanced to
third. CALDWELL reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (0-0); HALL out at second 2b
to ss; ROBINSON scored. FRAMPTON singled to center field (1-0); CALDWELL
advanced to second. NIELSEN doubled, advanced to third on the throw, 2 RBI
(2-2); FRAMPTON scored; CALDWELL scored. WELLS struck out swinging (1-2). 3
runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 2nd - ARMIJO, K reached on a fielding error by ss (0-0). GRUBB,
B flied out to cf (0-0). KAUPPILA, K singled to center field (0-0); ARMIJO, K
advanced to second. SMITH, C grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-2);
KAUPPILA, K out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - LAW struck out looking (1-2). WOLFE struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b (2-2). BERNAL doubled to left center (1-1).
ROBINSON flied out to cf (1-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 3rd - THOMPSON, C struck out looking (0-2). HENRICKS, R lined
out to lf (2-2). GILL, T grounded out to 2b (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - HALL singled to shortstop (0-0). CALDWELL flied out
to cf (1-0). FRAMPTON lined out to cf (2-0). HALL stole second. NIELSEN lined
out to cf (1-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Portland 4th - MARDESICH, M struck out looking (2-2). SCOTT, K grounded
out to ss (2-1). ARMIJO, K grounded out to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - WELLS doubled to right field (0-0). LAW grounded out
to 3b, SAC, bunt (0-0); WELLS advanced to third. WOLFE singled up the middle,
RBI (0-0); WELLS scored. BERNAL singled up the middle (1-1); WOLFE advanced to
second. BURRIS, S to p for BUNDA, J. ROBINSON struck out swinging (0-2). HALL
singled to first base, bunt (0-0); BERNAL advanced to second; WOLFE advanced to
third. CALDWELL singled up the middle, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI
(0-0); HALL advanced to third; BERNAL scored; WOLFE scored. THOMPSON, T to p
for BURRIS, S. FRAMPTON struck out looking (0-2). 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors,
2 LOB.
Portland 5th - GRUBB, B grounded out to 3b (0-1). KAUPPILA, K grounded
out to ss (0-2). SMITH, C struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - NIELSEN grounded out to ss (2-1). WELLS struck out
looking (3-2). LAW grounded out to 2b (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Portland 6th - THOMPSON, C singled to third base, bunt (0-0). HENRICKS,
R singled to right field (0-0); THOMPSON, C advanced to second, advanced to
third on a fielding error by rf. GILL, T singled to left field, RBI (1-2);
HENRICKS, R advanced to second; THOMPSON, C scored. MARDESICH, M reached on a
fielder's choice, advanced to second on a throwing error by 3b (0-0); GILL, T
advanced to third; HENRICKS, R out at third 3b unassisted. SCOTT, K doubled
down the lf line, RBI; MARDESICH, M advanced to third; GILL, T scored. ARMIJO,
K singled to right field, 2 RBI; SCOTT, K scored; MARDESICH, M scored. SECHREST
to p for POULSON. ARMIJO, K stole second. GRUBB, B grounded out to ss (2-2).
KAUPPILA, K reached on a fielder's choice; ARMIJO, K out at third 3b
unassisted. 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - WOLFE flied out to cf (2-1). BERNAL homered to right
field, RBI (1-0). ROBINSON struck out swinging (0-2). HALL lined out to p
(2-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 7th - SMITH, C popped up to 2b (0-0). THOMPSON, C doubled down
the rf line (2-0). HENRICKS, R grounded out to 2b (1-1); THOMPSON, C advanced
to third. GILL, T walked (3-2). MARDESICH, M reached on a fielder's choice
(1-0); GILL, T out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - CALDWELL struck out swinging (1-2). FRAMPTON
grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-0). NIELSEN grounded out to 2b (1-2). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 8th - HOWARD to p for SECHREST. FRASER, B pinch hit for SCOTT,
K. FRASER, B singled up the middle (3-1). WESTENDORF,S pinch ran for FRASER, B.
ARMIJO, K singled through the left side (2-0); WESTENDORF,S advanced to third.
NYBERG to p for HOWARD. GRUBB, B doubled to center field, RBI (0-1); ARMIJO, K
advanced to third; WESTENDORF,S scored. KAUPPILA, K grounded out to ss (0-2).
SMITH, C struck out swinging (1-2). MILLER to p for NYBERG. FELDTMAN, C pinch
hit for THOMPSON, C. FELDTMAN, C flied out to rf (2-2). 1 run, 3 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - FELDTMAN, C to lf. WESTENDORF,S to rf. BRYNTESON, K
to p for THOMPSON, T. WELLS grounded out to 2b (2-1). LAW grounded out to 2b
(0-1). WOLFE popped up to ss (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Portland 9th - HENRICKS, R grounded out to ss (3-2). QUEEN, G pinch hit
for GILL, T. QUEEN, G flied out to cf (1-0). MARDESICH, M struck out swinging
(0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.