Law's Triple Play Leads to TCU Matchup

SAN DIEGO -- Shortstop Andrew Law's unassisted triple play Thursday highlighted BYU's 8-2 victory over San Diego State before the Cougars were eliminated by No. 7 TCU, 12-5 in the nightcap.

Thursday’s games not only ended the Cougars’ 31-27 season at the Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament, but also ended the 12-year era of BYU’s athletic participation in the league. Many of BYU’s teams move on to the West Coast Conference next season.

The fans Tony Gwynn Stadium, however, were still buzzing about Law’s triple play which occurred in the day’s doubleheader.

“I was yelling fire, fire,” said second baseman Dane Nielsen in reminding Law what to execute in the seventh inning of the BYU-SDSU game with a 7-1 lead.

“The ball came off the bat and didn’t drift as far as I thought when I camped under it,” said Law, describing how he `sold’ the umpires to call the infield fly rule. “I knew then we had one out and I looked to see a bunch of guys around second. I’ve played college baseball for five years and always wanted to do something funky if I could.”

The confusion was reminiscent of Abbot and Costello’s famous “Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third.”

Scored as a 6-U-U-U, with one out in the books from the infield fly rule, Law completed the triple play with the bases loaded. He alertly tagged Cody Smith before the Aztec could return to second base, and then ran down Pat Colwell who tried to advance, then retreat back to first base.

The triple play was the fourth in BYU history, the second one in which Law has been involved. In 2009 at Provo, he was part of a 5-4-3 triple play against New Mexico.

That triple play put a dagger in any comeback San Diego State was trying to mount.

BYU had built that 7-1 lead over the Aztecs, capitalizing on other SDSU miscues.

Cougar Dillon Robinson’s high fly plopped between three converging fielders in left-center for a double to lead off the third. On the first Aztec offering two batters later, Law laced a single to left-center scoring Robinson on a close play at the plate to put BYU up 1-0.

BYU leftfielder Ryan Bernal hustled hard on the turn past first for a lead-off double in the fourth and he scored when Alex Wolfe hit to the right side, drawing an errant overthrow from second to first for a 2-0 advantage. Wolfe avoided a swipe tag off Wes Guenther’s 1-5-6 fielder’s choice and put BYU up 3-0 when he crossed home on Nielsen’s single.

That 3-0 lead was a boon to pitcher Desmond Poulson who improved his record to 6-0 off of an eight strikeout performance in six innings.

The 3-0 lead TCU took over the Cougars in the first inning later in the afternoon was a downbeat.

“I am disappointed our season is over,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “We had high aspirations.

“When TCU took a 3-0 lead, the wind was taken out of our sails and we had to play catch up.”

The attempted comebacks against TCU started when Bernal smacked first pitch leading off the second inning for a home run which cleared two fences, closing the gap to 3-1.

Wolfe hit an opposite field double off the leftfield wall to score Bernal and close the gap in the fourth to 4-2. Robinson pegged Kyle Von Tungeln at home on wide slide of to prevent a Horned Frog score in the fourth.

Stephen Wells hit a two-run single between second and first off full count to score Austin Hall and Guenther in the seventh, closing the margin to 8-5.

Top-seeded TCU improved to 41-16 amassing four more runs in the eighth to seal the 12-5 win and remain alive in the loser's bracket.

 

Game One

San Diego State at Brigham Young Univ.

May 26, 2011 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)

San Diego State 2 (22-36)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

SMITH, Cody cf........... 4 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0

COLWELL, Pat 3b.......... 3 0 2 0 2 0 0 3 0

TORRES, Jomel 1b......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 9 0 2

WILSON, Chris lf......... 5 1 1 0 0 4 5 0 5

MEREDITH, Brandon rf..... 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 2

BLUMAN, Mitch dh......... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0

ZIER, Tim 2b............. 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 0

HAYNAL, Brad c........... 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 2

SLADER, Cody 3b......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

POTTER, Evan ss.......... 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0

VASKO, Ben ph........... 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

MILLER, Ethan p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

WYNVEEN, Ryan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

KENDZORA, TJ p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 32 2 9 2 5 10 24 11 11

Brigham Young Univ. 8 (31-27)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

WELLS, Stephen cf........ 5 0 1 1 0 1 4 0 0

LAW, Andrew ss........... 5 0 1 1 0 4 3 4 2

BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf....... 4 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 3

BERNAL, Ryan lf.......... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

WOLFE, Alex c............ 2 2 1 1 1 0 10 1 0

HALL, Austin 1b.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0

GUENTHER, Wes dh......... 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 1

ROBINSON, Dillon 3b...... 4 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 1

NIELSEN, Dane 2b......... 3 0 2 2 1 1 2 1 0

POULSON, Desmond p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NYBERG, Chunner p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 33 8 10 7 3 9 27 7 7

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

San Diego State..... 000 100 001 - 2 9 1

Brigham Young Univ.. 001 312 10X - 8 10 1

-------------------------------------------

E - ZIER; BRUGMAN. DP - BYU 1. Triple plays - BYU 1. LOB - SDSU 11; BYU 7.

2B - SMITH; WILSON; ZIER; BERNAL; WOLFE; ROBINSON. HBP - SMITH; TORRES. SH -

BERNAL; HALL. SF - VASKO; WOLFE. SB - WELLS.

San Diego State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

MILLER, Ethan....... 4.0 5 4 2 1 4 18 20

WYNVEEN, Ryan....... 1.0 2 3 3 1 0 3 6

KENDZORA, TJ........ 3.0 3 1 1 1 5 12 13

Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

POULSON, Desmond.... 6.0 6 1 1 4 8 24 29

NYBERG, Chunner..... 3.0 3 1 1 1 2 8 11

Win - POULSON (6-0). Loss - MILLER (4-5). Save - None.

WP - MILLER; WYNVEEN 2; NYBERG. HBP - by POULSON (SMITH); by NYBERG (TORRES). BK

- POULSON.

Umpires - HP: John Cortez 1B: Blake Jensen 2B: Jason Rogers 3B: MArk Denzin

Start: 11:04 am Time: 2:48 Attendance:

Weather: Sunny

San Diego State starters: 32/cf SMITH; 10/3b COLWELL; 8/1b TORRES; 5/lf WILSON;

0/rf MEREDITH; 21/dh BLUMAN; 12/2b ZIER; 23/c HAYNAL,B.; 14/ss POTTER; 33/p

MILLER;

Brigham Young Univ. starters: 5/cf WELLS; 6/ss LAW; 4/rf BRUGMAN; 10/lf BERNAL;

18/c WOLFE; 26/1b HALL; 9/dh GUENTHER; 3/3b ROBINSON; 16/2b NIELSEN; 19/p

POULSON;

San Diego State 1st - SMITH flied out to lf. COLWELL walked. TORRES

singled to right field; COLWELL advanced to third. WILSON struck out swinging.

MEREDITH flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 1st - WELLS grounded out to 2b. LAW struck out, out

at first c to 1b. BRUGMAN fouled out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0

LOB.

San Diego State 2nd - BLUMAN struck out swinging. ZIER grounded out to

ss. HAYNAL,B. flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - BERNAL grounded out to 3b. WOLFE walked. WOLFE

advanced to second on a wild pitch. HALL grounded out to ss. GUENTHER struck

out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

San Diego State 3rd - POTTER grounded out to ss. SMITH hit by pitch.

SMITH advanced to second on a balk. COLWELL flied out to cf; SMITH advanced to

third. TORRES struck out, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1

LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - ROBINSON doubled to left center. NIELSEN

struck out looking. WELLS flied out to cf. LAW singled to left field, RBI,

advanced to second on the throw; ROBINSON scored. BRUGMAN flied out to rf. 1

run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

San Diego State 4th - WILSON doubled down the lf line. MEREDITH struck

out swinging. BLUMAN flied out to cf; WILSON advanced to third. ZIER singled

through the left side, RBI; WILSON scored. HAYNAL,B. popped up to 2b. 1 run,

2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 4th - BERNAL doubled to right field. WOLFE reached

on an error by 2b; BERNAL scored. HALL grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; WOLFE

advanced to second. GUENTHER reached on a fielder's choice, assist by p, assist

by 3b. ROBINSON flied out to lf. NIELSEN singled to center field, RBI, advanced

to second on the throw; GUENTHER advanced to third; WOLFE scored, unearned.

WELLS singled to shortstop, RBI; NIELSEN advanced to third; GUENTHER scored,

unearned. WELLS stole second. LAW struck out swinging. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1

error, 2 LOB.

San Diego State 5th - POTTER struck out looking. SMITH singled to right

field. COLWELL singled to left field; SMITH advanced to second. TORRES flied

out to cf; SMITH advanced to third. WILSON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 2

hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 5th - WYNVEEN to p for MILLER. BRUGMAN walked.

BRUGMAN advanced to second on a wild pitch. BERNAL grounded out to 3b, SAC,

bunt; BRUGMAN advanced to third. WOLFE flied out to rf, SF, RBI; BRUGMAN

scored. HALL grounded out to ss. 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

San Diego State 6th - MEREDITH grounded out to ss. BLUMAN struck out

looking. ZIER walked. HAYNAL,B. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0

errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 6th - GUENTHER singled to center field. GUENTHER

advanced to second on a wild pitch. ROBINSON singled to left field, RBI,

advanced to second on the throw; GUENTHER scored. KENDZORA to p for WYNVEEN.

NIELSEN singled up the middle, RBI, advanced to second on the throw; ROBINSON

scored. WELLS grounded out to 2b; NIELSEN advanced to third. LAW struck out

looking. BRUGMAN struck out swinging. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

San Diego State 7th - POTTER walked. SMITH doubled to center field;

POTTER advanced to third. COLWELL walked. NYBERG to p for POULSON. TORRES

popped into triple play ss unassisted; COLWELL out on the play; SMITH out on

the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 7th - COLWELL to lf. WILSON to c. SLADER to 3b for

HAYNAL,B.. BERNAL flied out to cf. WOLFE doubled to left field. HALL grounded

out to ss. GUENTHER singled through the right side, RBI; WOLFE scored. ROBINSON

struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

San Diego State 8th - WILSON struck out swinging. MEREDITH walked.

BLUMAN grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; MEREDITH out on the play. 0

runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 8th - NIELSEN walked. WELLS struck out swinging. LAW

struck out swinging. BRUGMAN flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1

LOB.

San Diego State 9th - ZIER doubled to right center. SLADER grounded out

to 1b unassisted; ZIER advanced to third. VASKO pinch hit for POTTER. VASKO

reached on a dropped fly by rf, SF, RBI; ZIER scored. SMITH singled up the

middle; VASKO advanced to second. VASKO advanced to third on a wild pitch.

COLWELL singled to right field; SMITH advanced to third; VASKO out at home rf

to c. COLWELL advanced to second. Colwell advanced to second on defensive

indifference. TORRES hit by pitch. WILSON struck out swinging. 1 run, 3

hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.

Game Two

Brigham Young Univ. vs TCU

May 26, 2011 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)

Brigham Young Univ. 5 (31-27)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

WELLS, Stephen cf........ 4 0 1 2 0 1 4 1 1

LUKER, Brock ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

LAW, Andrew ss........... 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3

BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf....... 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

BERNAL, Ryan lf.......... 4 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 0

WOLFE, Alex dh........... 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0

HALL, Austin 1b.......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 5 2 2

GUENTHER, Wes c.......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 7 0 0

ROBINSON, Dillon 3b...... 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0

LOPEZ, Bret ph.......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

NIELSEN, Dane 2b......... 3 1 2 0 1 0 2 5 0

CAPPER, Chris p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ANDERSON, Mark p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HOWARD, Chris p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SHUTT, Justin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

MILLER, Jared p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 35 5 8 4 3 9 24 10 6

TCU 12 (41-16)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

RIVERA, Brance rf........ 4 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0

WITTE, Jantzen 3b........ 4 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 1

COATS, Jason lf.......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1

WEIK, Joe 1b............. 5 3 3 1 0 1 6 1 0

ELANDER, Josh c.......... 4 3 2 3 1 0 10 0 0

FEATHERSTON, Taylor ss... 5 1 2 2 0 0 2 1 1

JOHNSON, Brett dh........ 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0

JORDAN, Zac ph.......... 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0

PENA, Jerome 2b.......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 2 1

VON TUNGELN, Kyle cf..... 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 3

MITCHELL, Andrew p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

NOWELL, Teddy p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Totals................... 36 12 13 12 4 6 27 7 7

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

Brigham Young Univ.. 010 100 300 - 5 8 3

TCU................. 301 040 04X - 12 13 0

-------------------------------------------

E - GUENTHER; ROBINSON; CAPPER. LOB - BYU 6; TC 7. 2B - WOLFE. 3B - RIVERA.

HR - BERNAL(6); ELANDER(5). HBP - COATS; JOHNSON. SH - RIVERA. SB - NIELSEN;

ELANDER.

Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

CAPPER, Chris....... 2.2 5 4 4 1 4 13 16

ANDERSON, Mark...... 2.1 5 4 4 1 0 11 13

HOWARD, Chris....... 2.2 0 1 1 2 2 8 10

SHUTT, Justin....... 0.0 2 3 0 0 0 3 3

MILLER, Jared....... 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1

TCU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

MITCHELL, Andrew.... 7.0 5 5 5 3 7 26 29

NOWELL, Teddy....... 2.0 3 0 0 0 2 9 9

Win - MITCHELL (5-1). Loss - CAPPER (3-6). Save - NOWELL (1).

WP - CAPPER; ANDERSON. HBP - by CAPPER (COATS); by CAPPER (JOHNSON). BK -

MILLER. PB - ELANDER.

Umpires - HP: Bill Van Raaphorst 1B: Dale Luker 2B: Ray Belfiore 3B: Rick

Scarbery Start: 3:04 pm Time: 2:29 Attendance:

Weather: Sunny, 71, wind ssw8

Brigham Young Univ. starters: 5/cf WELLS; 6/ss LAW; 4/rf BRUGMAN; 10/lf BERNAL;

18/dh WOLFE; 26/1b HALL; 9/c GUENTHER; 3/3b ROBINSON; 16/2b NIELSEN; 15/p

CAPPER;

TCU starters: 5/rf RIVERA; 35/3b WITTE; 38/lf COATS; 33/1b WEIK; 24/c ELANDER;

12/ss FEATHERSTON; 7/dh JOHNSON; 2/2b PENA; 1/cf VON TUNGELN; 34/p MITCHELL;

Brigham Young Univ. 1st - WELLS grounded out to p. LAW struck out

swinging. BRUGMAN grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

TCU 1st - RIVERA struck out swinging. WITTE singled through the left

side. WITTE advanced to second on an error by p, failed pickoff attempt. COATS

hit by pitch. WEIK singled to left field; COATS advanced to second; WITTE

advanced to third. ELANDER singled through the left side, RBI; WEIK advanced to

second; COATS advanced to third; WITTE scored. FEATHERSTON singled to left

field, RBI; ELANDER advanced to second; WEIK advanced to third; COATS scored.

JOHNSON hit by pitch, RBI; FEATHERSTON advanced to second; ELANDER advanced to

third; WEIK scored. Dropped foul ball, E2. PENA struck out swinging. VON

TUNGELN flied out to cf. 3 runs, 4 hits, 2 errors, 3 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - BERNAL homered to right center, RBI. WOLFE

popped up to 3b. HALL fouled out to c. GUENTHER popped up to 3b. 1 run, 1

hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

TCU 2nd - RIVERA struck out swinging. WITTE grounded out to 3b. COATS

struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - ROBINSON grounded out to 2b. NIELSEN popped up

to 2b. WELLS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

TCU 3rd - WEIK lined out to 3b. ELANDER walked. FEATHERSTON flied out to

lf. ELANDER stole second. ELANDER advanced to third on a wild pitch. JOHNSON

singled to left field, RBI; ELANDER scored. ANDERSON to p for CAPPER. PENA

flied out to cf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 4th - LAW struck out looking. BRUGMAN grounded out

to p. BERNAL singled to left center. BERNAL advanced to second on a passed

ball. WOLFE doubled to left field, RBI; BERNAL scored. HALL struck out

swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

TCU 4th - VON TUNGELN singled to first base, bunt. VON TUNGELN advanced

to second on a wild pitch. RIVERA out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; VON TUNGELN

advanced to third. WITTE reached on a fielder's choice; VON TUNGELN out at home

3b to c. COATS flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 5th - GUENTHER struck out looking. ROBINSON struck

out swinging. NIELSEN singled up the middle. WELLS reached on a fielder's

choice; NIELSEN out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

TCU 5th - WEIK singled to center field. ELANDER homered to center field,

2 RBI; WEIK scored. FEATHERSTON flied out to lf. JOHNSON grounded out to 2b.

PENA walked. VON TUNGELN singled to right field; PENA advanced to second.

RIVERA tripled to left center, 2 RBI; VON TUNGELN scored; PENA scored. WITTE

flied out to rf. 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 6th - LAW popped up to ss. BRUGMAN flied out to rf.

BERNAL grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

TCU 6th - HOWARD to p for ANDERSON. COATS walked. WEIK struck out

swinging. ELANDER reached on a fielder's choice; COATS out at second 2b to ss.

FEATHERSTON grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 7th - WOLFE flied out to cf. HALL walked. GUENTHER

walked; HALL advanced to second. ROBINSON struck out swinging. NIELSEN walked;

GUENTHER advanced to second; HALL advanced to third. WELLS singled through the

right side, 2 RBI; NIELSEN advanced to third; GUENTHER scored; HALL scored.

NIELSEN stole home. LAW flied out to cf. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

TCU 7th - JOHNSON struck out swinging. PENA flied out to cf. VON TUNGELN

flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 8th - NOWELL to p for MITCHELL. BRUGMAN out at first

1b to p. BERNAL singled through the right side. WOLFE struck out swinging. HALL

reached on a fielder's choice; BERNAL out at first 3b to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit,

0 errors, 1 LOB.

TCU 8th - RIVERA grounded out to 2b. WITTE walked. COATS grounded out to

2b; WITTE advanced to second. SHUTT to p for HOWARD. WEIK singled to right

center, RBI; WITTE scored. ELANDER reached on an error by 3b; WEIK advanced to

third. FEATHERSTON singled to third base, RBI; ELANDER advanced to second; WEIK

scored, unearned. MILLER to p for SHUTT. JORDAN pinch hit for JOHNSON.

FEATHERSTON advanced to second on a balk; ELANDER advanced to third on a balk.

JORDAN singled to center field, 2 RBI, out at second cf to 1b to 2b;

FEATHERSTON scored, unearned; ELANDER scored, unearned. 4 runs, 3 hits, 1

error, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 9th - GUENTHER flied out to lf. LOPEZ pinch hit for

ROBINSON. LOPEZ singled to center field. NIELSEN singled to left field; LOPEZ

advanced to second. LUKER pinch hit for WELLS. LUKER struck out swinging. LAW

reached on a fielder's choice; NIELSEN out at second ss unassisted. 0 runs,

2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.