Cougs Suffer First Home Loss

PROVO -- For the first time this season BYU (40-18, 15-4) lost at home, dropping an 11-3 decision to San Diego State (32-23, 8-11) Friday night.

The loss, only the Cougars' second in their last 22 games, means the team will not get its first undefeated home season in program history with just one game remaining on the schedule. BYU committed a total of six errors and surrendered 11 runs off 10 hits.

"I feared a little bit of a letdown," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "After clinching the [Mountain West Conference] title yesterday, it's disappointing but not unexpected. We'll go in and talk about it, and we'll regroup and come out stronger tomorrow."

Monica Alnes swatted a two-run shot to center field in the top of the first to give the Aztecs the early lead. SDSU struck again in the third when Alnes drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Brittany Knudsen. Two batters later, Christy Hollingshead hit an RBI-blooper to shallow center field for the 4-0 lead.

Freshman Angeline Quiocho got the Cougars' first hit of the night with a double to left field to lead off the third inning. Monica Gonzales slapped Quiocho to third, and senior Cortney Nix-Clark put two on the board for BYU with a two-run homer that bounced off the top of the right field wall before falling over the wall. However, the Aztecs would score again giving the Cougars a 5-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the fourth.

San Diego State would pull away for good in the fifth inning when Melissa Owens hit a two-RBI double that put the Aztecs ahead 7-2.

Senior Jennifer Whiteley began a rally in the sixth inning with a lead-off single up the middle. Fellow senior Jodi Norton followed with an infield chopper that SDSU second baseman Amanda Beasley couldn't quite get a handle on, putting two on with no one out for Emi Snow. Snow also put down an infield single, which loaded the bases for Andrea Ramirez.

Ramirez reached on a fielder's choice, but Whiteley was out at the plate. That set the stage for Dani Urincho-Snow to reach on a fielder's choice and bring in Norton. But the Cougars would get no closer, as two Aztec hits were compounded by two BYU errors in the seventh inning to give the game its final score of 11-3.

BYU plays its final regular season game Saturday at 2 p.m. (MST) against San Diego State. Following the game will be a ceremony to honor the Cougars' four departing seniors.

San Diego State at Brigham Young Univer
                May 11, 2007 at Provo, Utah (Gail Miller Field)
San Diego State 11 (32-23,8-11 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Brittany Knudsen lf......  2  4  1  0   3  0  2  1   0
Tamani Wells cf..........  3  2  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Taryin Casillas ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Melissa Owens 1b/dp......  3  0  2  3   2  0  5  2   0
 Stefanie Quiochocho pr..  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Monica Alnes ss..........  3  1  2  4   2  0  3  2   2
Dani Sidoti rf...........  5  0  2  1   0  1  0  0   0
Christy Hollingshead dp/1  4  0  1  2   0  0  1  0   3
Megan McDonald c.........  5  0  0  0   0  0  4  0   1
Christine Kulick 3b......  3  1  1  0   1  2  1  0   4
Amanda Beasley 2b........  4  2  1  0   0  0  5  3   1
Christina Ross p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 33 11 10 10   8  3 21  9  11
Brigham Young Univer 3 (40-18,15-4 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Cortney Nix-Clark c......  3  1  1  2   0  1  2  1   1
 Shaylyn Jenkins c.......  0  0  0  0   1  0  2  0   0
Jennifer Whiteley lf.....  4  0  2  0   0  0  2  0   0
Jodi Norton ss...........  3  1  0  0   0  0  3  1   2
Emi Snow rf/cf...........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
Andrea Ramirez dp........  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Daniela Urincho 1b.......  3  0  0  1   0  0  5  0   0
Tracee Hoch 2b...........  3  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   2
Angeline Quiocho 3b......  2  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Jana Anderson ph........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Monica Gonzales cf.......  2  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
 Stephanie Platt rf......  1  0  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
Christie Zinanti p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Christina Gwyn p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Totals................... 28  3  7  3   1  3 21  4   6
Score by Innings                   R  H  E
------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 202 120 40 - 11 10  1
Brigham Young Univer 002 001 0X -  3  7  6
------------------------------------------
E - KULICK; NORTON; URINCHO 2; QUIOCHO; ZINANTI; GWYN. DP - SDSU 1. LOB -
SDSU 11; BYU Cougars 6. 2B - KNUDSEN; SIDOTI; QUIOCHO. HR - ALNES;
NIX-CLARK. HBP - NORTON. SH - WELLS. SF - HOLLINGSHEAD. CS - SIDOTI.
San Diego State        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christina Ross......  7.0  7  3  3  1  3 28 30
Brigham Young Univer   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christie Zinanti....  2.0  2  4  3  3  0  8 12
Christina Gwyn......  5.0  8  7  2  5  3 25 31
Win - ROSS (23-12).  Loss - ZINANTI (18-8).  Save - None.
WP - ROSS; GWYN. HBP - by ROSS (NORTON). PB - NIX-CLARK.
Umpires - HP: Terry Balser  1B: Bob Marcialis  3B: Brett Higgins
Start: 6:00 pm   Time: 2:45   Attendance: 424
ZINANTI faced 3 batters in the 3rd.
Game: BYU_SD3
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings                   R  H  E
------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 202 120 40 - 11 10  1
Brigham Young Univer 002 001 0X -  3  7  6
------------------------------------------
San Diego State starters: 39/lf KNUDSEN; 17/cf WELLS; 23/1b OWENS; 9/ss ALNES;
8/rf SIDOTI; 7/dp HOLLINGSHEAD; 20/c MCDONALD; 18/3b KULICK; 24/2b BEASLEY;
10/p ROSS;
Brigham Young Univer starters: 10/c NIX-CLARK; 3/lf WHITELEY; 8/ss NORTON;
18/rf SNOW; 31/dp RAMIREZ; 22/1b URINCHO; 4/2b HOCH; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 24/cf
GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
San Diego State 1st - KNUDSEN walked. WELLS grounded out to p, SAC,
bunt; KNUDSEN advanced to second. OWENS popped up to c. KNUDSEN advanced to
third on a passed ball. ALNES homered, 2 RBI; KNUDSEN scored. SIDOTI reached on
an error by ss. SIDOTI out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 2 runs, 1
hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 1st - NIX-CLARK struck out swinging. WHITELEY
grounded out to p. OWENS to dp. HOLLINGSHEAD to 1b. NORTON hit by pitch. SNOW
grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 2nd - HOLLINGSHEAD grounded out to 1b unassisted.
MCDONALD flied out to cf. KULICK singled. BEASLEY popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 2nd - OWENS to 1b. HOLLINGSHEAD to dp. RAMIREZ
struck out looking. URINCHO popped up to ss. HOCH struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 3rd - KNUDSEN walked. WELLS reached on a fielder's
choice; KNUDSEN advanced to second on an error by p. OWENS walked; WELLS
advanced to second; KNUDSEN advanced to third. GWYN to p for ZINANTI. ALNES
walked, RBI; OWENS advanced to second; WELLS advanced to third; KNUDSEN scored,
unearned. SIDOTI popped up to 2b. HOLLINGSHEAD singled, RBI; ALNES advanced to
second; OWENS advanced to third; WELLS scored. MCDONALD flied out to cf. KULICK
struck out looking. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 3rd - QUIOCHO doubled. GONZALES out at first 1b to
2b; QUIOCHO advanced to third. NIX-CLARK homered, 2 RBI; QUIOCHO scored.
WHITELEY grounded out to ss. NORTON flied out to 2b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 4th - BEASLEY flied out to lf. KNUDSEN doubled. WELLS
grounded out to ss. OWENS walked. ALNES walked; OWENS advanced to second;
KNUDSEN advanced to third. SIDOTI singled, RBI; ALNES advanced to second; OWENS
advanced to third; KNUDSEN scored. HOLLINGSHEAD grounded out to 1b unassisted.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 4th - SNOW popped up to 2b. RAMIREZ popped up to
2b. URINCHO grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 5th - MCDONALD lined out to ss. KULICK walked. BEASLEY
singled; KULICK advanced to second. KNUDSEN reached on an error by 3b; BEASLEY
advanced to second on an error by 3b; KULICK advanced to third on an error by
3b. CASILLAS pinch hit for WELLS. CASILLAS popped up to p. OWENS singled, 2
RBI; KNUDSEN advanced to third; BEASLEY scored, unearned; KULICK scored,
unearned. ALNES flied out to lf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 5th - WELLS to cf for CASILLAS. HOCH lined out to
2b. QUIOCHO flied out to lf. GONZALES singled, advanced to second on an error
by 3b. GONZALES advanced to third on a wild pitch. NIX-CLARK grounded out to
2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 6th - SNOW to cf. PLATT to rf for GONZALES. JENKINS to c
for NIX-CLARK. SIDOTI doubled. HOLLINGSHEAD grounded out to p; SIDOTI advanced
to third. MCDONALD popped up to ss. KULICK struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 6th - WHITELEY singled. NORTON reached on a
fielder's choice; WHITELEY advanced to second. SNOW singled; NORTON advanced to
second; WHITELEY advanced to third. RAMIREZ reached on a fielder's choice; SNOW
advanced to second; NORTON advanced to third; WHITELEY out at home 1b to c.
URINCHO reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; RAMIREZ out at second 2b to ss;
SNOW advanced to third; NORTON scored. HOCH grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 2
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 7th - BEASLEY reached on an error by p. KNUDSEN walked;
BEASLEY advanced to second. WELLS reached on an error by 1b; KNUDSEN advanced
to third; BEASLEY advanced to third, scored on a throwing error by 1b,
unearned. WELLS advanced to second on a wild pitch. OWENS singled, RBI; WELLS
advanced to third; KNUDSEN scored. QUICHOCHO pinch ran for OWENS. ALNES
singled, RBI; QUICHOCHO advanced to third; WELLS scored, unearned. SIDOTI
struck out swinging. HOLLINGSHEAD flied out to rf, SAC, RBI; QUICHOCHO scored,
unearned. MCDONALD popped up to 2b. 4 runs, 2 hits, 3 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 7th - OWENS to 1b for QUICHOCHO. ANDERSON pinch hit
for QUIOCHO. ANDERSON lined out to 3b. PLATT singled. JENKINS walked; PLATT
advanced to second. WHITELEY singled; JENKINS advanced to second; PLATT
advanced to third. NORTON flied into double play lf to ss; JENKINS out on the
play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 8th - QUIOCHO to 3b for ANDERSON. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.