PROVO -- Ten San Diego State runs in the first five innings proved to be too much for BYU as they fell 10-6 at Larry H. Miller Field on Friday.
The Aztecs (20-21, 9-3 in the Mountain West Conference) scored three quick runs in the first off Nick Lemon in his first start at BYU (15-25, 5-9). Lemon allowed the first five batters to reach base, giving up two walks and three singles before striking out the side to end the inning with the bases loaded.
In front of the fifth largest crowd ever at Miller Field with 2,505 fans in attendance, the hard-throwing junior transfer made it through three innings. He allowed five runs on four hits while striking out six and walking six in his third loss of the season. Lemon (1-3) also had three wild pitches and one hit batter.
"Giving Lemon the start was a calculated gamble," said BYU head coach Vance Law. "We know he's going to have times where he struggles, and we know he's going to have times where he's going to dominate. We hoped he'd have more dominating times today, but unfortunately it didn't work out."
After scoring only a first-inning run, the Cougars went scoreless and hitless into the seventh inning. At one point, Aztec starter Daryl Harang (3-4) retired 15 in a row during his third victory. In the fourth inning, Harang only needed three pitches to retire the side.
"We try to teach our guys to be aggressive early," Law said. "Today there was a lot of guys swinging early but not at their pitch. We weren't as patient today."
In the fifth inning, BYU made a blowout into a ball game with five runs to bring the Cougars within four. With two strikeouts in the inning and Kevin Bills on first, Harang walked Ranger Wiens and gave up two RBI singles to Casey Cloward and Blair Lucas. The singles were the first since a RBI double by Brandon Taylor in the first inning.
After throwing two-straight balls to Ryan Chambers, Joey Pace came in to relieve Harang. On Pace's first pitch to Chambers, Chambers lifted it over the right field fence for a three-run homer.
Reliever Kalen Parsons kept the Cougars in the ballgame with his best outing of the year, but BYU went hitless in the final two innings. Parsons pitched four innings and allowed no runs on three hits and struck out six. The Aztecs struck out fourteen times in the game.
With the win, the Aztecs remain a half game behind UNLV for first place in the MWC. The Rebels kept position of first place with a 19-17 10-inning win over Utah. The Cougars are five and a half games behind UNLV.
BYU and San Diego State play the final game in the three-game series on Saturday at noon. KOVO 960 AM will broadcast the game live. The broadcast is also available on the BYU Radio channel through the Dish Network and DirecTV and over the Internet. A link to the audio cast and live stats can be found on BYU baseball's schedule page at www.byucougars.com.
San Diego State at Brigham Young Univ.Apr 16, 2004 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
San Diego State 10 (20-21,9-3 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BURT, Landon lf.......... 3 2 2 0 3 0 1 0 0
GUERRERO, James ss....... 5 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 3
EMBREY, Rielly 1b........ 5 3 3 2 0 2 14 0 0
UNGRICHT, Brock dh....... 3 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 3
MCLINTOCK, Jake rf....... 5 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 0
CORONA, Chad 3b.......... 5 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0
COULTER, Clay c.......... 3 2 0 0 1 1 3 1 0
FLOQUET, Kyle 2b......... 4 1 0 0 1 2 0 7 0
HALL, David cf........... 4 1 3 2 0 1 5 0 3
HARANG, Daryl p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
PACE, Joey p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SCHROYER, Ryan p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 37 10 11 8 8 14 27 13 10
Brigham Young Univ. 6 (15-25,5-9 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERS, Ryan cf........ 4 2 2 3 0 0 1 1 0
KNELL, Kory lf........... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TAYLOR, Brandon ss....... 3 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 0
ITRI, Rob dh............. 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
BILLS, Kevin rf.......... 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0
SAYLOR, Ben 1b........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 2
WIENS, Ranger 3b......... 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
CLOWARD, Casey c......... 3 1 1 1 0 0 14 0 0
LAW, Tim ph............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
VEST, Wade 2b............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
LUCAS, Blair ph/2b...... 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
LEMON, Nick p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BARRETT, Joshua p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
PARSONS, Kalen p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 31 6 5 6 5 4 27 7 3
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 302 140 000 - 10 11 0
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 000 500 - 6 5 2
-------------------------------------------
E - VEST; LEMON. LOB - SDSU Aztecs 10; BYU Cougars 3. 2B - EMBREY; TAYLOR.
HR - CHAMBERS(2). HBP - COULTER; HALL. SB - BURT 3; COULTER; FLOQUET; HALL
2; BILLS.
San Diego State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HARANG, Daryl....... 6.2 4 5 5 4 2 23 27
PACE, Joey.......... 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2
SCHROYER, Ryan...... 2.0 0 0 0 1 2 6 7
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LEMON, Nick......... 3.0 4 5 5 6 6 13 20
BARRETT, Joshua..... 2.0 4 5 1 2 2 9 12
PARSONS, Kalen...... 4.0 3 0 0 0 6 15 15
Win - HARANG (3-4). Loss - LEMON (1-3). Save - None.
WP - LEMON 3. HBP - by LEMON (COULTER); by BARRETT (HALL).
Umpires - HP: Terry Balser 1B: Tony Sender 3B: Jason Rogers
Start: 7:07 pm Time: 2:50 Attendance: 2505
Game notes:
Game 2 of 3
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State..... 302 140 000 - 10 11 0
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 000 500 - 6 5 2
-------------------------------------------
San Diego State starters: 8/lf BURT; 1/ss GUERRERO; 7/1b EMBREY; 25/dh
UNGRICHT; 15/rf MCLINTOCK; 18/3b CORONA; 11/c COULTER; 10/2b FLOQUET;
24/cf HALL; 33/p HARANG;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 22/cf CHAMBERS; 12/lf KNELL; 3/ss TAYLOR;
21/dh ITRI; 11/rf BILLS; 25/1b SAYLOR; 8/3b WIENS; 9/c CLOWARD; 5/2b
VEST; 14/p LEMON;
San Diego State - inning 1
BURT singled to shortstop. BURT stole second. BURT stole third. GUERRERO
walked. EMBREY singled to shortstop, RBI; GUERRERO advanced to second;
BURT scored. UNGRICHT walked; EMBREY advanced to second; GUERRERO
advanced to third. MCLINTOCK singled to right field, RBI; UNGRICHT
advanced to second; EMBREY advanced to third; GUERRERO scored. CORONA
struck out swinging. MCLINTOCK advanced to second; UNGRICHT advanced to
third; EMBREY scored on a wild pitch. COULTER walked. FLOQUET struck out
looking. HALL struck out looking. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 1
CHAMBERS singled to first base. KNELL grounded out to 2b; CHAMBERS
advanced to second. TAYLOR doubled to right field, RBI; CHAMBERS scored.
ITRI grounded out to ss; TAYLOR advanced to third. BILLS walked. BILLS
stole second. SAYLOR grounded out to ss. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 2
BURT walked. BURT stole second. GUERRERO grounded out to ss. EMBREY
struck out looking. BURT advanced to third on a throwing error by p.
UNGRICHT struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 2
WIENS flied out to cf. CLOWARD grounded out to 2b. VEST fouled out to 1b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 3
MCLINTOCK struck out swinging. CORONA flied out to cf. COULTER hit by
pitch. COULTER stole second. FLOQUET walked; COULTER advanced to third on
a wild pitch. FLOQUET stole second. HALL singled through the right side,
2 RBI; FLOQUET scored; COULTER scored. HALL stole second. BURT walked;
HALL advanced to third on a wild pitch. GUERRERO grounded out to p. 2
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 3
CHAMBERS grounded out to 2b. KNELL flied out to cf. TAYLOR popped up to
ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 4
BARRETT to p for LEMON. EMBREY doubled to right center. UNGRICHT singled
down the rf line, out at second rf to ss, RBI; EMBREY scored. MCLINTOCK
struck out looking. CORONA struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 4
ITRI flied out to cf. BILLS grounded out to ss. SAYLOR grounded out to
2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 5
COULTER reached on a throwing error by 2b. FLOQUET popped up to p. HALL
hit by pitch; COULTER advanced to second. BURT walked; HALL advanced to
second; COULTER advanced to third. GUERRERO popped up to 2b. EMBREY
singled up the middle, RBI; BURT advanced to second; HALL advanced to
third; COULTER scored, unearned. UNGRICHT walked, RBI; EMBREY advanced to
second; BURT advanced to third; HALL scored, unearned. MCLINTOCK singled
to center field, RBI; UNGRICHT advanced to second, out at third cf to 3b;
EMBREY scored, unearned; BURT scored, unearned. 4 runs, 2 hits, 1 error,
1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 5
WIENS grounded out to 2b. CLOWARD grounded out to 2b. VEST grounded out
to p, bunt. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 6
PARSONS to p for BARRETT. CORONA grounded out to ss. COULTER grounded out
to 2b. FLOQUET struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 6
CHAMBERS flied out to rf. KNELL flied out to cf. TAYLOR walked. TAYLOR
out at first p to 1b, picked off. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 7
HALL singled to left field. BURT singled up the middle; HALL advanced to
second. GUERRERO struck out swinging. EMBREY struck out swinging.
UNGRICHT struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 7
ITRI struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. BILLS walked. SAYLOR
struck out swinging. WIENS walked; BILLS advanced to second. CLOWARD
singled up the middle, RBI; WIENS advanced to third; BILLS scored. LUCAS
pinch hit for VEST. LUCAS singled through the left side, RBI; CLOWARD
advanced to second; WIENS scored. PACE to p for HARANG. CHAMBERS homered
to right field, 3 RBI; LUCAS scored; CLOWARD scored. KNELL flied out to
lf. 5 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 8
LUCAS to 2b. MCLINTOCK grounded out to 3b. CORONA struck out swinging.
COULTER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 8
SCHROYER to p for PACE. TAYLOR struck out swinging. ITRI grounded out to
2b. BILLS flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State - inning 9
FLOQUET flied out to rf. HALL singled to shortstop. HALL stole second.
BURT popped up to 2b. GUERRERO popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. - inning 9
SAYLOR walked. WIENS flied out to rf. LAW pinch hit for CLOWARD. LAW
popped up to 3b. LUCAS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
For only the second time this season, BYU returns to Provo for a three-game series, hosting San Diego State beginning Thursday.
After playing 35 of 38 games on the road, the Cougars finish the regular season with 13 of their final 19 games at home. BYU is 0-3 at home after being swept by UNLV in March. Thursday and Friday's game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. with a noon start on Saturday.
Coached by future major league hall of famer Tony Gwynn, San Diego State enters the series after winning one game at Air Force with two games in the series being snowed out. The Aztecs are tied with UNLV on top of the Mountain West Conference standings with an 8-2 conference record and are 19-20 overall. BYU is fourth in the MWC at 4-8 and 14-24.
The Cougars are 30-56-1 against San Diego State all-time. Last season BYU split the six regular season games with the Aztecs. In the 2003 MWC Tournament in Albuquerque, San Diego State knocked the Cougars out of the tournament with two victories. BYU lost seven straight to the Aztecs in 2002 before winning back-to-back games in the MWC Tournament in Provo to win the championship and move on to the NCAA Regionals.
Flame-thrower Nick Lemon (1-2, 1.89) will make his first start on Friday. The junior has appeared in 13 games, pitching 19 innings with 23 strikeouts, 23 walks, 11 wild pitches, five hit batters and two saves. Averaging 10.9 K's per game, opponents are hitting a measly .102 with six hits off Lemon whose fastball has been clocked as high as 98 mph. His longest appearance this year came in a 17-inning victory over Utah on March 27. Lemon no-hit the Utes for 5 1/3 innings, picking up his first win in a 5-4 marathon.
Thursday and Saturday's starting pitchers remain the same with Patrick Wells (5-3, 5.37), the team leader in wins with five, the probable opening-series starter and Justin Su'a (2-2, 5.18) pitching the series final.
Senior Paul Jacinto (0-8, 6.52) will make the transition to the bullpen this week. The 2003 MWC Pitcher of the Year has smoked the opposition much of the year in the early innings and will add some experience to a struggling pen. He pitched a seven-hit complete game in a 1-0 loss to New Mexico on April 2. Jacinto has had success out of the bullpen, pitching 17 games in relief at BYU with one save.
Friday's game will be a live television broadcast on BYUTV, usually channel 21 locally, which is available nationally through DirectTV Plus (channel 374) and the Dish Network (channel 9403). The television broadcast can also be streamed live over the Internet. Veteran play-by-play announcer Jay Monsen and analyst Gary Sheide, a former BYU quarterback, will call the broadcast.
All three BYU-SDSU games can be listened to live on KOVO 960 AM with Brent Norton doing the play-by-play, and Saturday's game is also available on DirectTV and the Dish Network through the BYU Radio channel and over the Internet. All three games can be followed live with Gametracker and live audio. Links to the webcasts, audio casts and video casts can be found on BYU baseball's schedule page at www.byucougars.com. Clicking on the "Live Audio" link for Friday's game will link you to the television broadcast.
