Donnybrook Goes To Cougars

OREM -- A record crowd, a record for double plays and superb pitching Tuesday led to a 12-inning victory for BYU, 2-1 at Utah Valley State.

Steve Parker's no-out double off the leftfield wall scored Apana Nakayama to lead off the 12th inning, giving BYU (26-16) a 2-1 lead. In the end, Matthew Jensen (4-3) was the winning pitcher in relief.

It was the fourth straight victory for BYU as it improved its series record to 9-2 over UVSC. The Cougars now bus to New Mexico to begin a three-game series on Thursday at 6 p.m., as they return to league play.

The ninth double play came in the 11th, which tied the second-best mark in NCAA history by two teams and the sixth by the Cougars also tied for second by a single team, a school and conference record.

Marcus Moore twirled 158 pitches from his right side and Cougar freshman Blaine Howell hurled 111 from the portside at a near standoff through eight-plus innings to the delight of a UVSC record 2,242 fans.

"The pitching was outstanding," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "Howell was as good as he's been and that bodes well for his future.

"We squandered a couple opportunities early, but I'm pleased with our pitching and defense."

The scoring, when it came, was welcome and brief.

In a pinch, BYU substitute runner Collin Fanning broke the ice when replacement DH Chase Frampton drove him in the eighth with two out to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Wolverine Eli Slesk pounded a full-count fastball for a homerun to left field to tie the score in the ninth.

The Cougars stranded two in the first inning when Nakayama got a two-out single, stole second, followed by Parker's walk.

BYU threatened in the second when Leon Johnson got aboard with a bad-hop, one-out single to short, then stole second. J.T. Musso drew a walk and went to second on a double steal which put Johnson at third. When Danny Vargas flew out to shallow right field, Johnson was thrown out at home to complete the double play and end the inning.

Johnson returned the favor in the bottom of the frame with a nice warning track catch off Kevin Arendse's hit-and-run attempt which doubled up Austin Heaps opposite of first base on the tag.

A double play took BYU out of scoring in the third when Parker grounded out up the middle with two runners aboard.

Yet another double play, this one in the bottom of the third snuffed out UVSC's attempted rally.

It wasn't until the fourth inning that a baserunner didn't reach first as the Wolverines retired BYU in order.

The fifth double play of the game came in the bottom of the fourth and may have been the most spectacular of the night. BYU's Kent Walton made a leaping overhead catch of Jace Brinkerhoff's pop up in shallow right-center field, then tumbled to his feet to throw out Thomas at first.

Vargas got the first extra base hit of the evening as the Cougar shortstop stroked a one-out double to left, but was stranded on second in the fifth. Then it was UVSC's turn to go down in order for the first time of the evening.

Nakayama got to second in the sixth with a lead-off single which went under the leftfielder's glove to the wall. He advanced to third on Kasey Ko's sac bunt, but it was for naught as Moore got the next two batters out with a groundout to him and a flyout to left.

Howell came up with bookend K's in the sixth, the last of which was off a full-count strikeout which caught cleanup batter Brinkerhoff looking with one aboard to end the inning.

Double play number six eliminated BYU in the seventh with runners on first and second. Number seven, double play that is, wiped the Wolverines out of the seventh when Walton snared an Adam Openshaw popup to catch Arendse off first.

Moore was finally replaced in the ninth after fanning Vargas for his eighth strikeout of the evening before yielding a low error throw to first which put Walton aboard.

Double play number eight came in the ninth when J.D. Stambaugh relieved Howell in the ninth. Stambaugh, another lefty, struck out Heaps swinging, then Musso threw to second to catch Thomas trying to steal to end the inning.

Brigham Young Univ. at Utah Valley State
May 01, 2007 at Orem, Utah (Wolverine Stadium)
Brigham Young Univ. 2 (26-16)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WALTON, Kent 2b..........  5  0  1  0   1  0  3  7   0
WELLS, Stephen cf........  6  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   2
NAKAYAMA, Apana lf.......  6  1  4  0   0  1  2  0   1
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  0  1  1   2  1  1  1   1
KO, Kasey 1b.............  2  0  0  0   1  0  9  0   2
 FANNING, Collin pr......  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BILLS, Thomas 1b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
MC KEEVER, Mike dh.......  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 FRAMPTON, Chase ph......  3  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
JOHNSON, Leon rf.........  6  0  2  0   0  2  3  2   3
MUSSO, J.T. c............  4  0  0  0   1  3  9  1   4
VARGAS, Dan ss...........  5  0  2  0   0  2  2  2   1
HOWELL, Blaine p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 STAMBAUGH, J.D. p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 KIDD, Brad p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 JENSEN, Matt p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 45  2 11  2   5 11 36 15  14
Utah Valley State 1 (19-26)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Scott Croshaw rf.........  4  0  0  0   1  2  1  1   0
Eli Slesk ss.............  5  1  2  1   0  0  2  5   3
Derrick Thomas c.........  3  0  2  0   1  0 12  1   0
Jace Brinkerhoff 3b......  5  0  0  0   0  2  1  4   2
Austin Heaps lf..........  5  0  2  0   0  1  1  0   0
Kevin Arendse dh.........  4  0  1  0   1  1  0  0   1
Adam Openshaw 1b.........  5  0  1  0   0  0 12  0   0
Keiki Albino 2b..........  5  0  1  0   0  2  4  2   1
Tyler Garretson cf.......  3  0  1  0   1  1  3  0   0
Marcus Moore p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 Dan Christensen p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Craig Brimhall p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 39  1 10  1   4  9 36 17   7
Score by Innings                        R  H  E
-----------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 010 001 -  2 11  0
Utah Valley State... 000 000 001 000 -  1 10  6
-----------------------------------------------
E - Heaps(3); Openshaw(9); Albino 2(9); Moore, M(2); Brimhall(1). DP - BYU
Cougars 6; UVSC 3. LOB - BYU Cougars 14; UVSC 7. 2B - PARKER(10); JOHNSON,
L.(4); VARGAS(4). HR - Slesk(3). HBP - Thomas. SH - KO(3); BILLS(1). SB -
NAKAYAMA(5); FANNING(19); JOHNSON, L. 3(21); MUSSO(3). CS - WALTON(6);
Thomas(3).
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HOWELL, Blaine......  8.1  8  1  1  1  7 29 31
STAMBAUGH, J.D......  1.1  2  0  0  1  1  4  5
KIDD, Brad..........  0.1  0  0  0  2  0  1  3
JENSEN, Matt........  2.0  0  0  0  0  1  5  5
Utah Valley State      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Marcus Moore........  8.1  9  1  1  5  8 31 37
Dan Christensen.....  0.2  0  0  0  0  1  3  3
Craig Brimhall......  3.0  2  1  0  0  2 11 12
Win - JENSEN (4-3).  Loss - Brimhall (1-1).  Save - None.
HBP - by HOWELL (Thomas). BK - HOWELL(2).
Umpires - HP: Randy Upton  1B: Blake Jensen  3B: Blyden Loutensock
Start: 7:05pm   Time: 3:53   Attendance: 2242
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 9/2b WALTON; 1/cf WELLS; 24/lf NAKAYAMA; 5/3b PARKER;
22/1b KO; 33/dh MC KEEVER; 14/rf JOHNSON, L.; 10/c MUSSO; 13/ss VARGAS; 15/p HOWELL;
Utah Valley State starters: 3/rf Croshaw; 2/ss Slesk; 17/c Thomas; 10/3b
Brinkerhoff; 19/lf Heaps; 18/dh Arendse; 12/1b Openshaw; 5/2b Albino; 1/cf
Garretson; 14/p Moore, M;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - WALTON grounded out to ss. WELLS grounded out to
ss. NAKAYAMA singled to center field. NAKAYAMA stole second. PARKER walked. KO
grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah Valley State 1st - Croshaw grounded out to 2b. Slesk grounded out to 2b.
Thomas singled up the middle. Brinkerhoff grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - MC KEEVER struck out. JOHNSON, L. singled through
the left side. JOHNSON, L. stole second. MUSSO walked. MUSSO stole second; JOHNSON,
L. stole third. VARGAS flied into double play rf to c; JOHNSON, L. out on the play.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 2nd - Heaps singled through the left side. Arendse flied
into double play rf to ss to 1b; Heaps out on the play. Openshaw singled through the
right side. Openshaw advanced to second on a balk. Albino struck out looking. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - WALTON walked. WALTON out at second c to 2b, caught
stealing. WELLS reached on a throwing error by 2b. NAKAYAMA singled to center field;
WELLS advanced to second. PARKER grounded into double play p to ss to 1b; NAKAYAMA
out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 3rd - Garretson singled up the middle. Croshaw popped up to
1b, bunt. Slesk grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b; Garretson out on the play.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - KO lined out to cf. MC KEEVER grounded out to 3b.
JOHNSON, L. struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 4th - Thomas singled to right field. Brinkerhoff popped
into double play 2b to 1b; Thomas out on the play. Heaps singled through the right
side. Arendse flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - MUSSO struck out. VARGAS doubled down the lf line.
WALTON popped up to 2b. WELLS struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 5th - Openshaw flied out to cf. Albino grounded out to p.
Garretson struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - NAKAYAMA singled to left field, advanced to second
on a fielding error by lf. PARKER walked. KO grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; PARKER
advanced to second; NAKAYAMA advanced to third. MC KEEVER grounded out to p.
JOHNSON, L. flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Utah Valley State 6th - Croshaw struck out. Slesk singled to center field.
Thomas flied out to lf. Brinkerhoff struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - MUSSO struck out. VARGAS singled to shortstop.
WALTON singled through the left side; VARGAS advanced to second. WELLS grounded into
double play 2b to ss to 1b; WALTON out on the play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Utah Valley State 7th - Heaps flied out to lf. Arendse walked. Openshaw
popped into double play 2b to 1b; Arendse out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - NAKAYAMA grounded out to 3b. PARKER struck out
looking. KO walked. FANNING pinch ran for KO. FRAMPTON pinch hit for MC KEEVER.
FANNING stole second. FRAMPTON singled to center field, RBI; FANNING scored.
JOHNSON, L. doubled to right center; FRAMPTON advanced to third. MUSSO struck out
looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah Valley State 8th - BILLS to 1b for FANNING. Albino struck out. Garretson
grounded out to p, bunt. Croshaw struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - VARGAS struck out looking. WALTON reached on a
fielding error by p. Christensen to p for Moore, M. WELLS popped up to 2b down the
rf line. NAKAYAMA struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 9th - Slesk homered to left center, RBI. Thomas hit by
pitch. Brinkerhoff struck out. STAMBAUGH to p for HOWELL. Heaps struck out; Thomas
out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 10th - PARKER reached on a throwing error by 1b. Brimhall
to p for Christensen. BILLS reached on an error by 2b, SAC, bunt; PARKER advanced to
second. FRAMPTON reached on a fielder's choice; BILLS advanced to second; PARKER out
at third p to 3b. JOHNSON, L. reached on a fielder's choice; FRAMPTON out at second
ss to 2b; BILLS advanced to third. JOHNSON, L. stole second. MUSSO flied out to cf.
0 runs, 0 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Utah Valley State 10th - Arendse singled through the right side. Openshaw
popped up to p, bunt. Albino singled through the right side, advanced to second on
the throw; Arendse advanced to second, out at third rf to 3b. Garretson walked. KIDD
to p for STAMBAUGH. Croshaw walked; Garretson advanced to second; Albino advanced to
third. Slesk lined out to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 11th - VARGAS struck out. WALTON lined out to cf. WELLS
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Utah Valley State 11th - Thomas walked. JENSEN to p for KIDD. Brinkerhoff
grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Thomas out on the play. Heaps grounded out
to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 12th - NAKAYAMA singled to right center. NAKAYAMA
advanced to second on a throwing error by p. PARKER doubled to left field, RBI;
NAKAYAMA scored, unearned. BILLS grounded out to 3b. FRAMPTON grounded out to 3b.
JOHNSON, L. struck out. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Utah Valley State 12th - Arendse struck out. Openshaw flied out to cf to left
center. Albino lined out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.