FORT COLLINS -- In the first game of the Mountain West Conference Championships, the No. 6 seed New Mexico upset No. 3 seed BYU in a close 1-0 battle in 10 innings at Ram Field on Friday.
With the loss, the Cougars were eliminated from the MWC Tournament and end their season with a 34-18 overall record, while the Lobos post a 30-34 overall record and advanced to the second round.
"We had a nice season and it's too bad it had to end the way it did, but I wouldn't trade these kids for anything," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We're still hoping for an NCAA at-large bid and feel we deserve consideration."
After seven scoreless innings the game propelled into extra frames. But it wasn't until the top of the tenth inning that New Mexico scored the lone run of the game off a BYU fielding error.
The Cougars tried to rally in the bottom of the tenth inning, but the damage was done and the Lobos ran away with the close 1-0 victory.
Lauren Watson, Belinda Osborn, Paige Paramore, Kate Walker and Jennifer Whiteley all contributed to the six BYU hits in the game.
Defensively, the Cougars turned their 19th double play of the year against the Lobos to end the year with the season-high 19 double plays turned.
Junior Niki Andersen (18-7) started on the mound for BYU and pitched 9.1 innings until she was relieved in the top of the tenth inning by sophomore Brooke Boyce (13-8). Andersen got the loss, while New Mexico pitcher Iraina Ogas (10-9) got the win in a complete 10 innings on the mound.
After rain delay canceled the first day of MWC play, the tournament then turned from double elimination to single-elimination style for the first time to eliminate BYU the first round.
The No. 6 seed New Mexico will now advance to play the No. 2 seed San Diego State at 2 p.m., and the winner of No. 4 Utah and No. 5 UNLV will play the No. 1 seed Colorado State at 4:30 p.m.
The MWC Championship game will be played on Saturday, May 15, at 2 p.m. MST with the winner receiving an automatic bid into the 2004 NCAA Softball Championship.
The NCAA Tournament selection show is scheduled to be televised on ESPNews between 5 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
New Mexico vs BYU
May 14, 2004 at Fort Collins, Colo. (Ram Field)
New Mexico 1 (30-34)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HODGINS rf............... 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0
BYNUM cf................. 3 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0
KENNEDY 2b............... 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 6 1
OGAS dp.................. 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4
SENA pr................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHAVEZ 3b................ 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2
HENSLEY ss............... 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 4 0
HUTSON c................. 2 0 0 0 1 0 8 1 0
KORSAK ph............... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SHARTZER 1b.............. 4 1 1 0 0 1 8 1 0
SANDBERG lf.............. 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2
PERKINS p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 35 1 6 1 2 5 30 15 9
BYU 0 (34-18)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WATSON, Lauren dp........ 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
OSBORN, Belinda rf....... 5 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 1
PARAMORE, Paige c........ 5 0 1 0 0 1 5 1 0
JONES, Milli pr......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LE`I, Ianeta 1b.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 13 1 1
GERHAUSER, Lindsey pr... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RUSSELL, Ashlyn 3b....... 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 0
WALKER, Kate 2b.......... 2 0 1 0 2 0 5 4 0
CHAMBERLAIN, Krystle pr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NORTON, Jodi ss.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2
DODDS, Debbie cf......... 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 2
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf.... 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3
ANDERSEN, Niki p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
BOYCE, Brooke p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 34 0 6 0 4 8 30 15 9
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 000 000 000 1 - 1 6 1
BYU................. 000 000 000 0 - 0 6 2
---------------------------------------------
E - KENNEDY; LE`I(11); NORTON(17). DP - UNM 1; BYU 1. LOB - UNM 9; BYU 9. 2B
- WATSON(4). HBP - KENNEDY. SH - BYNUM 2; NORTON(11). SB - NORTON(9). CS -
WATSON(1).
New Mexico IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PERKINS............. 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OGAS................ 10.0 6 0 0 4 8 34 39
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ANDERSEN, Niki...... 9.1 5 1 0 2 4 31 35
BOYCE, Brooke....... 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 4 5
Win - OGAS (10-9). Loss - ANDERSEN (18-7). Save - None.
HBP - by BOYCE (KENNEDY).
Umpires - HP: Dani Carson 1B: Paul Edds 3B: Bobby Shelton
Start: 9:00 am Time: 2:47 Attendance:
Game: 1MWC
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------------
New Mexico.......... 000 000 000 1 - 1 6 1
BYU................. 000 000 000 0 - 0 6 2
---------------------------------------------
New Mexico starters: 31/rf HODGINS; 5/cf BYNUM; 15/2b KENNEDY; 0/dp OGAS;
3/3b CHAVEZ; 1/ss HENSLEY; 22/c HUTSON; 2/1b SHARTZER; 4/lf SANDBERG;
12/p PERKINS;
BYU starters: 11/dp WATSON; 18/rf OSBORN; 19/c PARAMORE; 66/1b LE`I; 25/3b
RUSSELL; 5/2b WALKER; 8/ss NORTON; 20/cf DODDS; 3/lf WHITELEY; 24/p
ANDERSEN;
New Mexico - inning 1
HODGINS singled up the middle. BYNUM out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
HODGINS advanced to second. KENNEDY popped up to 2b. OGAS grounded out to
2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU - inning 1
OGAS to p. PERKINS. WATSON struck out swinging. OSBORN struck out
swinging. PARAMORE grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 2
CHAVEZ struck out looking. HENSLEY singled up the middle. HUTSON hit into
double play 2b to ss to 1b; HENSLEY out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 2
LE`I walked. GERHAUSER pinch ran for LE`I. RUSSELL flied out to rf.
WALKER walked; GERHAUSER advanced to second. NORTON reached on a
fielder's choice; WALKER out at second ss to 2b; GERHAUSER advanced to
third. NORTON stole second. DODDS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 3
LE`I to 1b for GERHAUSER. SHARTZER popped up to 1b. SANDBERG grounded out
to 3b. HODGINS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 3
WHITELEY singled to second base. WATSON reached on a fielder's choice;
WHITELEY out at second 2b to ss. WATSON out at second c to ss, caught
stealing. OSBORN struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 4
BYNUM grounded out to 2b. KENNEDY struck out swinging, out at first c to
1b. OGAS grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 4
PARAMORE singled to shortstop. LE`I grounded out to 2b; PARAMORE advanced
to second. JONES, M. pinch ran for PARAMORE. RUSSELL intentionally
walked. WALKER reached on a fielder's choice; RUSSELL advanced to second;
JONES, M. out at third ss to 3b. NORTON popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 5
PARAMORE to c for JONES, M.. CHAVEZ walked. HENSLEY popped up to c.
HUTSON walked; CHAVEZ advanced to second. SHARTZER flied out to cf.
SANDBERG grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU - inning 5
DODDS struck out swinging. WHITELEY singled up the middle. WATSON flied
out to lf. OSBORN grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 6
HODGINS out at first 1b to 2b. BYNUM singled to second base. KENNEDY
grounded out to 2b; BYNUM advanced to second. OGAS reached on an error by
ss; BYNUM advanced to third. SENA pinch ran for OGAS. CHAVEZ flied out to
cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU - inning 6
OGAS to p for SENA. PARAMORE struck out swinging. LE`I grounded out to
3b. RUSSELL grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 7
HENSLEY popped up to 3b. KORSAK pinch hit for HUTSON. KORSAK grounded out
to 3b. SHARTZER struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 7
HUTSON to c for KORSAK. WALKER singled to right field. CHAMBERLAIN pinch
ran for WALKER. NORTON out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; CHAMBERLAIN
advanced to second. DODDS struck out swinging. WHITELEY grounded out to
2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 8
WALKER to 2b for CHAMBERLAIN. SANDBERG singled, bunt. HODGINS popped up
to p, bunt. BYNUM out at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; SANDBERG advanced to
second. KENNEDY grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU - inning 8
WATSON doubled up the middle. OSBORN struck out looking. PARAMORE popped
up to cf. LE`I flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 9
OGAS grounded out to 3b. CHAVEZ flied out to lf. HENSLEY lined out to ss.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU - inning 9
RUSSELL flied out to cf. WALKER walked. NORTON reached on a fielder's
choice; WALKER out at second ss to 2b. DODDS reached on an error by 2b;
NORTON advanced to third. WHITELEY grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
New Mexico - inning 10
HUTSON grounded out to 3b. SHARTZER singled down the lf line. BOYCE to p
for ANDERSEN. SANDBERG struck out swinging. HODGINS singled to pitcher;
SHARTZER advanced to second. BYNUM reached on an error by 1b, RBI;
HODGINS advanced to third; SHARTZER scored, unearned. KENNEDY hit by
pitch; BYNUM advanced to second. OGAS reached on a fielder's choice;
KENNEDY out at second ss to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
BYU - inning 10
WATSON lined out to ss. OSBORN singled, bunt. PARAMORE hit into double
play 2b to ss to 1b; OSBORN out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.