BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic (November 24, 2011)—Freshman All-America pitcher Desmond Poulson handcuffed the Dominican Republic Red Sox club team on Thanksgiving Day, leading BYU to a 16-2 victory.
The sophomore right-hander limited the Red Sox to three hits in his five innings, including a solo homer to left field by second baseman Junior Estrella in the third inning.
Poulson got the support needed amidst the sweltering 84-degree temperature, primarily in the five-run second inning when right fielder Jaycob Brugman crushed a three-run triple for the game-winning RBI. Fellow sophomore Kelton Caldwell led off that inning with the first of his two doubles in the game.
However, the offensive tempo was set in the first inning of the three-hour, 46-minute marathon.
“The first inning set the tone for the rest of the ball game,” said BYU coach Vance Law. “We were facing a guy that was throwing in the mid to upper 90s. After scoring a couple that first inning, I was happy to have our guys continue to battle through and score an additional five runs in the second.”
The Cougars, now 3-0 on their Dominican Republic baseball tour, got doubles in the game from Wes Guenther in the first inning and Austin Hall in the sixth, in addition to Caldwell’s two-baggers in the second and sixth. Adding to Brugman’s second-inning, base-clearing triple, BYU got a one-run triple by Bret Lopez in the ninth for it’s final run.
Coach Law started a different lineup from previous days, with Tanner Chauncey at shortstop, Hall at designated hitter, Brock Whitney at third, Chase Frampton at first and Adam Law at second. Substitutions came for the Cougars in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
Cameron Coombs relieved Poulson on the mound, Travis Stacey came in for Whitney, Dakota Hernandez subbed for Guenther at catcher, Jarrett Jarvis became the new DH, and Zane Affleck replaced Chauncey in the sixth. In the seventh, Daniel Welch relieved Coombs on the hill, Lopez took over for Adam Law, and James Lengal reported in for Brugman. In the eighth, David Parry relieved Welch and Christian Mua became the new center fielder for Stephen Wells.
Following the game, the Red Sox hosted the Cougars with a Thanksgiving meal of rice and beans. On Wednesday, BYU took a day off from play to perform service projects in the D.R.
On Friday morning, BYU concludes its four-game series in the Dominican Republic when it plays the Royals’ club team.
Brigham Young Univ. 16, at DR Red Sox 2
Nov 24, 2011 at Boca Chica, Dominican Republic (Red Sox Complex)
Brigham Young Univ. 16 (3-0)
Player ..............,..AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB---------------------------------------------------------BRUGMAN, Jaycob rf...... 4 1 1 3 1 2 1 0 1 LENGAL, James rf...... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0CHAUNCEY, Tanner ss..... 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 AFLECK, Zane ss....... 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1WHITNEY, Brock 3b....... 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 STACEY, Travis 3b.... 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1HALL, Austin dh......... 4 1 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 JARVIS, J. pr/dh...... 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2GUENTHER, Wes c......... 2 0 1 1 1 0 4 1 1 HERNANDEZ, D. c....... 2 1 1 1 1 0 7 0 1FRAMPTON, C. 1b......... 5 2 1 1 1 0 10 0 0CALDWELL, Kelton lf..... 5 3 3 1 0 0 1 0 0LAW, Adam 2b............ 3 2 3 2 1 0 1 1 2 LOPEZ, Bret 2b........ 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1WELLS, Stephen cf....... 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 MUA, Christian cf.... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0POULSON, Desmond p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0COOMBS, Cameron p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0WELCH, Daniel p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0PARRY, David p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Totals................. 47 16 22 13 8 5 27 9 8Score by Innings R H E-------------------------------------------Brigham Young ... 250 016 011—16 22 0DR Red Sox .... 001 000 100— 2 10 3-------------------------------------------E - FLORES 2, JEREZ. 2B - GUENTHER (B), CALDWELL (B), HALL (B)GARCIA (RS), MARGOT (RS). 3B - BRUGMAN (B), LOPEZ (B)HR - ESTRELLA (RS). SB - CHAUNCEY 2, HALL. CS-JEREZSH - CALDWELL. SF-WELLS. HBP-GUERRERO.Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF------------------------------------------------POULSON, D p....... 5.0 3 1 1 1 4 15 16COOMBS, C. p....... 1.0 3 0 0 0 2 6 6WELCH, Daniel p.... 1.0 2 1 1 1 2 5 7PARRY, David p..... 2.0 2 0 0 1 3 7 8
Win - POULSON (1-0). Loss - MONTAS. Save - None.