LAS VEGAS -- A pair of BYU freshmen and some subs rallied for a come-from-behind victory Saturday over UNLV, 9-8, to sweep the three game series.
Freshmen Kainoa Obrey and Matt Carson hit homers in the third and fifth innings, respectively. Obrey's homer was a two-run shot along with some key defensive plays from third base. Carson, a right-fielder, belted a solo four-bagger, had a second-inning double and a key sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Cougar subs Nick Greene, Ty Haguewood, Sean Noorda and Todd Crump each chipped in for the victory. With one out and two on, Greene had a pinch-hit double down the right field line in the seventh to score one, then Carson hit a sacrifice fly, for the third deadlock of the game. Haguewood, a reserve first baseman in this contest, had the game-winning RBI with a single to center in the eighth.
"Greene's hit off the wall was clutch for us," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "He has been the odd man out, so we found a quality at-bat for him because he is not intimidated."
Pitchers Noorda and Crump were effective in relief. Noorda, who improved his record to 2-2, got off to a rocky start in the sixth when he surrendered four earned runs before bouncing back to strike out three in a row during the seventh. Crump earned his first save of the season with a strong ninth inning.
The Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the first inning until BYU scored two unearned runs along with Obrey's dinger in the third. UNLV regained the lead at 8-6 in the sixth.
"It would have been easy for us to fold up our tent when we already had won two, so I am proud of the way we competed," said Law.
The UNLV series was BYU's first three-game sweep of the year and improved its record to 12-10 overall and 3-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars next have their home opener this Friday at Noon to start another three-game series.
UNLV, now 6-18, next plays on the road for the third time this season when it plays Southern Utah on Wednesday at St. George before continuing to Salt Lake City to battle Utah in a MWC series starting Friday at Franklin Covey Field.
Brigham Young at UNLV Rebels
Mar 11, 2000 at Las Vegas, NV (Earl E. Wilson)
Brigham Young 9 (12-10,3-0)
Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
BELLISTON, Shane cf....... 5 2 3 1 0 0 1 0
PETERSON, Craig 1b........ 1 1 0 0 2 0 7 0
HAGUEWOOD, Ty ph/1b....... 2 0 1 1 0 0 3 0
DAY, Nick lf.............. 4 1 1 1 1 0 2 0
DAVIES, Michael c......... 5 2 1 0 0 0 7 1
OBREY, Kainoa 3b.......... 5 1 1 2 0 2 1 5
WHITLEY, Aaron dh......... 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
GREENE, Nick ph........... 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
CARSON, Matt rf........... 4 1 2 2 0 1 2 0
PERRY, Tyler ss........... 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 2
MATHIS, Nate 2b........... 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 4
RAY, James p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
NOORDA, Sean p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CRUMP, Todd p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals.................... 38 9 13 8 3 5 27 13
UNLV Rebels 8 (6-18,0-3)
Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
SEYBERT, Denny dh......... 5 2 3 1 0 1 0 0
OKUDA, Cody 2b............ 2 1 1 2 0 0 2 2
SHITANISHI, Garett ph..... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
DeMARCO, Tony 1b.......... 4 2 2 1 0 0 13 0
KAUP, Nate 3b............. 4 0 0 2 0 0 1 5
KITSCH, Trent ph.......... 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
MANLEY, Adam rf........... 4 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
BEASLEY, Brad c........... 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
FORD, Michael lf.......... 4 2 2 0 0 1 1 1
MALOFF, Brad ss........... 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 5
CRUZ, John cf............. 4 1 2 1 0 1 2 0
FAIRBANKS, Justin p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OLSON, Ryan p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MARTIN, C.J. p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
McCULLOCH, Andy p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals.................... 34 8 11 7 2 7 27 14
Score by innings: R H E
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Brigham Young 004 110 210 - 9 13 1
UNLV Rebels 211 004 000 - 8 11 2
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E - BELLISTON; MALOFF; FAIRBANKS.
DP - Cougars 1. LOB - Cougars 7; UNLV 6.
2B - GREENE; CARSON; SEYBERT; DeMARCO; FORD.
HR - OBREY(4); CARSON(2).
SB - PETERSON; HAGUEWOOD; OKUDA; MALOFF. CS - MATHIS.
SH - OKUDA 2; MALOFF 2. SF - CARSON.
Brigham Young IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
RAY, James.......... 5.0 7 5 3 1 2 20 25
NOORDA, Sean........ 3.0 4 3 3 0 4 11 12
CRUMP, Todd......... 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 3 4
UNLV Rebels IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
FAIRBANKS, Justin... 5.0 7 6 2 3 2 22 26
OLSON, Ryan......... 1.1 4 2 2 0 1 7 7
MARTIN, C.J......... 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 4 5
McCULLOCH, Andy..... 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 5 5
Win - NOORDA 2-2. Loss - MARTIN 0-2. Save - CRUMP (1).
WP - FAIRBANKS; MARTIN. PB - DAVIES. BK - RAY 2.
HBP - by RAY (DeMARCO); by FAIRBANKS (PERRY).
Umpires - Home:Dale Luker 1st:Ken Bayne 3rd:Bill Speck
Start: 1:15 Time: 2:48 Attendance: 438
RAY faced 1 batter in the 6th.