PROVO -- In front of the third-largest crowd ever at Miller Park, Jeff Hiestand's home run couldn't overcome a rough second inning as TCU slipped by BYU Thursday, 6-4.
Leading off in the bottom of the eighth, Hiestand crushed a 1-0 offering from TCU (23-16, 10-1 in Mountain West Conference) starter Jake Arrieta to make the score 6-4 in favor of the Horned Frogs after eight complete innings. The big Cougar slugger went 2-for-3 with the home run, a single and two RBI for BYU (16-21, 3-5 in conference) to the delight of the 2,810 fans.
The Cougars were fairly successful at the plate against a TCU club whose pitchers average nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings. BYU got their four runs on 11 hits, but had trouble scoring runners as they stranded eight men on base.
Coach Vance Law said TCU Coach Jim Schlossnagle, "believes we are the toughest team he has faced all year (Rice, Tulane, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Baylor)." Both coaches were pleased with the sell-out crowd with Coach Schlossnagle saying, "this is what college baseball is all about.
The Cougars struck first with one out in the bottom of the first as Marcos Villezcas singled through the middle of the infield to get the Cougars started. Following was Ben Saylor who singled to shallow center as the centerfielder lost the ball in the setting sun. Batting next Hiestand singled to left field with Villezcas coming around all the way from second and scoring under the tag on the relay throw.
At first home plate umpire Chad McCardell called Villezcas out on the play, bringing Coach Law out to argue the call. After a conference between all three umpires on the infield, the call was reversed and home plate was awarded to Villezcas, putting the Cougars up 1-0 after one complete.
Things went sour for starter Mitch Woolf (0-2, 10.31) and the Cougars in the top of the second as he loaded up the bases and allowed the Horned Frogs three runs on two hits, three walks, and a hit batsman before being relieved by Jake Wortham. With Wortham pitching, TCU picked up another run on a sac fly to center to make the score 4-1.
Commenting on the game Coach Law said, "In a game where they get six free bags they are going to take advantage of it. I am proud that we battled back and gave ourselves a chance."
Arrieta clamped down on the Cougar offense after the Cougars jumped out to a strong start in the first, retiring BYU in order in the second and third innings.
Wortham got some great defensive help from his infield after allowing a Texas-league single to right field in the top of the first. Villezcas scooped up a hot grounder at short, made a quick toss to Stetson Banks who threw to Hiestand at first. Hiestand dug the throw out of the dirt to beat the runner while completing the six-four-three double play.
Saylor led off the fourth inning by driving a single to right field. Hiestand then drew a four-pitch walk to put runners on first and third with no outs. After Kasey Ko's sacrifice bunt attempt ended in a fielder's choice at third, Blake Crosby drove an RBI double into the alley in left center.
It looked like TCU center fielder Ryan Pack would make the diving catch to end the inning, but a collision between him and left fielder Keith Conlon allowed the ball to get away. Ko and Hiestand both scored on the play to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Horned Frogs after four complete. Conlon would leave the game after the collision with a separated shoulder.
BYU got some help from a TCU base runner in the top of the fifth. With pinch hitter Matt Vern on first, Andrew Walker flied out to Saylor in right with the runner turning second on the drive. After Saylor made the catch for the second out of the inning, he threw the ball to Hiestand at first. Although the runner was under the tag he was called out for the third out when the umpires ruled that he hadn't re-touched second on his way back to first.
With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Walker homered off Wortham to right field to score two and put TCU up 6-3 with two and a half remaining. The home run essentially knocked the Cougar lefty out of the game as Joshua Barrett came in to relieve two batters later. Wortham was solid in his mop-up outing as he pitched five and a third innings while allowing just two runs on nine hits while striking out two and walking none.
Speaking on Wortham, Coach Law said, "a lot of people forget he was the 5A player of the year on Texas."
Leading off the bottom of the seventh for BYU, Casey Nelson doubled off the wall in center. Following, Seth Johnson beat out an infield single, moving Nelson to third. After Johnson stole second on a passed ball, Saylor crushed a pitch from Arrieta deep to center, but the ball was gathered in by the centerfielder right at the wall to end the Cougar threat.
Barrett held the Horned Frogs scoreless in the eighth and ninth while striking out three.
BYU made some more noise in the bottom of the ninth after Banks got on first and moved to second on single by pinch-hitter Kent Walton. Saylor got his bat on the ball but couldn't score anyone with two runners on base as the game ended on a TCU double play.
On a night when the Cougar faithful were treated to a fireworks show after the game BYU drew a standing-room-only crowd of 2,810 for the largest of the season at Larry H. Miller Park and third-largest ever.
The Cougars and Horned Frogs will match up for games on Friday and Saturday starting at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Friday's game will be televised live on both KBYU-TV and nationally on BYUTV.
TCU at Brigham Young Univ.
Apr 20, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
TCU 6 (23-16,10-1 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KERVIN ss................ 3 0 2 1 1 1 0 3 0
TROUT dh................. 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3
HUFFMAN 1b............... 3 0 0 1 1 0 10 1 0
CARPENTER 3b............. 4 1 1 0 1 1 4 2 3
CONLON lf/cf............. 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
BUTTELL lf.............. 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
WALKER c................. 4 2 2 2 1 1 3 0 0
ADAMS rf................. 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 0 2
STEGLICH 2b.............. 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 4 0
PACK cf.................. 2 1 1 0 1 0 4 0 2
VERN lf................. 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
ARRIETA p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
DEMEL p................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Totals................... 32 6 12 5 6 6 27 15 10
Brigham Young Univ. 4 (16-21,3-5 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Seth lf/cf...... 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
WALTON, Kent ph......... 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss..... 5 1 1 0 0 1 3 2 0
VARGAS, Daniel pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SAYLOR, Ben rf........... 5 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 4
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........ 3 2 2 2 1 0 7 1 0
KO, Kasey dh............. 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
MOLINA, Adrian cf........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
CARTER, Austin ph/lf.... 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
CROSBY, Blake 3b......... 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 1
NELSON, Casey c.......... 4 0 1 0 0 0 6 1 2
BANKS, Stetson 2b........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 4 1 0
WOOLF, Mitch p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WORTHAM, Jake p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BARRETT, Josh p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals................... 37 4 12 4 1 3 27 11 8
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
TCU................. 040 000 200 - 6 12 1
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 200 010 - 4 12 1
-------------------------------------------
E - WALKER; NELSON. DP - TCU 2; BYU Cougars 2. LOB - TCU 10; BYU Cougars 8.
2B - CARTER; CROSBY; NELSON. HR - WALKER(4); HIESTAND(6). HBP - TROUT;
STEGLICH; BANKS. SH - KERVIN; PACK. SF - HUFFMAN. SB - CARPENTER; BANKS. CS
- KERVIN.
TCU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ARRIETA............. 7.1 11 4 4 1 3 32 33
DEMEL............... 1.2 1 0 0 0 0 5 6
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WOOLF, Mitch........ 1.1 2 4 4 5 1 5 11
WORTHAM, Jake....... 5.1 9 2 2 0 2 21 23
BARRETT, Josh....... 2.1 1 0 0 1 3 6 9
Win - ARRIETA (9-3). Loss - WOOLF (0-2). Save - DEMEL (3).
WP - ARRIETA; WOOLF. HBP - by WOOLF (TROUT); by BARRETT (STEGLICH); by DEMEL
(BANKS). PB - NELSON.
Umpires - HP: Chad McCardell 1B: Blake Jensen 3B: Jeff Richardson
Start: 7:04 pm Time: 3:32 Attendance: 2810
Game notes:
Game 2 of season (TCU won 9-4), Game 1 of 3-game series in Provo
There was an 8-minute injury delay in the bottom of the fourth
2,810 is the #3 crowd at Miller Park & #6 in BYU history
TCU at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Apr 20, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
TCU................. 040 000 200 - 6 12 1
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 200 010 - 4 12 1
-------------------------------------------
TCU starters: 1/ss KERVIN; 16/dh TROUT; 17/1b HUFFMAN; 14/3b CARPENTER; 27/lf
CONLON; 6/c WALKER; 44/rf ADAMS; 3/2b STEGLICH; 15/cf PACK; 34/p ARRIETA;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 26/lf JOHNSON, S.; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR;
32/1b HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 1/cf MOLINA; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 18/p
WOOLF;
TCU 1st - KERVIN walked. TROUT struck out looking. KERVIN out at second c to
2b, caught stealing. HUFFMAN walked. CARPENTER flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, S. grounded out to 2b. VILLEZCAS singled
up the middle. SAYLOR singled to center field; VILLEZCAS advanced to second.
HIESTAND singled to left field, RBI; SAYLOR advanced to second; VILLEZCAS scored. KO
grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b; HIESTAND out on the play. 1 run, 3
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 2nd - CONLON singled, bunt. WALKER walked; CONLON advanced to second.
CONLON advanced to third on a throwing error by c, failed pickoff attempt. ADAMS
walked; WALKER advanced to second. ADAMS advanced to second; WALKER advanced to
third; CONLON scored on a wild pitch. STEGLICH grounded out to 3b. PACK walked.
KERVIN singled to right field, RBI; PACK advanced to second; ADAMS advanced to
third; WALKER scored. TROUT hit by pitch, RBI; KERVIN advanced to second; PACK
advanced to third; ADAMS scored. WORTHAM to p for WOOLF. HUFFMAN flied out to cf,
SF, RBI; PACK scored. CARPENTER flied out to cf. 4 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - MOLINA grounded out to p. CROSBY grounded out to
ss. NELSON flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU 3rd - CONLON flied out to cf. WALKER singled to center field. ADAMS
popped up to 2b. STEGLICH singled up the middle; WALKER advanced to second. PACK
flied out to lf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - BANKS grounded out to ss. JOHNSON, S. popped up to
2b. VILLEZCAS out at first 1b to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
TCU 4th - KERVIN singled to right center. TROUT grounded into double play ss
to 2b to 1b; KERVIN out on the play. HUFFMAN grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - SAYLOR singled to right field. HIESTAND walked;
SAYLOR advanced to second. KO reached on a fielder's choice; HIESTAND advanced to
second; SAYLOR out at third p to 3b. CARTER pinch hit for MOLINA. CARTER fouled out
to 3b. CROSBY doubled to left center, 2 RBI; KO scored; HIESTAND scored. CONLON to
cf. VERN to lf for PACK. NELSON grounded out to ss. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
TCU 5th - JOHNSON, S. to cf. CARTER to lf. VERN to lf for CONLON. PACK to cf
for VERN. CARPENTER struck out looking. VERN singled to left field. WALKER flied
into double play rf to 1b to ss; VERN out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - BANKS singled up the middle. BANKS stole second.
JOHNSON, S. grounded out to p. VILLEZCAS flied out to cf. SAYLOR struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 6th - ADAMS popped up to 2b. STEGLICH singled to left field. PACK
singled, bunt; STEGLICH advanced to second. KERVIN grounded out to p, SAC, bunt;
PACK advanced to second; STEGLICH advanced to third. TROUT popped up to ss. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - HIESTAND flied out to cf. KO flied out to cf.
CARTER doubled to center field. CROSBY grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 7th - HUFFMAN grounded out to ss. CARPENTER singled up the middle. VERN
struck out swinging; CARPENTER stole second. WALKER homered to right field, 2 RBI;
CARPENTER scored. ADAMS singled to left field. BARRETT to p for WORTHAM. ADAMS out
at first p to 1b, picked off. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - NELSON doubled to left field. BANKS struck out
swinging. JOHNSON, S. singled to second base; NELSON advanced to third. BUTTELL to
lf for VERN. JOHNSON, S. advanced to second on a wild pitch. VILLEZCAS struck out
swinging. SAYLOR flied out to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
TCU 8th - STEGLICH hit by pitch. PACK grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt; STEGLICH
advanced to second. KERVIN struck out looking. STEGLICH advanced to third on a
passed ball. TROUT struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - HIESTAND homered to center field, RBI. KO grounded
out to 2b. CARTER singled to right field. DEMEL to p for ARRIETA. CARTER advanced to
second on a throwing error by c, advanced to third. CROSBY flied out to rf. NELSON
grounded out to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU 9th - HUFFMAN popped up to ss. CARPENTER walked. BUTTELL singled to left
field; CARPENTER advanced to second. WALKER struck out looking. ADAMS flied out to
cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - BANKS hit by pitch. WALTON pinch hit for JOHNSON,
S.. WALTON singled to left field; BANKS advanced to second. VILLEZCAS reached on a
fielder's choice; WALTON advanced to second; BANKS out at third p to 3b. VARGAS
pinch ran for VILLEZCAS. SAYLOR lined into double play 3b to 2b; WALTON out on the
play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.