PROVO -- Patrick Wells allowed just four hits while BYU got four runs against TCU in the bottom of the eighth as the Cougars won in come-from-behind fashion Saturday, 6-4.
Wells (4-4, 5.69) was brilliant in eight innings of work against first-place Horned Frogs while ending their nine-game conference winning streak. The Cougar southpaw allowed four runs on four hits while striking out five and walking three.
BYU (17-22, 4-6 Mountain West Conference) needed a strong outing from its starter after both Cougar starters were chased from the game early in the first games of the series. The loss was picked up by Sam Demel (5-3) for TCU (24-17, 11-2 MWC).
"I felt good," said Wells on his performance. "I was able to change speeds effectively and throw all four pitches for quality strikes."
With two outs and a man on second in the top of the eighth, it looked like Wells would get through eight innings with the game in hand. However, Ryan Pack had other ideas as he crushed a 1-1 pitch line drive home run just over the wall in right center. The blast put TCU up 4-2 and marks the second time this season that Pack has taken the Cougars deep late in the game. He also hit a game-winning grand slam for TCU off BYU in the two teams' meeting last month in San Diego.
BYU showed some late-game resilience in the latter-half of the frame. Austin Carter got aboard on a walk to start things off before moving all the way to third on a single through the left side by Kent Walton. Batting next Blake Crosby chased two breaking balls on bunt attempts before driving the 0-2 pitch to shallow center to score Carter and move Walton to third on the throw. Batting next, Casey Nelson flied out to center but got the RBI as Walton tagged from third on the catch. Stetson Banks then singled to left to put two men on with one out.
Seth Johnson reached on an error by Carpenter to load the bases with one out and bring up Marcos Villezcas. Villezcas dribbled a single up the third base line to score pinch runner Dan Vargas from third for the go-ahead run and bring up Ben Saylor with the bases again loaded. A wild pitch by reliever Donald Furrow gave Saylor an RBI and scored another run as BYU headed into the ninth up 6-4.
"We showed we can compete with the best teams around," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "I'm happy with our comeback. There's always that element of doubt, but we buckled down and executed well today."
Wells retired TCU one, two, three in the first inning while picking up his first strikeout. Johnson led off the Cougars' half of the inning with a gap double before scoring off a Saylor one-out single to right field.
Saylor was then picked off when Jeff Hiestand became confused on a 3-1 count and trotted to first base thinking he had walked. Hiestand returned to the plate and drew a walk on the next pitch. The miscue cost a probable run as Kasey Ko singled up the middle.
The Horned Frogs tied the score on a scoreboard-clearing homer in the second by Andrew Walker.
Wells got out of a jam in order in the third when Pack's bunt popped in the air and was caught by the lefty who pirouetted and sealed a doubleplay at first to retire Corey Steglich, who had walked. Saylor dropped Bryan Kervin's fly, but he atoned for that error by throwing the TCU runner out as he was trying to extend to second base.
"Our defense turned a couple big double plays," said a thankful Wells. "Now we have some confidence against them."
TCU took a 2-1 lead in the fourth, but Wells closed the inning with a pickoff at first.
In the bottom of the fourth, BYU stranded its fifth runner of the game, having had a Cougar on base every inning of the game. They stranded another in the bottom of the fifth frame as well as BYU's hitters couldn't seem to move a runner farther than second base.
The Cougars changed things up in the bottom of the sixth, as pinch runner Carter scored from second on a single to right by Crosby to tie the score at two apiece. Ko had led the inning off with a walk before being replaced by Carter. Kent Walton moved the DH over to second before Crosby's hit.
Crosby showed some prowess on defense in the latter half of the frame turning a double play. With Matt Carpenter showing bunt after a lead-off walk, Crosby charged in before the pitch as far as the mound. The bunt went right to Crosby who threw to second to beat the lead runner and start the double play.
Wells came in to start the ninth, but the Horned Frogs put two men on base on a walk and an error in the top of the ninth as Brandon Christiansen closed out the final inning. While picking up the save, Christiansen got Walker to strikeout looking and Austin Adams to fly out to end the game.
Speaking on the decision to send Wells out in the ninth Coach Law said that they coaching staff decided that, "he's come this far, he wants the ball."
BYU travels to Colorado for five games this coming week, two against Northern Colorado in Greeley and three against MWC foe Air Force in contests which have been moved to the AAA Sky Sox Security Service Field in Colorado Springs. The games will all be at 2 p.m., with the exception of Saturday's game which will see the first pitch at noon.
TCU at Brigham Young Univ.
Apr 22, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
TCU 4 (24-17,11-2 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KERVIN ss................ 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0
TROUT dh................. 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
HUFFMAN 1b............... 3 0 0 0 1 0 12 0 0
CARPENTER 3b............. 4 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
CARRUTHERS pr........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WALKER c................. 4 1 1 1 0 1 6 1 0
ADAMS rf................. 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
VERN lf.................. 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
BUTTELL ph/lf........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
STEGLICH 2b.............. 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 6 0
PACK cf.................. 3 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 0
DEMEL p.................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
FARISH p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FURROW p................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 29 4 4 4 3 6 24 12 2
Brigham Young Univ. 6 (17-22,4-6 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Seth cf......... 5 1 1 0 0 2 4 0 1
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss..... 4 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 0
SAYLOR, Ben rf........... 5 0 2 1 0 1 2 1 0
HIESTAND, Jeff 1b........ 4 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 4
KO, Kasey dh............. 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
CARTER, Austin pr....... 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
WALTON, Kent lf.......... 3 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 2
CROSBY, Blake 3b......... 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
VARGAS, Daniel pr/3b.... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NELSON, Casey c.......... 3 0 1 1 0 2 7 0 0
BANKS, Stetson 2b........ 4 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 2
WELLS, Patrick p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p.. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 34 6 12 5 4 6 27 9 10
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
TCU................. 010 100 020 - 4 4 2
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 001 04X - 6 12 3
-------------------------------------------
E - KERVIN; CARPENTER; VILLEZCAS 2; SAYLOR. DP - TCU 1; BYU Cougars 2. LOB -
TCU 2; BYU Cougars 10. 2B - JOHNSON, S.; SAYLOR. HR - WALKER(5); PACK(4). SH
- BUTTELL; WALTON. SF - NELSON. SB - TROUT; BANKS.
TCU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
DEMEL............... 7.0 10 5 5 4 5 29 34
FARISH.............. 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2
FURROW.............. 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 4 4
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WELLS, Patrick...... 8.0 4 4 2 3 5 25 29
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 4 4
Win - WELLS (4-4). Loss - DEMEL (5-3). Save - CHRISTIANSEN (1).
WP - FURROW.
Umpires - HP: Jeff Richardson 1B: Chad McCardell 3B: Blake Jensen
Start: 1:05 pm Time: 2:48 Attendance: 1295
Game notes:
Game 3 of 3 in Provo series
The 6,040 attendance for this series just shy of record 6,448 SDSU in 2005
DEMEL faced 3 batters in the 8th.
WELLS faced 1 batter in the 9th.
TCU at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
Apr 22, 2006 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
TCU................. 010 100 020 - 4 4 2
Brigham Young Univ.. 100 001 04X - 6 12 3
-------------------------------------------
TCU starters: 1/ss KERVIN; 16/dh TROUT; 17/1b HUFFMAN; 14/3b CARPENTER; 6/c WALKER;
44/rf ADAMS; 21/lf VERN; 3/2b STEGLICH; 15/cf PACK; 8/p DEMEL;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 26/cf JOHNSON, S.; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 25/rf SAYLOR;
32/1b HIESTAND; 33/dh KO; 9/lf WALTON; 30/3b CROSBY; 8/c NELSON; 3/2b BANKS; 4/p
WELLS;
TCU 1st - KERVIN struck out swinging. TROUT flied out to rf. HUFFMAN popped
up to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - JOHNSON, S. doubled to right center. VILLEZCAS
grounded out to 2b; JOHNSON, S. advanced to third. SAYLOR singled to right field,
RBI; JOHNSON, S. scored. SAYLOR out at first c to p to 2b to 1b, picked off.
HIESTAND walked. KO singled up the middle; HIESTAND advanced to second. WALTON
reached on a fielder's choice; KO advanced to second; HIESTAND out at third 3b
unassisted. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
TCU 2nd - CARPENTER grounded out to ss. WALKER homered to left field, RBI.
ADAMS grounded out to ss. VERN struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - CROSBY grounded out to 2b. NELSON struck out
looking. BANKS singled up the middle. BANKS stole second. JOHNSON, S. struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 3rd - STEGLICH walked. PACK popped into double play p to 1b; STEGLICH out
on the play. KERVIN reached on a fielding error by rf, out at second rf to ss. 0
runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - VILLEZCAS grounded out to 1b unassisted. SAYLOR
doubled to center field. HIESTAND grounded out to 2b; SAYLOR advanced to third. KO
lined out to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 4th - TROUT singled up the middle. TROUT stole second. HUFFMAN flied out
to cf; TROUT advanced to third. CARPENTER singled to left field, RBI; TROUT scored.
WALKER flied out to cf. CARPENTER out at first p to 1b, picked off. 1 run, 2
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - WALTON singled up the middle. CROSBY grounded into
double play p to ss to 1b; WALTON out on the play. NELSON singled up the middle.
BANKS flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 5th - ADAMS flied out to lf. VERN struck out swinging. STEGLICH flied out
to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - JOHNSON, S. grounded out to p. VILLEZCAS walked.
SAYLOR flied out to lf. HIESTAND grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
TCU 6th - PACK popped up to 2b. KERVIN struck out looking. TROUT struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - KO walked. CARTER pinch ran for KO. WALTON grounded
out to p, SAC, bunt; CARTER advanced to second. CROSBY singled to right center, RBI;
CARTER scored. NELSON struck out swinging. BANKS struck out swinging. 1 run, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
TCU 7th - HUFFMAN walked. CARPENTER grounded into double play 3b to ss to 1b;
HUFFMAN out on the play. WALKER flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - JOHNSON, S. struck out swinging. VILLEZCAS grounded
out to 2b. SAYLOR reached on a fielding error by 3b. HIESTAND grounded out to 1b
unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
TCU 8th - ADAMS reached on a throwing error by ss. BUTTELL pinch hit for
VERN. BUTTELL grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; ADAMS advanced to second. STEGLICH
popped up to c. PACK homered to right field, 2 RBI, unearned; ADAMS scored,
unearned. KERVIN grounded out to 2b. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - BUTTELL to lf. CARTER walked. WALTON singled to
left field; CARTER advanced to third. CROSBY singled to center field, RBI; WALTON
advanced to third; CARTER scored. FARISH to p for DEMEL. NELSON flied out to cf, SF,
RBI; WALTON scored. BANKS singled to left field; CROSBY advanced to second. FURROW
to p for FARISH. VARGAS pinch ran for CROSBY. JOHNSON, S. reached on a fielding
error by ss; BANKS advanced to second; VARGAS advanced to third. VILLEZCAS singled
to third base, RBI; JOHNSON, S. advanced to second; BANKS advanced to third; VARGAS
scored. VILLEZCAS advanced to second; JOHNSON, S. advanced to third; BANKS scored on
a wild pitch. SAYLOR struck out swinging. HIESTAND flied out to cf. 4 runs, 4
hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
TCU 9th - VARGAS to 3b. TROUT walked. CHRISTIANSEN to p for WELLS. HUFFMAN
flied out to cf. CARPENTER reached on a fielding error by ss; TROUT advanced to
second. CARRUTHERS pinch ran for CARPENTER. WALKER struck out looking. ADAMS flied
out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.