LAS -- Matt Jensen came in relief to shut down UNLV and allow BYU to gather momentum Friday for a 9-8 victory.
Jensen, a senior from Alpine, got out of jams in four of the final five innings to lift the Cougars out of a 5-1 deficit to improve their record to 12-7, while the Rebels drop to 10-16. Both teams are 1-1 in league play heading into Saturday's finale.
BYU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jonathan Cluff was hit by a pitch, advanced to second when Leon Johnson got picked off, moved to third on Kent Walton's single to right. Cluff scored on a groundout by Apana Nakayama.
Three Cougars were stranded in the first inning with a strikeout registered by shortstop Austin Hall, starting in place of Danny Vargas. Vargas may have torn an ACL Thursday night and could be out for the year.
"We'l have to wait and see on the tests of Vargas' knee when we get back to Provo to see if it might be a torn meniscus," said BYU Coach Vance Law.
In the bottom of the first, UNLV's Keith Smith belted what appeared to be a home run, but the ball fell off the left field wall and he passed the preceding runner and was ruled out. The Rebels' Calvin Beamon scored on the next play when Efren Navarro grounded out.
A double play took the Cougars out of the third inning when Walton tried to steal second following Steve Parker's strikeout.
Xavier Scruggs knocked a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer. The Rebels added another run to lift UNLV to a 4-1 lead in the fourth. It could have been more runs as UNLV batted around and had the bases loaded when DH Chad Miller fouled out to end the inning for the second frame in a row.
UNLV put three runners on base in the fifth, scoring another run and driving Jake Wortham off the mound as it took a 5-1 lead. Jensen relieved Wortham and Steve Wells got BYU out of the inning with a catch at the centerfield warning track.
"I am proud of the way Jensen threw as well as Wortham," said Law. "We didn't give Jake the defensive support he deserved."
The Rebels made two pitching changes in the sixth when some breaks went the Cougars' way. First, Parker doubled, then Kasey Ko's stroke hit right on second base, allowing Parker to score. J.T. Musso got aboard when his high fly was dropped in right field. When Wells singled to right, Musso proceeded to third where Ko was holding, producing a rundown in which Ko scored. Cluff then hit a sac-fly with the bases loaded and Walton hit a two-run triple to give BYU it's first lead, 6-5.
Smith did get his homer in the sixth to tie the score at six-all when he hit a first-pitch fastball as the lead-off batter. Then Jensen buckled down, striking out two of the next three batters to end the inning.
Parker led off with a double again, this time in the seventh as BYU put two runners on with no outs, but couldn't get them across the plate.
"Parker's back-to-back doubles were big for us," said Law of the freshman third baseman.
In the bottom of the frame, Jensen caught Braden Walker (Highland, Utah) looking to strike him out to end the seventh with a Rebel on second.
Walton hit a curveball down and in on the leftfield line for a one-out double to score Cluff in the eighth, giving BYU a 7-6 advantage. Walton and Parker scored on Ko's two-out double to centerfield for a 9-6 lead.
Jensen surrendered two runs in the ninth before giving way to freshman Brad Kidd who coaxed Smith to fly out to center on his first offering.
BYU at UNLV
Mar 16, 2007 at Las Vegas, Nev. (Earl Wilson Stadium)
BYU 9 (12-8,1-1 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
JOHNSON, Leon lf......... 5 1 1 0 1 1 3 0 0
CLUFF, Jonathan rf....... 3 2 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
WALTON, Kent 2b.......... 4 1 4 3 1 0 3 2 0
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh....... 5 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3
PARKER, Steve 3b......... 3 2 2 0 2 1 0 2 0
KO, Kasey 1b............. 4 1 3 3 1 0 7 0 0
HALL, Austin ss.......... 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 3
MUSSO, J.T. c............ 4 1 0 0 1 1 7 0 2
WELLS, Stephen cf........ 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 2
WORTHAM, Jake p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
JENSEN, Matt p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
KIDD, Brad p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 34 9 11 8 7 9 27 7 11
UNLV 8 (10-16,1-1 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BEAMON, Calvin rf........ 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
WALKER, Braden ss........ 5 0 2 2 0 1 1 3 3
SMITH, Keith 2b.......... 5 1 2 1 1 0 1 3 2
NAVARRO JR., Efren 1b.... 4 0 2 1 1 0 9 1 0
MILLER, Chad dh.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
KRETCHMER, Kyle dh...... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
GAILEN, Blake lf......... 4 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
SCRUGGS, Xavier 3b....... 4 2 2 2 1 2 3 0 1
KOWALSKI, Ryan cf........ 3 2 2 0 1 0 2 0 0
BRENLY, Michael c........ 4 0 2 1 0 2 10 1 1
TABOR, Ryan p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
GOODMAN, Michael p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MOSER, Adam p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
PUPO, Koji p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BACA, Marc p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Totals................... 40 8 15 8 4 7 27 13 13
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
BYU................. 100 005 030 - 9 11 1
UNLV................ 100 311 002 - 8 15 1
-------------------------------------------
E - HALL(4); BEAMON, C.(2). LOB - BY 11; LV 13. 2B - WALTON(10); PARKER
2(5); KO(4); SCRUGGS, X.(7). 3B - WALTON(3). HR - SMITH, Keith(2); SCRUGGS,
X.(2). HBP - CLUFF 2; WELLS; WALKER, B.; GAILEN, B.. SH - HALL 2(4);
KOWALSKI, R.(3); BRENLY, M.(2). SF - CLUFF(3). SB - JOHNSON, L.(12);
CLUFF(4); MUSSO(2); WELLS(1); KOWALSKI, R.(10). CS - WALTON(2).
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
WORTHAM, Jake....... 4.1 9 5 5 3 2 20 26
JENSEN, Matt........ 4.1 6 3 3 1 5 19 21
KIDD, Brad.......... 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
UNLV IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
TABOR, Ryan......... 5.0 4 1 1 3 6 17 22
GOODMAN, Michael.... 0.1 3 5 2 1 0 4 6
MOSER, Adam......... 1.1 2 0 0 1 2 4 7
PUPO, Koji.......... 1.0 2 3 3 2 0 5 8
BACA, Marc.......... 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 4 4
Win - JENSEN (2-2). Loss - PUPO, Koji (0-2). Save - KIDD (1).
HBP - by TABOR, Ryan (CLUFF); by WORTHAM (WALKER, B.); by WORTHAM (GAILEN, B.);
by TABOR, Ryan (WELLS); by PUPO, Koji (CLUFF).
Umpires - HP: Bruce Bayne 1B: Kevin Daugherty 3B: John Ausmus
Start: 6:30 PM Time: 3:30 Attendance: 535
BYU starters: 14/lf JOHNSON, L.; 8/rf CLUFF; 9/2b WALTON; 24/dh NAKAYAMA; 5/3b
PARKER; 22/1b KO; 18/ss HALL; 10/c MUSSO; 1/cf WELLS; 28/p WORTHAM;
UNLV starters: 38/rf BEAMON, C.; 10/ss WALKER, B.; 14/2b SMITH, Keith; 35/1b
NAVARRO JR.,; 44/dh MILLER, Chad; 22/lf GAILEN, B.; 16/3b SCRUGGS, X.; 12/cf
KOWALSKI, R.; 18/c BRENLY, M.; 17/p TABOR, Ryan;
BYU 1st - JOHNSON, L. singled to third base, bunt. JOHNSON, L. stole
second. CLUFF hit by pitch. CLUFF advanced to second; JOHNSON, L. out at third
p to ss to 3b, picked off. WALTON singled to right field; CLUFF advanced to
third. NAKAYAMA grounded out to 2b, RBI; WALTON advanced to second; CLUFF
scored. PARKER walked. KO singled to second base; PARKER advanced to second;
WALTON advanced to third. HALL struck out looking. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors,
3 LOB.
UNLV 1st - BEAMON, C. singled to center field. WALKER, B. hit by pitch;
BEAMON, C. advanced to second. SMITH, Keith singled to left center, grounded
out to 2b unassisted; WALKER, B. advanced to second; BEAMON, C. advanced to
third. NAVARRO JR., grounded out to p, RBI; WALKER, B. advanced to third;
BEAMON, C. scored. MILLER, Chad flied out to cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 2nd - MUSSO walked. MUSSO stole second. WELLS struck out swinging.
JOHNSON, L. grounded out to ss; MUSSO advanced to third. CLUFF struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - GAILEN, B. grounded out to 2b. SCRUGGS, X. struck out
swinging. KOWALSKI, R. singled to right field. KOWALSKI, R. stole second,
failed pickoff attempt. BRENLY, M. struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - WALTON singled to center field. NAKAYAMA struck out swinging.
PARKER struck out looking; WALTON out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - BEAMON, C. lined out to ss. WALKER, B. singled up the middle.
SMITH, Keith popped up to ss. NAVARRO JR., singled to center field; WALKER, B.
advanced to third. MILLER, Chad fouled out to 1b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors,
2 LOB.
BYU 4th - KO grounded out to p. HALL grounded out to 2b. MUSSO popped up
to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 4th - GAILEN, B. hit by pitch. SCRUGGS, X. homered to left field, 2
RBI; GAILEN, B. scored. KOWALSKI, R. singled to left field. BRENLY, M. singled
up the middle; KOWALSKI, R. advanced to third. BEAMON, C. flied out to lf.
WALKER, B. grounded out to 3b, RBI; BRENLY, M. advanced to second; KOWALSKI, R.
scored. SMITH, Keith walked. NAVARRO JR., walked; SMITH, Keith advanced to
second; BRENLY, M. advanced to third. MILLER, Chad fouled out to 1b. 3 runs,
3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 5th - WELLS hit by pitch. WELLS stole second. JOHNSON, L. struck out
looking. CLUFF grounded out to ss; WELLS advanced to third. WALTON walked.
NAKAYAMA popped up to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 5th - GAILEN, B. singled through the left side. SCRUGGS, X. walked;
GAILEN, B. advanced to second. KOWALSKI, R. out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
SCRUGGS, X. advanced to second; GAILEN, B. advanced to third. JENSEN to p for
WORTHAM. BRENLY, M. singled to center field, RBI; SCRUGGS, X. advanced to
third; GAILEN, B. scored. BEAMON, C. flied out to lf. WALKER, B. flied out to
cf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - GOODMAN, M. to p for TABOR, Ryan. PARKER doubled to left
field. KO singled to second base, RBI; PARKER scored. HALL grounded out to p,
SAC, bunt; KO advanced to second. MUSSO reached on a fielding error by rf.
WELLS singled to right field, advanced to second on the throw; MUSSO advanced
to third; KO scored. JOHNSON, L. walked. MOSER, Adam to p for GOODMAN, M..
CLUFF flied out to cf, SF, RBI; MUSSO scored, unearned. WALTON tripled to left
center, 2 RBI; JOHNSON, L. scored, unearned; WELLS scored, unearned. NAKAYAMA
struck out swinging. 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
UNLV 6th - SMITH, Keith homered to left center, RBI. NAVARRO JR.,
singled to pitcher. KRETCHMER, K to dh for MILLER, Chad. KRETCHMER, K struck
out swinging. GAILEN, B. flied out to rf. SCRUGGS, X. struck out looking. 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - PARKER doubled to left field. KO walked. HALL grounded out to
p, SAC, bunt; KO advanced to second; PARKER advanced to third. MUSSO struck out
looking. PUPO, Koji to p for MOSER, Adam. WELLS flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 7th - KOWALSKI, R. reached on a fielding error by ss. BRENLY, M.
out at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; KOWALSKI, R. advanced to second. BEAMON, C.
grounded out to ss. WALKER, B. struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error,
1 LOB.
BYU 8th - JOHNSON, L. grounded out to 2b. CLUFF hit by pitch. CLUFF
stole second. WALTON doubled down the lf line, RBI; CLUFF scored. NAKAYAMA
fouled out to 3b. PARKER walked. KO doubled to center field, 2 RBI; PARKER
scored; WALTON scored. HALL walked. BACA, Marc to p for PUPO, Koji. MUSSO
fouled out to c. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 8th - SMITH, Keith grounded out to 2b. NAVARRO JR., flied out to
lf. KRETCHMER, K flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 9th - WELLS out at first 1b to p. JOHNSON, L. grounded out to p,
bunt. CLUFF struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 9th - GAILEN, B. struck out looking. SCRUGGS, X. doubled to left
center. KOWALSKI, R. walked. BRENLY, M. struck out swinging. BEAMON, C. singled
through the right side, RBI; KOWALSKI, R. advanced to third; SCRUGGS, X.
scored. WALKER, B. singled up the middle, RBI; BEAMON, C. advanced to third;
KOWALSKI, R. scored. KIDD to p for JENSEN. SMITH, Keith flied out to cf. 2
runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.