USAFA -- A grand slam by Addison Gentry in windy conditions Thursday snapped a 55-game conference losing streak for the Air Force Academy as it beat BYU, 13-9.
The Cougars, now 15-25 overall and 5-8 in the Mountain West Conference, had leads of 3-0 and 6-3 after the first two innings, but had to rally back to tie the game at nine-all in the ninth. BYU is now mired in its own losing skein of five consecutive games.
"This was a heart-breaking loss," said BYU coach Vance Law. "These guys (AFA) haven't won a game in a year-and-a-half and I hate to be the victim. Unfortunately we hung a breaking ball they hit over the wall. They are much improved this year.
"In the fourth through the eighth innings we didn't do a whole lot. It's disheartening, we've got to get out of this with our pitchers. Right now we're not performing well under pressure."
It looked like the Cougars might pull it out as AFA starter Alex Truesdale, now 2-5, began to falter in the ninth as he threw 157 pitches in helping the Falcons improve to and 14-24 overall and 1-11 in the MWC.
BYU's Sean McNaughton hit a one-out double put Brandon Relf on third in the ninth to revive the Cougars' hope. Dan Vargas' single scored Relf and moved McNaughton to third. Kent Walton then beat out an infield single to score McNaughton and tie the game, 9-9.
McNaughton led the game off with a single and scored two batters later when Walton singled in the first inning.
AFA tied the game, 3-3 in the bottom of the first as Nathan Carter hit the first pitch for a home run and along with an RBI double by Chay Derbigny.
Cougar catcher J.T. Musso led off with a double in the second and was driven in by a Relf homer to right field, followed by an RBI single from Walton to take a 6-3 lead.
K.J. Randhawa hit a bases-clearing double to help AFA take a 7-6 lead in the second.
Falcon Josh Meents hit a one-out double in the third en route to an 8-6 lead as the Falcons chased Cougar starter Jordan Muir off the mound.
BYU Reliever Michael Ward threw out runner at home in the fourth as the Falcons loaded the bases before he struck out the last two batters to end that inning.
Kasey Ko hit a homer over the right-centerfield wall to bring BYU back within one in the fifth, 8-7.
Double plays started by Vargas ended Falcon threats in the sixth and the eighth.
Carter led off with a seventh-inning double and was driven in by Derbigny, putting AFA up 9-7 as Brandon Michon replaced Ward.
Vai Shierholtz hit a lead-off double against Sean Amerson, the eventual losing pitcher, in the bottom of the ninth to start the Falcon comeback.
The two teams play game two of the three-game series on Friday at 2 p.m., followed by a Saturday contest at noon.
Brigham Young Univ. at Air Force
Apr 24, 2008 at USAF Academy, Colo. (Falcon Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 9 (15-25,5-8 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
MCNAUGHTON, Sean lf...... 5 3 4 0 0 0 3 0 0
VARGAS, Dan ss........... 4 1 1 1 1 0 1 3 1
WALTON, Kent cf.......... 5 1 4 3 0 0 1 0 0
PARKER, Steve 3b......... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 1
KO, Kasey 1b............. 5 1 1 2 0 2 10 0 2
CLUFF, Jonathan rf....... 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
AYOSO, Bryce dh.......... 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
MUSSO, J.T. c............ 4 1 1 0 0 1 6 1 0
RELF, Brandon 2b......... 3 2 2 2 1 0 4 3 0
MUIR, Jordan p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
WARD, Michael p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MICHON, Brandon p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
AMERSON, Sean p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MILLER, Jared p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 38 9 13 9 2 6 25 15 5
Air Force 13 (14-24,1-11 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CARTER, Nathan 2b........ 4 3 3 1 1 0 0 5 0
RANDHAWA, K.J. ss........ 4 3 1 3 1 0 1 4 0
DERBIGNY, Chay rf........ 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 3
GENTRY, Addison 1b....... 6 1 4 5 0 1 12 0 0
ALEXANDER, Matt dh....... 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
AUSBUN, Ben ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
WALKER, Daniel cf........ 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0
MEENTS, Josh c........... 3 2 2 0 2 0 6 0 0
MOSS, Tytus lf........... 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0
ABT, Jeff ph............ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
ALLEN, Jake pr/lf....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
SCHIERHOLTZ, Vai 3b...... 3 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 4
TRUESDALE, Alex p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Totals................... 38 13 14 13 7 7 27 13 11
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 330 010 002 - 9 13 1
Air Force........... 341 000 104 - 13 14 0
-------------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 0 runners LOB when the game ended.
E - PARKER(15). DP - Cougars 2. LOB - Cougars 5; Falcons 11. 2B -
MCNAUGHTON(15); MUSSO(7); CARTER(12); RANDHAWA(4); DERBIGNY 2(12);
MEENTS(5); SCHIERHOLTZ(1). HR - KO(4); RELF(3); CARTER(2); GENTRY(4). HBP -
PARKER; RANDHAWA; SCHIERHOLTZ. SH - CARTER(1). SF - SCHIERHOLTZ(1). SB -
MCNAUGHTON(18); WALTON(12); CLUFF(16); DERBIGNY 2(25); MOSS(4).
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MUIR, Jordan........ 2.2 7 8 8 2 4 15 19
WARD, Michael....... 3.2 4 1 1 4 2 16 20
MICHON, Brandon..... 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 5 5
AMERSON, Sean....... 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2
MILLER, Jared....... 0.0 1 3 3 1 0 1 3
Air Force IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
TRUESDALE, Alex..... 9.0 13 9 9 2 6 38 41
Win - TRUESDALE (2-5). Loss - AMERSON (0-3). Save - None.
WP - MUIR(5). HBP - by TRUESDALE (PARKER); by MUIR (SCHIERHOLTZ); by MILLER
(RANDHAWA).
Umpires - HP: Kevin Sweeney 1B: Ryan West 3B: Phil Schlosser
Start: 2 p.m. Time: 3:10 Attendance: 134
MILLER faced 3 batters in the 9th.
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/lf MCNAUGHTON; 13/ss VARGAS; 9/cf WALTON; 5/3b
PARKER; 22/1b KO; 8/rf CLUFF; 11/dh AYOSO; 10/c MUSSO; 4/2b RELF; 12/p MUIR;
Air Force starters: 15/2b CARTER; 1/ss RANDHAWA; 5/rf DERBIGNY; 24/1b GENTRY;
21/dh ALEXANDER; 2/cf WALKER; 8/c MEENTS; 16/lf MOSS; 18/3b SCHIERHOLTZ; 3/p
TRUESDALE;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - MCNAUGHTON singled through the right side.
VARGAS walked; MCNAUGHTON advanced to second. WALTON singled up the middle,
RBI; VARGAS advanced to third; MCNAUGHTON scored. WALTON stole second. PARKER
hit by pitch. KO out at first 2b to p, RBI; PARKER advanced to second; WALTON
advanced to third; VARGAS scored. CLUFF reached on a fielder's choice, RBI;
PARKER out at third ss to 3b; WALTON scored. CLUFF stole second. AYOSO flied
out to rf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 1st - CARTER homered down the lf line, RBI. RANDHAWA walked.
DERBIGNY doubled to center field, RBI; RANDHAWA scored. GENTRY lined out to 1b.
DERBIGNY stole third. ALEXANDER grounded out to 2b, RBI; DERBIGNY scored.
WALKER struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - MUSSO doubled to right field, ground-rule.
RELF homered to right center, 2 RBI; MUSSO scored. MCNAUGHTON singled to right
field. MCNAUGHTON stole second. VARGAS grounded out to 2b; MCNAUGHTON advanced
to third. WALTON singled through the left side, RBI; MCNAUGHTON scored. WALTON
out at first p to 1b, picked off. PARKER struck out swinging. 3 runs, 4
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 2nd - MEENTS singled to right center. MOSS struck out
swinging. SCHIERHOLTZ hit by pitch; MEENTS advanced to second. CARTER singled
to right center; SCHIERHOLTZ advanced to second; MEENTS advanced to third.
RANDHAWA doubled to right center, 3 RBI; CARTER scored; SCHIERHOLTZ scored;
MEENTS scored. DERBIGNY struck out looking. GENTRY singled to right field, RBI;
RANDHAWA scored. ALEXANDER grounded out to p. 4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - KO struck out looking. CLUFF grounded out to
2b. AYOSO flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 3rd - WALKER grounded out to 3b. MEENTS doubled to right
center. MOSS struck out swinging, reached first on a wild pitch; MEENTS
advanced to third. SCHIERHOLTZ flied out to lf, SF, RBI; MEENTS scored. MOSS
stole second. CARTER walked. WARD to p for MUIR. RANDHAWA reached on a
fielder's choice to shortstop; CARTER advanced to second; MOSS advanced to
third. DERBIGNY reached on a fielder's choice; RANDHAWA out at second 3b to 2b.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - MUSSO struck out looking. RELF walked.
MCNAUGHTON flied out to cf. VARGAS grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 4th - GENTRY singled up the middle. ALEXANDER reached on a
fielding error by 3b; GENTRY advanced to third. WALKER reached on a fielder's
choice; ALEXANDER advanced to second; GENTRY out at home p to c. MEENTS walked;
WALKER advanced to second; ALEXANDER advanced to third. MOSS struck out
swinging. SCHIERHOLTZ struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 3
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - WALTON grounded out to ss. PARKER lined out to
ss. KO homered to right center, RBI. CLUFF grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 5th - CARTER flied out to lf. RANDHAWA flied out to lf.
DERBIGNY walked. DERBIGNY stole second. GENTRY singled to second base; DERBIGNY
advanced to third. ALEXANDER reached on a fielder's choice; GENTRY out at
second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - AYOSO struck out swinging. MUSSO flied out to
lf. RELF grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 6th - WALKER grounded out to 3b. MEENTS walked. ABT pinch hit
for MOSS. ABT walked; MEENTS advanced to second. ALLEN, J. pinch ran for ABT.
SCHIERHOLTZ grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; ALLEN, J. out on the
play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - ALLEN, J. to lf. MCNAUGHTON singled through
the left side. MCNAUGHTON out at first p to 1b, picked off. VARGAS fouled out
to 1b. WALTON singled through the left side. PARKER struck out swinging. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force 7th - CARTER doubled down the lf line. RANDHAWA flied out to
cf; CARTER advanced to third. DERBIGNY doubled to left field, RBI; CARTER
scored. MICHON to p for WARD. GENTRY struck out swinging. AUSBUN pinch hit for
ALEXANDER. AUSBUN grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - KO flied out to lf. CLUFF grounded out to 3b.
AYOSO grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force 8th - WALKER singled to right center. MEENTS reached on a
fielder's choice, bunt; WALKER out at second p to ss. ALLEN, J. grounded into
double play ss to 2b to 1b; MEENTS out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - MUSSO grounded out to ss. RELF singled through
the left side. MCNAUGHTON doubled to left center; RELF advanced to third.
VARGAS singled to left field, RBI; MCNAUGHTON advanced to third; RELF scored.
WALTON singled to third base, RBI; VARGAS advanced to second; MCNAUGHTON
scored. PARKER flied out to lf. KO struck out swinging. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Air Force 9th - AMERSON to p for MICHON. SCHIERHOLTZ doubled down the rf
line. CARTER grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt; SCHIERHOLTZ advanced to third.
MILLER to p for AMERSON. RANDHAWA hit by pitch. DERBIGNY intentionally walked;
RANDHAWA advanced to second. GENTRY homered to right center, 4 RBI; DERBIGNY
scored; RANDHAWA scored; SCHIERHOLTZ scored. 4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.