SALT LAKE CITY -- "I've never witnessed anything like this before in my life," said Coach Vance Law of BYU's 13-10 come-from-behind victory over Utah on Saturday afternoon.
"It was an incredible game," said Law of his baseball team bouncing back from a 10-0 deficit in the 12-run eighth inning. And the reward: a Cougar victory, the baseball trophy from the Deseret First Duels and bragging rights, at least until the two teams lock heads again Tuesday night in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at Ft. Worth, Texas.
The litany of singles in that eighth inning reads like a list of "begats" from the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, Chapter One.
Kasey Ko finally got BYU on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the to bring Dan Vargas across the plate. Then Steve Parker singled to right field, scoring Kent Walton and Utah brought in ace reliever Robert Chimpky. Jonathan Cluff then singled in Ko, Brandon Relf singled in Parker, Bryce Ayoso brought in Cluff, Andrew Law singled in Relf, all with no outs, and Utah up 10-6.
With Walton at the plate as the game-tying run and bases loaded, Chimky walked him. Ko came up again in the eighth and stroked a two-RBI single to bring BYU within one, 10-9. Cluff singled in the tying run in the form of Walton. Relf's game-winning RBI single to right scored pinch-runner Michael Bowen and chased Chimpky from the mound with the Cougars ahead 11-10.
Utah lefty Tyler Andersen went to the mound, but added insult to the injury as his balk scored Cluff to put BYU up 12-10. All told, BYU scored 12 runs off 11 hits, one Utah error and one Cougar left on base in the eighth.
"Our players continued to believe something good was going to happen. Who would have ever thought being down 10-0 in the seventh? I looked out at the scoreboard and thought, 'can this really happen?'"
When the stunned Utes came to bat in the eighth, down 12-10, they got a brief glimmer of hope with their first two runners aboard. Then Cougar reliever Jared Miller slammed the door to earn his fourth save of the season.
"It's great playing rivalry games," said Miller, a lefty who transferred from Cal State Northridge. "Those 10 runs came quick and it was awesome to watch. I wanted to go out and get the inning over quickly."
The fourth-seeded Cougars, now 22-34 overall and 10-14 in the MWC, ready for the rubber match with fifth-seeded Utah, now 23-26 and 10-14, and more than the 1,004 fans in attendance at Saturday's game will be watching.
Brigham Young Univ. at University of Utah
May 17, 2008 at Salt Lake City, Utah (Franklin Covey Field)
Brigham Young Univ. 13 (22-34,10-14 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
MCNAUGHTON, Sean lf...... 6 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 .350
VARGAS, Dan ss........... 5 2 3 1 0 0 3 6 1 .320
WALTON, Kent cf.......... 5 2 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 .317
KO, Kasey 1b............. 5 1 3 3 0 0 8 1 0 .350
BOWEN, Michael pr....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
BILLS, Thomas 1b........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .275
PARKER, Steve 3b......... 5 1 2 1 0 1 1 0 2 .335
CLUFF, Jonathan rf....... 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 .335
RELF, Brandon dh......... 5 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 .294
MUSSO, J.T. c............ 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 .265
LEACH, J.C. ph.......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
AYOSO, Bryce c.......... 2 1 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 .264
LAW, Andrew 2b........... 5 1 1 1 0 0 3 5 0 .264
MUIR, Jordan p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
AMERSON, Sean p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
MICHON, Brandon p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
SHUTT, Justin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
WARD, Michael p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
MILLER, Jared p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 47 13 18 12 1 2 27 14 9
University of Utah 10 (23-26,10-14 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
SHIMADA, Corey 2b........ 4 4 3 0 1 0 1 1 2 .348
GUYMON, Cody dh.......... 3 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 .385
SHRINER, Jesse c......... 5 2 5 5 0 0 2 0 0 .379
HENNIS, Dustin lf........ 5 1 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 .317
JONES, Austin 1b......... 4 1 2 2 0 1 10 0 0 .332
FERGUSON, Fred rf........ 4 0 1 1 0 1 6 0 3 .265
BELTRAN, Michael ss...... 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 .383
RELF, Tyler cf........... 5 0 1 1 0 1 5 0 2 .171
KUROCZKO, Nick 3b........ 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 .338
WALKER, Devin ph........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .160
CARD, Bryn p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
STREICH, Stephen p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
CHIMPKY, Robert p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
ANDERSEN, Tyler p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -
ASKEW, Bennett p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
Totals................... 39 10 16 10 4 6 27 8 8
Score by Innings R H E
----------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 0(12)1 - 13 18 1
University of Utah.. 204 102 10 0 - 10 16 3
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E - CLUFF(10); SHIMADA(12); BELTRAN 2(23). DP - BYU Cougars 3. LOB - BYU
Cougars 9; Utah Utes 8. 2B - MCNAUGHTON(22); VARGAS(19); SHIMADA(11);
JONES(14); BELTRAN(9). HR - SHRINER(8). HBP - VARGAS; JONES. SH -
FERGUSON(2). SB - VARGAS(9).
Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
MUIR, Jordan........ 2.1 6 6 6 2 0 12 14 47 7.33
AMERSON, Sean....... 2.2 4 1 1 0 0 10 12 38 8.29
MICHON, Brandon..... 0.2 2 2 2 0 2 4 4 16 9.23
SHUTT, Justin....... 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 5 6 24 6.65
WARD, Michael....... 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 9 8.64
MILLER, Jared....... 2.0 2 0 0 0 3 7 7 36 5.54
University of Utah IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
CARD, Bryn.......... 6.0 5 0 0 0 1 24 24 72 3.53
STREICH, Stephen.... 1.0 5 4 4 0 0 8 8 15 5.45
CHIMPKY, Robert..... 0.2 7 8 8 1 0 9 11 32 8.56
ANDERSEN, Tyler..... 0.2 1 1 0 0 0 4 4 12 2.75
ASKEW, Bennett...... 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 8 10.13
Win - WARD (1-1). Loss - CHIMPKY (0-5). Save - MILLER (4).
HBP - by AMERSON (JONES); by CHIMPKY (VARGAS). BK - MICHON(4); ANDERSEN(1). PB -
AYOSO(5). Pitches/strikes: MUIR 47/23; AMERSON 38/25; MICHON 16/12; SHUTT 24/10;
WARD 9/3; MILLER 36/24; CARD 72/48; STREICH 15/11; CHIMPKY 32/20; ANDERSEN 12/6;
ASKEW 8/5.
Umpires - HP: Jason Rogers 1B: Kevin Daugherty 3B: Randy Upton
Start: 1:04 pm Time: 3:11 Attendance: 1004
Weather: Sunny, 79 degrees
STREICH faced 4 batters in the 8th.
WARD faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 15/lf MCNAUGHTON; 13/ss VARGAS; 9/cf WALTON;
22/1b KO; 5/3b PARKER; 8/rf CLUFF; 4/dh RELF; 10/c MUSSO; 6/2b LAW; 12/p MUIR;
University of Utah starters: 3/2b SHIMADA; 5/dh GUYMON; 7/c SHRINER; 16/lf
HENNIS; 28/1b JONES; 13/rf FERGUSON; 8/ss BELTRAN; 30/cf RELF; 9/3b KUROCZKO;
33/p CARD;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - MCNAUGHTON flied out to rf (3-2). VARGAS
reached on an error by 2b (0-1). WALTON flied out to rf (1-0). KO singled
through the right side (0-1); VARGAS advanced to third. PARKER struck out
swinging (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
University of Utah 1st - SHIMADA singled to left field (3-2). GUYMON
walked (3-1); SHIMADA advanced to second. SHRINER singled to left field, RBI
(2-0); GUYMON advanced to second; SHIMADA scored. HENNIS grounded into double
play 2b to ss to 1b (3-2); SHRINER out on the play; GUYMON advanced to third.
JONES singled to right field, RBI (1-2); GUYMON scored. FERGUSON flied out to
cf (3-2). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - CLUFF flied out to rf (0-1). RELF flied out to
lf (2-1). MUSSO fouled out to 1b (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
University of Utah 2nd - BELTRAN grounded out to ss (0-0). RELF grounded
out to ss (0-0). KUROCZKO flied out to lf (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - LAW grounded out to 2b (1-0). MCNAUGHTON
grounded out to 3b (0-0). VARGAS singled through the left side (0-0). VARGAS
stole second. WALTON flied out to rf (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
University of Utah 3rd - SHIMADA walked (3-0). GUYMON singled to right
field, advanced to second on an error by rf (0-0); SHIMADA advanced to third.
SHRINER singled to right field, RBI; GUYMON advanced to third; SHIMADA scored.
HENNIS reached on a fielder's choice (2-2); SHRINER advanced to second; GUYMON
out at third 1b to c to 3b. JONES doubled to left field, RBI (1-0); HENNIS
advanced to third; SHRINER scored. AMERSON to p for MUIR. FERGUSON singled to
third base, bunt, RBI (0-0); JONES advanced to third; HENNIS scored. BELTRAN
reached on a fielder's choice, RBI (1-0); FERGUSON out at second ss to 2b;
JONES scored. RELF grounded out to 2b (0-0). 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - KO fouled out to 1b (3-1). PARKER flied out to
cf (3-2). CLUFF singled to center field (2-2). RELF flied out to rf (0-1). 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 4th - KUROCZKO grounded out to 2b (3-2). SHIMADA
doubled down the rf line (2-2). GUYMON flied out to 2b (3-1). SHRINER singled
to left field, RBI (0-1); SHIMADA scored. HENNIS reached on a fielder's choice
(1-2); SHRINER out at second ss unassisted. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - MUSSO flied out to lf. LAW grounded out to ss
(2-2). MCNAUGHTON doubled to left field (1-0). VARGAS grounded out to ss (1-0).
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 5th - JONES hit by pitch (1-2). FERGUSON grounded out
to p, SAC, bunt (0-1); JONES advanced to second. BELTRAN singled to shortstop
(1-1). RELF grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b (1-1); BELTRAN out on the
play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - WALTON flied out to lf (1-2). KO flied out to
rf (1-0). PARKER singled to shortstop (0-1). CLUFF flied out to cf (2-1). 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 6th - MICHON to p for AMERSON. KUROCZKO struck out
looking (2-2). SHIMADA singled to right field (2-2). SHIMADA advanced to second
on a balk. GUYMON struck out swinging (0-2). SHRINER homered to left field, 2
RBI (0-0); SHIMADA scored. SHUTT to p for MICHON. HENNIS grounded out to 1b
unassisted (2-0). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - STREICH to p for CARD. RELF singled through
the left side. LEACH pinch hit for MUSSO. LEACH flied out to cf (0-1). LAW
reached on a fielder's choice (0-2); RELF out at second ss to 2b. MCNAUGHTON
grounded out to p (1-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 7th - AYOSO to c for LEACH. JONES struck out swinging
(1-2). FERGUSON flied out to lf (2-1). BELTRAN doubled to left center (3-1).
RELF singled through the left side, RBI (2-0); BELTRAN scored. RELF advanced to
second on a passed ball. KUROCZKO walked (3-1). WARD to p for SHUTT. SHIMADA
flied out to lf (2-1). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - VARGAS singled up the middle (1-0). WALTON
singled to third base (1-2); VARGAS advanced to second. KO singled to center
field, RBI; WALTON advanced to third; VARGAS scored. PARKER singled through the
right side, RBI (1-0); KO advanced to second; WALTON scored. CHIMPKY to p for
STREICH. CLUFF singled to center field, RBI (0-1); PARKER advanced to second;
KO scored. RELF singled to left field, RBI (0-1); CLUFF advanced to second;
PARKER scored. AYOSO singled to right center, advanced to second on the throw,
RBI (1-0); RELF advanced to third; CLUFF scored. LAW singled to shortstop, RBI
(1-1); AYOSO advanced to third on an error by ss; RELF scored. MCNAUGHTON
fouled out to 1b (0-1). VARGAS hit by pitch (2-0); LAW advanced to second.
WALTON walked, RBI (3-2); VARGAS advanced to second; LAW advanced to third;
AYOSO scored. KO singled up the middle, 2 RBI (1-2); WALTON advanced to second;
VARGAS scored; LAW scored. PARKER flied out to cf. CLUFF singled through the
left side, RBI (1-2); KO advanced to second; WALTON scored. BOWEN pinch ran for
KO. RELF singled to right field, RBI (2-2); CLUFF advanced to third; BOWEN
scored. ANDERSEN to p for CHIMPKY. RELF advanced to second on a balk; CLUFF
scored. AYOSO flied out to cf (3-1). 12 runs, 11 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
University of Utah 8th - BILLS to 1b for BOWEN. GUYMON walked (3-1).
MILLER to p for WARD. SHRINER singled through the right side (3-2); GUYMON
advanced to second. HENNIS struck out looking (0-2). JONES flied out to cf
(2-2); GUYMON advanced to third. FERGUSON struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - LAW grounded out to p, bunt (1-0). MCNAUGHTON
reached on an error by ss (2-2). VARGAS doubled to right center, RBI;
MCNAUGHTON scored, unearned. ASKEW to p for ANDERSEN. WALTON struck out
swinging (3-2). BILLS grounded out to 3b (0-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1
LOB.
University of Utah 9th - BELTRAN singled to right field (3-1). RELF
struck out swinging (1-2). WALKER pinch hit for KUROCZKO. WALKER grounded into
double play 2b to ss to 1b (2-2); BELTRAN out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 0 LOB.