PROVO -- Jonathan Cluff hit a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning Thursday to give BYU (21-27 overall, 8-11 MWC) a 10-9 victory over San Diego State (25-24 overall, 10-9 MWC) at Larry H. Miller Field.
“We just fought and fought,” said Cluff. “We know that it doesn’t matter how you start a game, but how you finish, and we finished strong.
After a sacrifice bunt by senior Bryce Ayoso and a walk to load the bases with no outs, Cluff drove a 1-1 fastball from SDSU pitcher Ethan Miller to the right field wall to give BYU a much-needed conference win in dramatic fashion.
The shot was Cluff’s first game-winning RBI of the season and his 39th RBI of the year.
Cluff was responsible for sending the game into extra-innings in the bottom of the ninth when he roped a two-out, two-RBI single to tie the game at seven apiece before his late-inning heroics in the 10th.
“We’ve really stressed playing an entire ballgame,” BYU head coach Vance Law said. “I’m really proud of the way our guys played tonight.”
Sean McNaughton added to an impressive senior campaign, hitting two home runs. He hit his 12th home run of the season, driving in his 30 and 31st RBI of the year in the bottom of the second inning. His second home run of the night came in the bottom of the eighth. McNaughton finished with five RBI on the night, bringing his season total to 34.
McNaughton’s two home runs moved him within one towards first place on the Mountain West Conference career home run list.
Junior Justin Shutt picked up the win in relief for the Cougars, throwing nine pitches and going only two-thirds of an inning to get his fourth win of the season.
The Cougars square off against the Aztecs again Friday in the second of a three-game series at Miller Park. The game is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on BYUtv.
SDS at BYU
May 13, 2010 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
SDS 9 (25-24,10-9 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
TORRES, Jomel 1b......... 5 2 2 2 1 0 9 1 0
BLACKBURN, Mitch 2b...... 6 2 3 1 0 0 4 2 0
MEREDITH, Brandon rf..... 4 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0
VAUGHN, Cory cf.......... 5 1 2 1 1 1 5 0 4
MOORE, Blair 3b.......... 6 0 1 2 0 2 0 3 1
O'SULLIVAN, Ryan ss...... 6 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 5
WILLEFORD, Guy dh........ 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
PARKER, Matt c........... 4 2 2 1 1 0 7 0 1
CHASSE, Josh lf.......... 5 1 2 1 0 1 2 0 1
REED, Addison p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WYNVEEN, Ryan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
MILLER, Ethan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 46 9 16 9 4 6 28 7 12
BYU 10 (21-27,8-11 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon ss......... 6 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 2
WELLS, Stephen cf........ 6 2 3 2 0 0 7 0 2
WOLFE, Alex 1b........... 4 2 1 0 2 0 5 2 0
AYOSO, Bryce c........... 5 0 1 0 0 1 6 0 3
BERNAL, Ryan dh.......... 3 3 2 0 2 0 0 0 1
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf...... 4 2 2 5 1 1 5 0 1
CLUFF, Jonathan rf....... 6 0 2 3 0 1 1 0 0
HALL, Austin 3b.......... 5 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b......... 5 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 2
NEIL, Matthew p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
ANDERSON, Mark p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
HOWARD, Chris p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
BIRCH, Nick p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MICHON, Brandon p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
BREWER, Devin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SLOAN, Kevin p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SHUTT, Justin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 44 10 17 10 5 6 30 7 14
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------------
SDS................. 101 022 010 2 - 9 16 1
BYU................. 020 000 023 3 - 10 17 1
---------------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 3 runners LOB when the game ended.
E - O'SULLIVAN(6); HALL(15). LOB - SDSU 12; Cougars 14. 2B - VAUGHN(12);
BERNAL(9); NIELSEN(9). HR - TORRES 2(5); PARKER(3); CHASSE(2); WELLS(4);
McNAUGHTON 2(13). HBP - BERNAL. SH - MEREDITH(2); AYOSO(4). SF -
McNAUGHTON(3). SB - VAUGHN(13); HALL(8).
SDS IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
REED, Addison....... 8.0 11 4 4 2 6 35 37 124
WYNVEEN, Ryan....... 1.0 3 3 1 0 0 6 8 23
MILLER, Ethan....... 0.1 3 3 3 3 0 3 7 30
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
NEIL, Matthew....... 0.2 2 1 1 1 1 3 5 20
ANDERSON, Mark...... 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 5
HOWARD, Chris....... 3.2 5 3 3 1 1 16 17 54
BIRCH, Nick......... 0.2 2 2 2 0 0 4 4 13
MICHON, Brandon..... 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 6 7 25
BREWER, Devin....... 2.0 4 1 1 0 0 10 10 27
SLOAN, Kevin........ 0.1 2 2 1 1 1 4 5 30
SHUTT, Justin....... 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 10
Win - SHUTT (4-6). Loss - MILLER (0-2). Save - None.
WP - WYNVEEN(7); MILLER(3); ANDERSON(6); HOWARD(1). HBP - by WYNVEEN (BERNAL).
Inherited runners/scored: ANDERSON 2/0; BIRCH 1/0; SHUTT 2/0. Pitches/strikes:
REED 124/80; WYNVEEN 23/13; MILLER 30/11; NEIL 20/11; ANDERSON 5/3; HOWARD
54/35; BIRCH 13/8; MICHON 25/14; BREWER 27/17; SLOAN 30/16; SHUTT 10/7.
Umpires - HP: John Cortez 1B: Dale Luker 3B: Bruce Siegel
Start: 6:05 pm Time: 3:36 Attendance: 931
Weather: partly cloudy, 61 degrees
SD 1st - TORRES homered, RBI (3-2). BLACKBURN singled to right center
(1-0). MEREDITH grounded out to p, SAC, bunt (0-0); BLACKBURN advanced to
second. VAUGHN walked (3-2). MOORE struck out swinging (1-2). ANDERSON to p for
NEIL. VAUGHN advanced to second; BLACKBURN advanced to third on a wild pitch.
O'SULLIVAN struck out swinging (2-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 1st - RELF popped up to 2b (3-2). WELLS grounded out to 2b (2-1).
WOLFE walked (3-0). AYOSO flied out to cf (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
SD 2nd - HOWARD to p for ANDERSON. WILLEFORD grounded out to p (0-0).
PARKER grounded out to 2b (0-2). CHASSE flied out to lf (2-1). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - BERNAL doubled to right field (0-0). McNAUGHTON homered to
right field, 2 RBI (2-1); BERNAL scored. CLUFF lined out to 2b (1-1). HALL
struck out swinging (1-2). NIELSEN singled to left field (0-0). RELF singled
down the rf line (2-1); NIELSEN advanced to third. WELLS fouled out to 2b
(0-2). 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
SD 3rd - TORRES flied out to cf (3-2). BLACKBURN singled to first base
(1-2). BLACKBURN advanced to second on a wild pitch. MEREDITH singled up the
middle, RBI (2-1); BLACKBURN scored. VAUGHN flied out to cf (1-0). MOORE struck
out looking (1-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - WOLFE grounded out to ss (2-0). AYOSO struck out looking
(1-2). BERNAL singled to right field (1-0). McNAUGHTON struck out swinging
(3-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
SD 4th - O'SULLIVAN popped up to 2b (0-1). WILLEFORD out at first 1b to
p (0-0). PARKER walked (3-0). CHASSE grounded out to 3b (2-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - CLUFF flied out to cf (0-1). HALL struck out swinging (2-2).
NIELSEN doubled to left field (0-0). RELF struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
SD 5th - TORRES flied out to lf (1-2). BLACKBURN flied out to cf (1-0).
MEREDITH singled to left field (1-0). VAUGHN doubled to right field (0-0);
MEREDITH advanced to third. MOORE singled to right field, 2 RBI (0-0); VAUGHN
scored; MEREDITH scored. BIRCH to p for HOWARD. O'SULLIVAN flied out to cf
(3-2). 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - WELLS grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-0). WOLFE flied out to
lf (3-1). AYOSO singled up the middle (0-0). BERNAL flied out to cf (1-1). 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
SD 6th - WILLEFORD grounded out to 2b (1-0). PARKER homered to left
field, RBI (0-0). CHASSE homered to left field, RBI (1-2). MICHON to p for
BIRCH. TORRES walked (3-0). BLACKBURN reached on a fielder's choice (1-1);
TORRES out at second 2b unassisted. MEREDITH singled up the middle (2-2);
BLACKBURN advanced to second. VAUGHN struck out swinging (2-2). 2 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - McNAUGHTON grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-2). CLUFF grounded
out to 3b (0-1). HALL fouled out to c (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
SD 7th - MOORE flied out to lf (1-1). O'SULLIVAN popped up to 2b (1-1).
WILLEFORD out at first 1b to p (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - NIELSEN grounded out to 3b (1-2). RELF grounded out to 2b
(0-0). WELLS singled to left center (0-0). WOLFE singled to right field (1-1);
WELLS advanced to third. AYOSO flied out to lf (0-1). 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
SD 8th - BREWER to p for MICHON. PARKER singled up the middle (1-0).
CHASSE singled to center field (1-2); PARKER advanced to second. TORRES popped
up to 3b (1-1). BLACKBURN singled to right field, RBI (3-2); CHASSE advanced to
third; PARKER scored. MEREDITH flied out to cf (0-0). VAUGHN flied out to lf
(1-0). 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 8th - BERNAL walked (3-1). McNAUGHTON homered to left field, 2 RBI
(1-0); BERNAL scored. CLUFF struck out looking (0-2). HALL singled up the
middle (0-0). NIELSEN flied out to cf (3-2). HALL stole second. RELF popped up
to 2b (1-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
SD 9th - MOORE flied out to cf (1-1). O'SULLIVAN flied out to rf (1-0).
WILLEFORD singled to right field (0-0). PARKER flied out to cf (1-1). 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 9th - WYNVEEN to p for REED. WELLS singled to first base (1-2).
WOLFE reached on a throwing error by ss (2-0); WELLS advanced to second. AYOSO
out at first 1b to p (1-0); WOLFE advanced to second; WELLS advanced to third.
BERNAL hit by pitch (2-0). McNAUGHTON flied out to cf, SF, RBI (1-1); WOLFE
advanced to third; WELLS scored. BERNAL advanced to second on a wild pitch.
CLUFF singled up the middle, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI (1-1);
BERNAL scored, unearned; WOLFE scored, unearned. HALL singled to shortstop
(2-0); CLUFF advanced to third. NIELSEN grounded out to 1b unassisted (0-1).
3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
SD 10th - SLOAN to p for BREWER. CHASSE struck out swinging (3-2).
TORRES homered to right field, RBI (3-2). BLACKBURN reached on a fielding error
by 3b (3-2). MEREDITH walked (3-2); BLACKBURN advanced to second. VAUGHN
singled to left field, RBI (1-2); MEREDITH advanced to second; BLACKBURN
scored, unearned. SHUTT to p for SLOAN. MOORE flied out to lf (1-1); MEREDITH
advanced to third. VAUGHN stole second. O'SULLIVAN struck out swinging (2-2).
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 10th - MILLER to p for WYNVEEN. RELF singled to right field (1-0).
RELF advanced to second on a wild pitch. WELLS homered to right center, 2 RBI
(3-2); RELF scored. WOLFE walked (3-2). AYOSO grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt
(2-1); WOLFE advanced to second. BERNAL intentionally walked (3-0). McNAUGHTON
walked (3-0); BERNAL advanced to second; WOLFE advanced to third. CLUFF singled
to right field, RBI (1-1); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; BERNAL advanced to
third; WOLFE scored. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.