PROVO -- Reliever Kevin Sloan neutralized San Diego State on Saturday and led BYU to a 16-10 victory and sweep at Larry H. Miller Field.
Sloan retired the Aztecs in order in the seventh and struck out three SDSU batters in other late innings to help BYU improve to a 23-27 overall record and 10-11 in the Mountain West Conference.
With that victory, Sloan improves to 9-0 in the win-loss column, all in relief.
"All season long he (Sloan) has been a real force for us that we could count on," said BYU coach Vance Law. "It is nice to have him come in and throw some zeros to give us a chance to catch up."
Sloan entered the game behind 10-6 in the sixth with two runners on base. When he went to the dugout in the eighth, the score was tied 10-10.
Then Jonathan Cluff singled in Ryan Bernal for the go-ahead 11th run in the bottom of the six-run eighth before the floodgates opened. With the bases loaded, Alex Wolfe cleared them with his single to right field.
"With Wells (Stephen) on first, we've tried to train our players to always run hard and were able to force an extra run with a silent signal."
The game started after a scoreless opening inning and then the offensive fireworks began as the next five frames showcased runs by both the Aztecs and the Cougars.
The Aztecs manufacturing runs by Blair Moore in the second and Jomel Torres in the third, while the Cougars scored on a second-inning home run by Bernal followed in the third by Bernal’s run-producing walk with the bases full to bring Dane Nielsen home. BYU was unable to take the lead when Sean McNaughton left the bases loaded with a pop up to Aztec catcher Matt Parker to end the inning.
A defensive highlight during the third was produced by the Cougar infield. Wolfe took a two-hop grounder at first and not only got the force out at his base but also rifled the ball to Brandon Relf at second who tagged the advancing Aztec runner for the unconventional double play.
SDSU produced three runs in the fourth and fifth innings while BYU responded with four runs over the same span. BYU’s Austin Hall and Nielsen scored in the fourth after a Hall double and Nielsen triple, and Bryce Ayoso and McNaughton added Cougar runs in the fifth powered by Ayoso and McNaughton doubles.
The Aztecs got out of the bottom of the fifth allowing only the two Cougar runs when a well-executed relay beat Cluff to third as he attempted a triple on his two-RBI smash to left center. The Cougars returned the favor in the top of the sixth to stop the Aztec scoring after two runs when a McNaughton-to-Relf-to-Ayoso relay from left gunned down Ryan O’Sullivan at the plate for the third out.
In his first full inning of relief as BYU’s third pitcher of the game, Sloan finally ended SDSU’s five-inning scoring run with a 1-2-3 seventh. The Cougars tied the game at 10-10 in the bottom-half of the inning when Relf singled home Hall. The damage may have been worse for SDSU but centerfielder Cory Vaughn threw out Nielsen trying to go to third on the play.
Sloan again shut down the Aztecs in the eighth, getting Moore looking for the third out with two runners on base.
BYU now readies to play Utah Valley University on Tuesday at 6 p.m., in the final home game of the season.
San Diego St. at BYU
May 15, 2010 at Provo, Utah (Larry H.Miller Field)
San Diego St. 10 (25-26,10-11 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
TORRES, Jomel 1b......... 6 2 3 2 0 1 8 0 0
BLACKBURN, Mitch 2b...... 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 5 1
MEREDITH, Brandon rf..... 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 0
VAUGHN, Cory cf.......... 5 1 2 2 0 2 4 1 3
WILSON, Chris dh......... 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
O'SULLIVAN, Ryan ss...... 4 2 2 0 1 1 0 2 0
MOORE, Blair 3b.......... 5 2 2 0 0 2 2 1 2
PARKER, Matt c........... 5 1 3 3 0 1 5 1 0
CHASSE, Josh lf.......... 4 1 1 2 0 0 2 0 1
DECKER, Brandon lf...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BLACK, Corey p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
SHAVER, Kyle p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SHARP, Kegan p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WYNVEEN, Ryan p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PECORARO, John p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 42 10 16 10 3 8 24 12 9
BYU 16 (23-27,10-11 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RELF, Brandon ss......... 5 2 3 2 1 0 2 4 0
WELLS, Stephen cf........ 4 2 1 3 2 0 1 0 0
WOLFE, Alex 1b........... 5 0 1 3 1 2 10 2 2
AYOSO, Bryce c........... 6 1 4 1 0 0 9 0 1
BERNAL, Ryan dh.......... 5 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 2
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf...... 3 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 5
CLUFF, Jonathan rf....... 4 1 2 3 1 0 3 0 0
HALL, Austin 3b.......... 3 3 1 0 2 1 0 1 0
NIELSEN, Dane 2b......... 4 3 3 2 0 0 1 4 0
ANDERSON, Mark p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SHUTT, Justin p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SLOAN, Kevin p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
McKNIGHT, David p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 39 16 18 16 10 4 27 12 10
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
San Diego St........ 011 332 000 - 10 16 0
BYU................. 011 223 16X - 16 18 1
-------------------------------------------
E - NIELSEN(15). DP - Cougars 1. LOB - SDSU 9; Cougars 10. 2B - PARKER(8);
AYOSO(15); CLUFF(14); HALL(9). 3B - CHASSE(3); WELLS(4); NIELSEN(2). HR -
BERNAL(12). HBP - MEREDITH; NIELSEN. SB - TORRES(5); VAUGHN(14). CS -
CLUFF(3).
San Diego St. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
BLACK, Corey........ 5.0 8 7 7 5 2 21 26 100
SHAVER, Kyle........ 1.0 4 2 2 0 1 7 7 24
SHARP, Kegan........ 0.1 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 8
WYNVEEN, Ryan....... 1.0 3 3 3 2 0 5 7 17
PECORARO, John...... 0.2 3 3 3 2 1 5 7 29
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
--------------------------------------------------
ANDERSON, Mark...... 3.2 7 5 5 3 4 17 20 89
SHUTT, Justin....... 1.2 6 5 4 0 1 11 12 43
SLOAN, Kevin........ 2.2 3 0 0 0 3 11 11 40
McKNIGHT, David..... 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 13
Win - SLOAN (9-0). Loss - WYNVEEN (1-3). Save - None.
WP - ANDERSON(7). HBP - by SHUTT (MEREDITH); by SHARP (NIELSEN). BK -
PECORARO(1); SHUTT(1). Inherited runners/scored: SHAVER 1/1; WYNVEEN 2/1;
PECORARO 2/2; SHUTT 2/1; SLOAN 1/1. Pitches/strikes: BLACK 100/56; SHAVER 24/18;
SHARP 8/2; WYNVEEN 17/7; PECORARO 29/17; ANDERSON 89/58; SHUTT 43/32; SLOAN
40/28; McKNIGHT 13/8.
Umpires - HP: Bruce Siegel 1B: John Cortez 3B: Dale Luker
Start: 1:05 pm Time: 3:35 Attendance: 1578
Weather: partly cloudy, 65 degrees
BLACK faced 1 batter in the 6th.
San Diego St. 1st - TORRES struck out looking (0-2). BLACKBURN walked
(3-2). MEREDITH flied out to rf (1-2). VAUGHN struck out looking (3-2). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 1st - RELF grounded out to 2b (2-2). WELLS grounded out to p (2-0).
WOLFE walked (3-0). AYOSO grounded out to 3b (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego St. 2nd - WILSON struck out swinging (2-2). O'SULLIVAN
grounded out to 2b (1-2). MOORE singled to left field (0-2). MOORE advanced to
second on a wild pitch. PARKER singled up the middle, RBI (3-1); MOORE scored.
CHASSE flied out to rf (1-2). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - BERNAL homered to center field, RBI (3-1). McNAUGHTON grounded
out to 2b (2-1). CLUFF grounded out to 2b (0-2). HALL struck out swinging
(3-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 3rd - TORRES singled to left center (2-2). BLACKBURN
singled, bunt (2-0); TORRES advanced to second. MEREDITH grounded into double
play 1b to ss (0-0); BLACKBURN out on the play; TORRES advanced to third.
VAUGHN singled up the middle, RBI (1-2); TORRES scored. WILSON reached on a
fielder's choice (1-1); VAUGHN out at second 2b unassisted. 1 run, 3 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - NIELSEN singled to shortstop (0-2). RELF singled to left field
(0-1); NIELSEN advanced to second. WELLS popped up to p (0-1). WOLFE struck out
looking (1-2). AYOSO singled to pitcher (0-2); RELF advanced to second; NIELSEN
advanced to third. BERNAL walked, RBI (3-2); AYOSO advanced to second; RELF
advanced to third; NIELSEN scored. McNAUGHTON fouled out to c (0-0). 1 run,
3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
San Diego St. 4th - O'SULLIVAN walked (3-2). MOORE struck out looking
(1-2). PARKER doubled to left center, RBI (0-0); O'SULLIVAN scored. CHASSE
grounded out to 2b (0-1); PARKER advanced to third. TORRES singled to center
field, RBI (1-2); PARKER scored. TORRES stole second. BLACKBURN walked (3-2).
SHUTT to p for ANDERSON. MEREDITH singled to left field, RBI (1-0); BLACKBURN
advanced to second; TORRES scored. VAUGHN popped up to 1b (0-2). 3 runs, 3
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 4th - CLUFF walked (3-0). CLUFF out at second c to 2b, caught
stealing. HALL doubled to right center (1-2). NIELSEN tripled to center field,
RBI (3-1); HALL scored. RELF grounded out to 2b, RBI (2-2); NIELSEN scored.
WELLS flied out to cf (0-2). 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 5th - WILSON flied out to rf (1-1). O'SULLIVAN singled to
center field (0-1). MOORE singled to right field (3-2); O'SULLIVAN advanced to
third. PARKER struck out swinging (0-2). CHASSE tripled to right field, 2 RBI
(1-1); MOORE scored; O'SULLIVAN scored. TORRES singled to first base, RBI
(1-2); CHASSE scored. BLACKBURN grounded out to 2b (1-2). 3 runs, 4 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - WOLFE fouled out to lf (0-1). AYOSO doubled down the lf line
(1-1). BERNAL flied out to cf (1-1); AYOSO advanced to third. McNAUGHTON walked
(3-1). CLUFF doubled, out at third rf to ss to 3b, 2 RBI (2-0); McNAUGHTON
scored; AYOSO scored. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego St. 6th - MEREDITH hit by pitch (2-2). MEREDITH advanced to
second on a balk. VAUGHN singled to left field, RBI (1-2); MEREDITH scored.
VAUGHN stole second. WILSON popped up to ss (0-2). SLOAN to p for SHUTT.
O'SULLIVAN struck out swinging (1-2). MOORE reached on a fielding error by 2b
(0-0); VAUGHN advanced to third. PARKER singled to left field, RBI (0-1); MOORE
advanced to third, out at home lf to ss to c; VAUGHN scored, unearned. 2
runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - HALL walked (3-1). SHAVER to p for BLACK. NIELSEN flied out to
cf (0-0). RELF singled to right field (0-0); HALL advanced to second. WELLS
tripled to center field, 2 RBI (0-2); RELF scored; HALL scored. WOLFE struck
out swinging (2-2). AYOSO singled to right field, RBI (0-1); WELLS scored.
BERNAL singled up the middle (3-2); AYOSO advanced to third. McNAUGHTON flied
out to lf (1-2). 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego St. 7th - CHASSE grounded out to ss (1-1). TORRES out at first
1b to p (1-1). BLACKBURN grounded out to ss (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
BYU 7th - SHARP to p for SHAVER. DECKER to lf for CHASSE. CLUFF flied
out to rf (0-1). HALL walked (3-0). NIELSEN hit by pitch (2-0); HALL advanced
to second. WYNVEEN to p for SHARP. RELF singled, advanced to second on the
throw, RBI (0-0); NIELSEN advanced to second, out at third cf to 3b; HALL
scored. WELLS walked (3-0). WOLFE grounded out to 2b (0-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego St. 8th - MEREDITH singled to left field (3-1). VAUGHN struck
out swinging (1-2). WILSON flied out to cf (1-2). O'SULLIVAN singled to left
field (2-2); MEREDITH advanced to third. MOORE struck out looking (0-2). 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 8th - AYOSO grounded out to ss (2-1). BERNAL singled up the middle
(0-0). McNAUGHTON walked (3-0); BERNAL advanced to second. CLUFF singled to
center field, RBI (0-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to second; BERNAL scored. PECORARO
to p for WYNVEEN. HALL flied out to cf (1-1). NIELSEN singled to center field,
RBI (0-1); CLUFF advanced to third; McNAUGHTON scored. RELF walked (3-2);
NIELSEN advanced to second. WELLS walked, RBI (3-2); RELF advanced to second;
NIELSEN advanced to third; CLUFF scored. WOLFE singled to right field, 3 RBI
(1-0); WELLS scored; RELF scored; NIELSEN scored. AYOSO singled up the middle
(1-2); WOLFE advanced to second. AYOSO advanced to second; WOLFE advanced to
third on a balk. BERNAL struck out swinging (1-2). 6 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors,
2 LOB.
San Diego St. 9th - McKNIGHT to p for SLOAN. PARKER grounded out to 3b
(1-2). DECKER grounded out to ss (1-1). TORRES grounded out to 2b (3-2). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.