SAN -- BYU (20-14, 2-0 MWC) made an early statement in its Mountain West Conference season debut by sweeping a double-header against reigning MWC-champ San Diego State (23-14, 0-2), 4-0 and 4-2, on SDSU's home field.
"I think teams know that we can play," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "I don't think anyone expected us to sweep, but I think we're well respected within the conference. [San Diego State] didn't play bad. We played well."
The Aztecs are not only the defending conference champs; they also sport the best non-conference record so far this season. Despite that and the fact that BYU was playing on national television for the first time this season, the Cougars showed poise and determination against SDSU, especially defensively. BYU held San Diego State without a hit until Monica Alnes found the gap into right field for a single in the fourth inning.
Taryin Casillas followed Alnes with a single of her own, and with two on and two outs the Aztecs were threatening. SDSU appeared to be on the brink of scoring when a Kasey Mytinger hit brought Alnes sprinting home. But junior Emi Snow threw a one-bounce strike to senior catcher Cortney Nix-Clark who got the tag-out at the plate.
Still stuck in a scoreless game, Aztec shortstop Melissa Owens drew a lead-off walk in the bottom of the sixth. After Megan McDonald laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Owens to second, Alnes drew the second walk of the inning. Once again the Cougars would find a way out, as freshman pitcher Christie Zinanti got Owens on a force-out at third base and struck out Mytinger to close out the inning.
"Zinanti stood up and pitched like a veteran," Eakin said, noting that he didn't see any nervousness out of his freshman pitcher or the rest of his team while playing on national TV. "She threw the heck out of the ball today."
Aztec junior Christina Ross, who was named MWC Pitcher of the Week for her perfect game performance against Brown last week, had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh inning by Snow. Snow hit a lead-off single straight down the middle to kick BYU's offense into gear. Senior Jodi Norton hit one into left field, moving pinch-runner Jana Anderson to second.
Two batters later, with Anderson and pinch-runner Stephanie Platt both in scoring position, freshman Angeline Quiocho worked a full-count into a walk. However, BYU was unable to take advantage of the loaded-bases situation, as Dani Urincho lined out to Casillas, who then touched third base for the third out of the inning.
Zinanti retired the bottom of the order to send the game into extra innings. That's where the Cougars finally capitalized on a rally that started with Monica Gonzales slapping her way onto first. Later, with Gonzales and Tracee Hoch both on base, Snow blasted a home run to left field. Norton stepped up to the plate next and sent an 0-1 pitch over the center field wall for the 4-0 final.
BYU trailed 1-0 in the second inning of the second game when Quiocho hit an RBI-single to left field, bringing in Snow for the 1-1 tie. The teams remained deadlocked until San Diego State pinch-runner Rosario Quichocho scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third to take the 2-1 lead.
The Cougars kept fighting and, in the sixth inning, evened the score. With bases loaded, Nix-Clark hit a sacrifice fly that scored Jennifer Whiteley. It was Whiteley again who had a hand in BYU's scoring when the senior from Houston, Texas put down a bunt in the seventh inning that brought Anderson across home plate. Gonzales scored the fourth and final run of the game for the Cougars.
"I think we started a little too emotionally high from the first game," Eakin said. "But once we settled down we executed very well."
BYU takes its five-game winning streak to Las Vegas where the team will continue conference play against UNLV at 7 p.m. (PST) on Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Brigham Young at San Diego State (Game 1)
04-05-07 at San Diego, Calif. (SDSU SB Stadium)
Brigham Young 4 (19-14,1-0 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
RAMIREZ, Andrea dp....... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf.... 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .396
HOCH, Tracee 2b.......... 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 1 .263
SNOW, Emi rf............. 2 1 2 3 2 0 1 1 0 .319
ANDERSON, Jana pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
NORTON, Jodi ss.......... 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 .347
PLATT, Stephanie pr..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .205
NIX-CLARK, Cortney c..... 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 .247
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b..... 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 .275
URINCHO, Daniela 1b...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 2 .237
GONZALES, Monica cf...... 3 1 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 .292
ZINANTI, Christie p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 .231
Totals................... 26 4 5 4 4 2 24 13 5
San Diego State 0 (23-13,0-1 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
KNUDSEN, Brittany lf..... 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .371
WELLS, Tamani cf......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .322
OWENS, Melissa ss........ 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 .373
MCDONALD, Megan c........ 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 .269
KULICK, Christine pr.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
ALNES, Monica 1b......... 3 0 1 0 1 0 14 0 0 .322
QUICHOCHO-ROSARIO,S. pr. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
CASILLAS, Taryin 3b...... 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 1 .257
ERICKSON, Katy pr....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
MYTINGER, Kasey dp....... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 .275
SIDOTI, Dani rf.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
MARQUEZ, Lindsey rf..... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .257
BEASLEY, Amanda 2b....... 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 .278
ROSS, Christina p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 -
Totals................... 26 0 4 0 5 1 24 14 9
Score by Innings R H E
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 000 04 - 4 5 0
San Diego State..... 000 000 00 - 0 4 0
------------------------------------------
DP - SDSU 1. LOB - BYU 5; SDSU 9. HR - SNOW(9); NORTON(9). HBP - HOCH;
SIDOTI. SH - RAMIREZ(3); NORTON(1); MCDONALD(6). SB - KNUDSEN(8).
Brigham Young IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie... 8.0 4 0 0 5 1 26 33 108 2.37
San Diego State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
ROSS, Christina..... 8.0 5 4 4 4 2 26 33 119 1.74
Win - ZINANTI (7-5). Loss - ROSS (15-7). Save - None.
HBP - by ZINANTI (SIDOTI); by ROSS (HOCH). Pitches/strikes: ZINANTI 108/61; ROSS
119/71.
Umpires - HP: David Hardage 1B: Sandy Leak 3B: Geri Magwire
Start: 3:06 PM Time: 2:03 Attendance: 325
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 000 04 - 4 5 0
San Diego State..... 000 000 00 - 0 4 0
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 31/dp RAMIREZ; 3/lf WHITELEY; 4/2b HOCH; 18/rf SNOW;
8/ss NORTON; 10/c NIX-CLARK; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 22/1b URINCHO; 24/cf GONZALES; 14/p
ZINANTI;
San Diego State starters: 39/lf KNUDSEN; 17/cf WELLS; 23/ss OWENS; 20/c
MCDONALD; 9/1b ALNES; 14/3b CASILLAS; 1/dp MYTINGER; 8/rf SIDOTI; 24/2b
BEASLEY; 10/p ROSS;
Brigham Young 1st - RAMIREZ grounded out to 2b (0-2). WHITELEY grounded
out to p (1-0). HOCH popped up to 2b (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 1st - KNUDSEN grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-2). WELLS
grounded out to p (0-0). OWENS walked (3-1). MCDONALD out at first p to 2b to
1b (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - SNOW walked (3-1). NORTON out at first 3b to 2b,
SAC, bunt (2-1); SNOW advanced to second. NIX-CLARK grounded out to ss (3-2);
SNOW advanced to third. QUIOCHO popped up to 1b (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 2nd - ALNES grounded out to 2b (0-1). CASILLAS popped up
to 2b (1-1). MYTINGER flied out to cf (2-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - URINCHO grounded out to ss (2-2). GONZALES struck
out looking (2-2). RAMIREZ grounded out to 2b (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 3rd - SIDOTI hit by pitch (0-2). BEASLEY lined out to rf
(0-0). KNUDSEN grounded out to p unassisted (2-2); SIDOTI advanced to second.
WELLS grounded out to 2b (2-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - WHITELEY grounded out to ss (0-2). HOCH grounded out
to 2b (1-0). SNOW walked (3-0). NORTON grounded out to ss (2-1). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 4th - OWENS flied out to cf (2-1). MCDONALD grounded out
to 2b (2-2). ALNES singled through the right side (2-2). CASILLAS singled up
the middle (1-2); ALNES advanced to second. MYTINGER singled to right field
(1-0); CASILLAS advanced to second; ALNES advanced to third, out at home rf to
c. 0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - NIX-CLARK popped up to 3b (0-1). QUIOCHO struck out
swinging (3-2). URINCHO popped up to 1b (0-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 5th - SIDOTI grounded out to ss (0-0). BEASLEY popped up
to 2b (0-0). KNUDSEN walked (3-2). WELLS out at first 1b to 2b, bunt (1-1).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - GONZALES grounded out to p (2-1). RAMIREZ popped up
to p (2-0). WHITELEY walked (3-2). HOCH grounded out to 3b (0-0). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 6th - OWENS walked (3-0). MCDONALD out at first c to 2b,
SAC, bunt (0-0); OWENS advanced to second. ALNES walked (3-2). CASILLAS reached
on a fielder's choice (0-1); ALNES advanced to second; OWENS out at third p to
3b. QUICHOCHO pinch ran for ALNES. ERICKSON pinch ran for CASILLAS. MYTINGER
struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - ALNES to 1b for QUICHOCHO. CASILLAS to 3b for
ERICKSON. SNOW singled to center field (0-1). ANDERSON pinch ran for SNOW.
NORTON singled through the left side (2-0); ANDERSON advanced to second.
NIX-CLARK grounded out to p (1-1); NORTON advanced to second; ANDERSON advanced
to third. PLATT pinch ran for NORTON. MARQUEZ to rf for SIDOTI. QUIOCHO walked
(3-2). URINCHO lined into double play 3b unassisted (0-0); ANDERSON out on the
play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 7th - SNOW to rf for ANDERSON. NORTON to ss for PLATT.
SIDOTI to rf for MARQUEZ. SIDOTI grounded out to 1b unassisted (1-0). BEASLEY
grounded out to 3b (2-0). KNUDSEN singled to center field (0-2). KNUDSEN stole
second. WELLS grounded out to 3b (1-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - GONZALES singled to center field (1-0). RAMIREZ out
at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt (0-0); GONZALES advanced to second. WHITELEY
grounded out to ss (3-2). HOCH hit by pitch (0-0). SNOW homered to left field,
3 RBI (1-0); HOCH scored; GONZALES scored. NORTON homered to center field, RBI
(0-1). NIX-CLARK popped up to 2b (0-0). 4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 8th - OWENS grounded out to 1b unassisted (3-2).
MCDONALD walked (3-2). KULICK pinch ran for MCDONALD. ALNES flied out to cf
(0-0). CASILLAS flied out to cf (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young at San Diego State (Game 2)
04-05-07 at San Diego, Calif. (SDSU SB Stadium)
Brigham Young 4 (20-14,2-0 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
RAMIREZ, Andrea dp....... 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .286
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf.... 2 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 .412
HOCH, Tracee 2b.......... 4 0 1 0 0 3 3 0 0 .269
SNOW, Emi rf............. 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 .290
NORTON, Jodi ss.......... 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 .330
NIX-CLARK, Cortney c..... 2 0 0 1 0 1 5 3 0 .247
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b..... 3 0 1 1 0 0 3 3 2 .284
URINCHO, Daniela 1b...... 3 0 2 0 0 1 4 2 0 .270
ANDERSON, Jana pr....... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
GONZALES, Monica cf...... 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .293
GWYN, Christina p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 .222
Totals................... 24 4 6 3 4 9 21 11 5
San Diego State 2 (23-14,0-2 MWC)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB Avg.
------------------------------------------------------------
KNUDSEN, Brittany lf..... 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 .370
WELLS, Tamani cf......... 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 .311
OWENS, Melissa p......... 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 .392
MCDONALD, Megan c........ 1 0 0 0 1 0 10 2 1 .269
QUICHOCHO-ROSARIO,S. pr. 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -
ALNES, Monica 1b......... 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0 .323
CASILLAS, Taryin 3b...... 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 .243
MYTINGER, Kasey dp....... 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .288
SIDOTI, Dani rf.......... 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .241
BEASLEY, Amanda ss....... 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 .267
MARQUEZ, Lindsey 2b...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .250
Totals................... 24 2 4 0 4 4 21 7 6
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 010 001 2 - 4 6 2
San Diego State..... 101 000 0 - 2 4 3
-----------------------------------------
E - NIX-CLARK(7); QUIOCHO(10); OWENS(9); CASILLAS(12); MARQUEZ(6). LOB - BYU
5; SDSU 6. 2B - OWENS(10). SH - NORTON(2); MCDONALD(7). SF - NIX-CLARK(3).
SB - QUIOCHO(10); OWENS(7); QUICHOCHO(12). CS - WHITELEY(4); QUIOCHO(3);
ALNES 2(5).
Brigham Young IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
GWYN, Christina..... 7.0 4 2 1 4 4 24 29 105 3.49
San Diego State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP ERA
--------------------------------------------------------
OWENS, Melissa...... 7.0 6 4 3 4 9 24 30 127 1.97
Win - GWYN (10-6). Loss - OWENS (8-7). Save - None.
WP - GWYN 2(13). Pitches/strikes: GWYN 105/63; OWENS 127/74.
Umpires - HP: Geri Magwire 1B: Sandy Leak 3B: Kevin Hardage
Start: 5:37 PM Time: 2:06 Attendance: 407
Game notes:
ID-512262
Game: BY-SD2
Umpires - HP: Geri Magwire 1B: Sandy Leak 3B: Kevin Hardage
Start: 5:37 PM Time: 2:06 Attendance: 407
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 010 001 2 - 4 6 2
San Diego State..... 101 000 0 - 2 4 3
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 31/dp RAMIREZ; 3/lf WHITELEY; 4/2b HOCH; 18/rf SNOW;
8/ss NORTON; 10/c NIX-CLARK; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 22/1b URINCHO; 24/cf GONZALES; 11/p
GWYN;
San Diego State starters: 39/lf KNUDSEN; 17/cf WELLS; 23/p OWENS; 20/c
MCDONALD; 9/1b ALNES; 14/3b CASILLAS; 1/dp MYTINGER; 8/rf SIDOTI; 24/ss
BEASLEY; 19/2b MARQUEZ;
Brigham Young 1st - RAMIREZ struck out swinging (2-2). WHITELEY lined
out to ss (0-1). HOCH struck out swinging (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 1st - KNUDSEN walked (3-2). WELLS grounded out to p
(2-2); KNUDSEN advanced to second. OWENS walked (3-1); KNUDSEN advanced to
third on a wild pitch. OWENS stole second. MCDONALD walked (3-2); OWENS
advanced to third; KNUDSEN scored on a wild pitch. ALNES reached on a fielder's
choice (3-1); MCDONALD advanced to second; OWENS out at home ss to c. CASILLAS
flied out to lf (2-1). 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - SNOW walked (3-0). NORTON grounded out to 3b, SAC,
bunt (0-1); SNOW advanced to second. NIX-CLARK struck out looking (3-2).
QUIOCHO singled to left field, RBI (3-2); SNOW scored. QUIOCHO stole second.
URINCHO singled to left field (1-0); QUIOCHO advanced to third, out at home lf
to c. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 2nd - MYTINGER singled to right field (1-0). MARQUEZ to
2b for MYTINGER. / for MARQUEZ. SIDOTI reached on a fielder's choice (1-1);
MARQUEZ out at second 1b to 2b. BEASLEY popped up to p, bunt (0-2). KNUDSEN
reached on a throwing error by c; SIDOTI advanced to third. WELLS lined out to
3b (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - GONZALES reached on a throwing error by p, advanced
to second (1-1). RAMIREZ struck out swinging (1-2). WHITELEY walked (3-0). HOCH
struck out swinging (2-2). SNOW popped up to ss (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 3rd - OWENS doubled down the lf line (0-1). MCDONALD
reached on an error by 3b, SAC, bunt (2-1); OWENS advanced to third. QUICHOCHO
pinch ran for MCDONALD. QUICHOCHO stole second. ALNES reached on a fielder's
choice (1-1); QUICHOCHO advanced to third; OWENS out at home 3b to c. ALNES out
at second c to ss, caught stealing; QUICHOCHO scored, unearned. CASILLAS struck
out swinging (1-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - MCDONALD to c for QUICHOCHO. NORTON struck out
swinging (2-2). NIX-CLARK out at first 1b to 2b, bunt (0-0). QUIOCHO reached on
a fielding error by 3b (3-2). QUIOCHO out at second c to ss, caught stealing.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 4th - MARQUEZ grounded out to p, bunt (0-0). SIDOTI out
at first 1b to 2b (0-1). BEASLEY flied out to cf (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - URINCHO struck out swinging (1-2). GONZALES grounded
out to ss (0-0). RAMIREZ lined out to p (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
San Diego State 5th - KNUDSEN struck out swinging (2-2). WELLS out at
first 3b to 2b, bunt (0-1). OWENS walked (3-1). MCDONALD fouled out to 3b
(0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - WHITELEY walked (3-1). HOCH singled, bunt (0-0);
WHITELEY advanced to second. SNOW struck out swinging (0-2). NORTON walked
(3-2); HOCH advanced to second; WHITELEY advanced to third. NIX-CLARK flied out
to rf, SF, RBI (1-2); HOCH advanced to third; WHITELEY scored. QUIOCHO flied
out to cf (3-1). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 6th - ALNES singled to center field (1-2). ALNES out at
second c to ss, caught stealing. CASILLAS fouled out to 3b (1-1). MYTINGER to
dp for MARQUEZ. MARQUEZ to 2b. MYTINGER struck out swinging (1-2). 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - URINCHO singled to left field (2-2). ANDERSON pinch
ran for URINCHO. GONZALES singled, bunt, advanced to second on a fielding error
by 2b; ANDERSON advanced to third. RAMIREZ popped up to 1b (1-2). WHITELEY
singled, bunt, RBI (2-1); GONZALES advanced to third; ANDERSON scored. HOCH
struck out swinging (0-2). WHITELEY out at first c to 2b to 1b, caught
stealing; GONZALES scored, unearned. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 7th - URINCHO to 1b for ANDERSON. SIDOTI flied out to rf
(2-2). BEASLEY struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b (2-2). KNUDSEN singled
to left field (2-2). WELLS grounded out to 3b (1-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.