Air Force Academy
BYU (DH)
BYU sweeps Air Force, 19-16 and 25-4
5/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2003
BYU scored 44 runs in two games to sweep a Mountain West Conference baseball doubleheader, 19-16 and 25-4, from Air Force, Friday, May 16, at the Academy's Falcon Field.
BYU improved to 28-21 overall and 18-11 in the MWC. Air Force fell to 14-37 overall and 2-27 in the league. BYU moved into second-place in the conference while Air Force is sixth.
The first game of the doubleheader was the completion of a game that was suspended due to rain and lightning on Friday. The game began with one out in the bottom of the first and BYU leading 1-0. The game see-sawed back and forth until the eighth inning when BYU scored seven runs. Air Force scored two in the first and three in the third for a 5-2 lead. Dan Petro hit a two-run homer in the third for Air Force. The Cougars cut the lead to 5-4 on an RBI-double by Clayton Carson. The Falcons extended the lead to 10-4 with five runs in the fourth. Josh Phifer hit a two-run homer and Derck Kasel hit a solo shot in the inning.
BYU came back with three in the fifth and four in the sixth to take an 11-10 lead. Ryan Chambers and Jake Stubblefield had solo home runs in the fifth. Kainoa Obrey and Rob Itri each had a two-run doubles in the sixth. Air Force tied the score in the bottom of the sixth and then took a 14-11 lead in the seventh. Adam Howes had a two-run single up the middle in the seventh. BYU took control with seven runs on four hits and four walks in the eighth. Itri had a two-run double and Stubblefield had a two-run single in the inning. After BYU added a run in the top of the ninth, the Falcons added two in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough. The two teams combined for 35 runs and 42 hits. Cougar reliever Michel Bergeron was the winner. He pitched the final three innings and allowed two runs on four hits. Falcon reliever Michael Chapados was the loser. He threw two and one-third and allowed six runs on five hits with three walks. Doug Jackson and Brock Jacobson each had four hits for BYU. Jacobson scored five runs while Itri drove in four. Howes and Petro had four hits each for the Falcons. Howes scored four runs while Petro drove in four.
In the second game, BYU scored nine runs in the fourth inning and cruised to a 25-4 win. The Falcons took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first when Phifer hit a two-run homer and Howes hit a solo blast. Cougar Casey Cloward's two-run triple in the second inning tied the game. BYU exploded for nine runs on five hits, four walks and two errors in the fourth. Itri had a two-run double in the inning while Stubblefield had a two-run single. The Cougars added two in the fifth, three in the seventh and eight in the eighth. Wade Vest hit a grand slam in the eighth, his first home run of the season. Cougar junior Paul Jacinto earned the win. He went seven innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Falcon freshman Jason Brown started both games in the doubleheader. He started Friday's game and pitched one inning before the game was suspended. He was replaced by Josh Zumbrun in the first game and then started game two. He took the loss, going three and one-third and allowed nine runs, seven earned, on seven hits and six walks. Jackson had three hits while seven other Cougars had two hits. Vest and Mike Weingarten each had four RBI. Travis Fugler led the Falcons, collecting three of AFA's eight hits.
On the day, the Cougars hit .479 in the two games while AFA hit .359. Howes led the Falcons with five hits on the day while Petro and Kasel each had four. For the Cougars, Jackson went 7-for-8 on the day with five runs scored and two doubles. Chambers had five hits and scored five runs. Obrey and Itri each had six RBI on the day.
BYU's 25 runs tied the MWC record for runs in a conference game. The Cougars' 25 RBI broke the pervious record of 21. BYU's victory margin of 21 runs also tied the MWC record.
The two teams conclude the series and the regular season Saturday with a single game at 2 p.m.
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