May 24, 2007

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LAS VEGAS - After a leadoff walk in the ninth, BYU's Matt Jensen regained composure with the tying run at the plate three times. He forced a fly out and struck out the last two New Mexico batters for a 5-3 win to advance in the Mountain West Conference Championship at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The fifth-seeded Lobos (27-29) held the lead twice in the ballgame but couldn't pull off their second straight upset, falling into the loser's bracket with a loss to the second-seeded Cougars.

The Lobos also had a chance to tie the game or even reclaim the lead, rattling BYU in the eighth. Matt Foote walked with one out and Daniel Stovall and Matt Hibbitts pounded out back-to-back singles with two outs, loading the bases. Jensen got out of the jam as Ian Hollick grounded to second, snapping his 22-game hit streak.

All season long New Mexico has found a way to score with two outs in the inning. The Lobos continued the pattern today, getting two runs in the second with two outs. Adam Courcha walked and moved to second on a single from Jay Russell. Max Willett dropped a single into center, pushing Russell to third and plating Courcha for a 1-0 lead.

The Lobos were going for it all or nothing after that, sending Willett and Russell on a surprising double steal attempt. Willett darted toward second, prompting the throw from Cougar catcher J.T. Musso, who didn't notice that Russell was breaking for the plate. Both UNM runners were in safely and the Lobos took a 2-0 lead.

BYU's Apana Nakayama evened the game in the bottom of the third with a two-run blast over the right field fence for the first home run of the entire MWC Tournament.

Russell was on third in the top of the fifth with two outs and two strikes on teammate Matt Foote when he was sent home by third base umpire John Ausmus, who called a balk on Cougar starter Jake Wortham that shocked many in attendance. But the Lobo supporters were on their feet, welcoming the run that gave UNM a 3-2 lead.

Adam Courcha ties to make a play at the plate and stop BYU from scoring in the seventh.

The Cougars, who had stranded runners every inning, claimed their first lead of the game in the seventh inning. Stephen Wells fired up BYU with a leadoff single and then stole second. Courcha, UNM's backup catcher, made a bad throw, which was charged an error as Wells moved over to third. Nakayama followed with a grounder to first that Stovall threw into the dirt for another error, trying to get Wells at home. BYU posted a single and a double for two more runs before Smith struck out Musso to end the inning.

Wortham picked up the win, going 7.2 innings for three runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Jensen notched his fourth save of the season, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in 1.1. Smith fell to 6-9 with the loss, giving up five runs on 11 hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Brandon Hewett tossed a hitless, scoreless inning in relief for New Mexico.

The Lobos posted six hits, led by Russell, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. BYU had four hitters with two hits, including Nakayama and Steve Parker, who were 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, and 2-for-3 with two RBI, respectively. Wells was 2-for-5 with a team-high two runs scored.

New Mexico is back on the field tonight at approximately 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT, taking on fourth seeded San Diego State. Both teams are facing elimination with the loss and SDSU hasn't played since last night's 12-1 pounding over third-seeded Utah. CSTV's GameTracker and live audio are available on www.themwc.com and the game is being televised live on the mtn.

Lobos Baseball

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