San Diego (May 20, 2005)--San Diego State won its final regular home baseball game of the season Friday with a 12-1 victory over BYU.

The Aztecs locked up third place with a 23-33 overall record and a 17-13 mark in the Mountain West Conference, while second-place BYU finishes the regular season at 37-17-1 and 21-9 in the league.

The Cougars stranded three runners at third base during the game as both teams left 10 runners on the base paths.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to get anything mounted," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We didn't come out with the same intensity. Everybody was waiting for somebody else to make it happen. I don't fault our effort, but it didn't seem to click today. We had a solid outing down here and hopefully we are able to carry some momentum into next week."

BYU plays this Thursday in the opening round of the MWC Tournament in Salt Lake City and its opponent will likely be SDSU again. SDSU plays on Wednesday in the opening day of tourney action.

On Friday, the Aztecs took the initial lead capitalizing on a pair of first-inning walks, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. Then Lance Zawadski belted a two-run homer to give SDSU a 3-0 lead.

Ryan Chambers led off the third inning with a double for BYU's first hit of the game. Chambers advanced to third when Marcos Villezcas was thrown out at first, but he was stranded there.

Brandon Taylor got a one-out double down the line in the fourth inning. Taylor advanced to third on Ben Saylor's ground-out, but he also was stranded there.

Jordan Swayden hit a two-RBI triple in the fourth to put the Aztecs up, 5-0. Swayden tried a suicide squeeze on the next pitch, but was tagged out by Casey Cloward for the second out of the inning.

Adrian Molina was thrown out 20 feet before home plate as Swayden took a throw from right field from Jake McClintock to end the fifth inning after Sean McNaughton singled.

Molina started in place of Jeff Heistand, who sat out the game to rest his broken hand.

A ground-rule double to center field by James Guerrero extended SDSU's lead to 6-0 before Brandon Christiansen relieved James Platt on the mound in the fifth. Christiansen was ineffective and was replaced by Josh Barrett the next inning.

In the sixth, Saylor hit a two-out double for BYU's sixth hit, but he also was stranded at third.

Cougar freshman Blake Torgerson took the mound to start the eighth. He had been BYU's third-day starter, but had been out of the starting lineup for over two weeks. He surrendered a one-out homer to Zawadski, his second of the day.

Two errors in the ninth enabled BYU's Kory Knell to score its only run, but it helped the Cougars avoid the shutout.

Brigham Young at San Diego State
May 20, 2005 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Brigham Young 1 (37-17,21-9 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
MOLINA, Adrian cf........  5  0  0  0   0  2  3  0   0
VILLEZCAS, Marcos ss.....  4  0  2  0   0  0  1  6   0
 IORG, Seth ph...........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
McNAUGHTON, Sean 2b......  4  0  1  0   0  0  2  1   2
NAKAYAMA, Apana dh.......  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
TAYLOR, Brandon 3b.......  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
SAYLOR, Ben 1b...........  2  0  1  0   1  0  5  1   0
 RELF, Brandon ph........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
KNELL, Kory lf...........  4  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   2
CHAMBERS, Ryan rf........  2  0  1  0   1  1  5  0   2
 SLOAN, Kevin ph.........  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
CLOWARD, Casey c.........  3  0  0  0   0  0  7  0   0
 LAW, Andrew ph..........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PLATT, James p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon p..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BARRETT, Joshua p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 TORGERSON, Blake p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  1  7  0   3  6 24  8  10
San Diego State 12 (23-33,17-13 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BERRY, Quintin cf........  5  3  3  1   1  1  6  0   2
EVANS, Garrick lf........  4  1  1  1   1  0  2  0   0
GUERRERO, James ss.......  3  1  1  1   1  1  2  3   1
MCLINTOCK, Jake rf.......  3  0  1  1   0  1  3  1   1
ZAWADZKI, Lance 3b.......  3  3  2  4   1  0  1  1   0
O'BRIEN, Tim 1b..........  5  2  3  0   0  1  5  0   3
UNGRICHT, Brock dh.......  3  1  1  0   1  1  0  0   0
SWAYDAN, Jordan c........  4  1  2  2   1  0  7  0   3
DESME, Grant 2b..........  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  1   0
 PERRY, Kevin ph.........  2  0  2  2   0  0  0  0   0
DOUGLAS, Brett p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BRUCKART, Dan p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35 12 16 12   6  6 27  6  10
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 000 001 -  1  7  0
San Diego State..... 300 221 22X - 12 16  2
-------------------------------------------
E - GUERRERO; ZAWADZKI. DP - BYU 1. LOB - BYU 10; SDSU 10. 2B - TAYLOR;
SAYLOR; CHAMBERS; BERRY; GUERRERO; SWAYDAN. 3B - SWAYDAN. HR - ZAWADZKI
2(7). HBP - MCLINTOCK; ZAWADZKI. SH - GUERRERO; UNGRICHT. SF - MCLINTOCK. SB
- BERRY 2; ZAWADZKI. CS - SWAYDAN.
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
PLATT, James........  4.1  5  7  7  3  4 14 21   -
CHRISTIANSEN,Brandon  1.1  4  1  1  2  1  8 11   -
BARRETT, Joshua.....  1.1  4  2  2  0  1  7  7   -
TORGERSON, Blake....  1.0  3  2  2  1  0  6  7   -
San Diego State        IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
DOUGLAS, Brett......  8.0  7  0  0  2  5 30 32   -
BRUCKART, Dan.......  1.0  0  1  0  1  1  5  6   -
Win - DOUGLAS (2-3).  Loss - PLATT (3-2).  Save - None.
WP - PLATT; TORGERSON. HBP - by PLATT (ZAWADZKI); by CHRISTIANSEN (MCLINTOCK).
Pitches/strikes: None.
Umpires - HP: Daniel Weikle  1B: Bruce Bayne  3B: Kelly Gonzales
Start: 1:08 pm   Time: 3:40   Attendance: 462
Brigham Young at San Diego State - Play-by-Play
May 20, 2005 at San Diego, Calif. (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young....... 000 000 001 -  1  7  0
San Diego State..... 300 221 22X - 12 16  2
-------------------------------------------
Brigham Young starters: 1/cf MOLINA; 10/ss VILLEZCAS; 15/2b McNAUGHTON; 24/dh
NAKAYAMA; 3/3b TAYLOR; 25/1b SAYLOR; 12/lf KNELL; 22/rf CHAMBERS; 9/c CLOWARD; 7/p
PLATT;
San Diego State starters: 23/cf BERRY; 18/lf EVANS; 1/ss GUERRERO; 15/rf MCLINTOCK;
5/3b ZAWADZKI; 20/1b O'BRIEN; 25/dh UNGRICHT; 12/c SWAYDAN; 8/2b DESME; 35/p
DOUGLAS;
Brigham Young 1st - MOLINA struck out looking. VILLEZCAS flied out to cf.
McNAUGHTON flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 1st - BERRY walked. BERRY stole second. EVANS walked.
GUERRERO out at first 1b to p, SAC, bunt; EVANS advanced to second; BERRY advanced
to third. MCLINTOCK flied out to rf, SF, RBI; EVANS advanced to third; BERRY scored.
ZAWADZKI homered, 2 RBI; EVANS scored. O'BRIEN grounded out to ss. 3 runs, 1 hit,
0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - NAKAYAMA struck out swinging. TAYLOR flied out to cf.
SAYLOR walked. KNELL flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 2nd - UNGRICHT struck out swinging. SWAYDAN flied out to cf.
DESME struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - CHAMBERS doubled to right center. CLOWARD grounded out to
ss. MOLINA struck out swinging. VILLEZCAS singled to second base; CHAMBERS advanced
to third. McNAUGHTON popped up to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 3rd - BERRY struck out swinging. EVANS grounded out to ss.
GUERRERO walked. GUERRERO advanced to second on a wild pitch. MCLINTOCK struck out
looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - NAKAYAMA grounded out to 1b unassisted. TAYLOR doubled to
left field. SAYLOR grounded out to ss; TAYLOR advanced to third. KNELL flied out to
rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
San Diego State 4th - ZAWADZKI hit by pitch. O'BRIEN singled up the middle;
ZAWADZKI advanced to second. UNGRICHT grounded out to 1b unassisted, SAC, bunt;
O'BRIEN advanced to second; ZAWADZKI advanced to third. SWAYDAN tripled to center
field, 2 RBI; O'BRIEN scored; ZAWADZKI scored. SWAYDAN out at home c unassisted,
caught stealing. DESME flied out to rf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - CHAMBERS walked. CLOWARD flied out to cf. MOLINA reached
on a fielder's choice; CHAMBERS out at second 3b to 2b. VILLEZCAS singled through
the right side; MOLINA advanced to second. McNAUGHTON singled to right field;
VILLEZCAS advanced to second; MOLINA advanced to third, out at home rf to c. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 5th - BERRY singled up the middle. EVANS grounded out to ss;
BERRY advanced to second. BERRY stole third. GUERRERO doubled to right center, RBI;
BERRY scored. CHRISTIANSEN to p for PLATT. MCLINTOCK singled to center field;
GUERRERO advanced to third. ZAWADZKI reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; MCLINTOCK
out at second ss to 2b; GUERRERO scored. O'BRIEN singled through the left side;
ZAWADZKI advanced to second. ZAWADZKI stole third. UNGRICHT walked; O'BRIEN advanced
to second. SWAYDAN reached on a fielder's choice; UNGRICHT out at second ss to 2b.
2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - NAKAYAMA popped up to 3b. TAYLOR struck out swinging.
SAYLOR doubled to right center. KNELL singled through the left side; SAYLOR advanced
to third. CHAMBERS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
San Diego State 6th - DESME flied out to rf. BERRY doubled to left field.
EVANS singled through the right side, RBI; BERRY scored. GUERRERO struck out
swinging. MCLINTOCK hit by pitch; EVANS advanced to second. ZAWADZKI walked;
MCLINTOCK advanced to second; EVANS advanced to third. BARRETT to p for
CHRISTIANSEN. O'BRIEN struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - CLOWARD flied out to rf. MOLINA grounded out to 2b.
VILLEZCAS flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 7th - UNGRICHT singled through the left side. SWAYDAN doubled
to center field; UNGRICHT advanced to third. PERRY,KEV pinch hit for DESME.
PERRY,KEV singled to center field, RBI; SWAYDAN advanced to third; UNGRICHT scored.
BERRY singled to center field, RBI; PERRY,KEV advanced to second; SWAYDAN scored.
EVANS grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b; BERRY out on the play; PERRY,KEV
advanced to third. GUERRERO flied out to cf. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 8th - PERRY,KEV to 2b. McNAUGHTON grounded out to ss. NAKAYAMA
flied out to cf. TAYLOR flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
San Diego State 8th - TORGERSON to p for BARRETT. MCLINTOCK flied out to rf.
ZAWADZKI homered, RBI. O'BRIEN singled to center field. O'BRIEN advanced to second
on a wild pitch. UNGRICHT flied out to cf; O'BRIEN advanced to third. SWAYDAN
walked. PERRY,KEV singled up the middle, RBI; SWAYDAN advanced to second; O'BRIEN
scored. BERRY flied out to rf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 9th - BRUCKART to p for DOUGLAS. RELF pinch hit for SAYLOR.
RELF struck out swinging. KNELL reached on an error by 3b. SLOAN pinch hit for
CHAMBERS. SLOAN walked; KNELL advanced to second. LAW pinch hit for CLOWARD. LAW
reached on an error by ss; SLOAN advanced to second; KNELL scored, unearned. MOLINA
popped up to ss. IORG pinch hit for VILLEZCAS. IORG flied out to cf. 1 run, 0
hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.

Three games are critical for BYU and San Diego State as they start a three-game baseball series Wednesday in San Diego.

The Aztecs are three games behind BYU, who stands alone in second place, one game behind UNLV.

If BYU can win three games in the season finale at SDSU, and have Utah upset UNLV once, then the Cougars could tie for first place and claim the No. 1 league tournament seed. The tiebreaker favors BYU against UNLV, but it all hinges on the Cougar-Aztec series.

The Cougars have a 2-1 advantage in the SDSU series last month at Provo and bring a 35-16-1 overall record and a 19-8 Mountain West Conference mark into this week's action. The Aztecs are 22-31 and 16-11.

These games are moved up a day from the rest of the conference teams who also finish a day earlier than normal. BYU's series at San Diego begins on Wednesday because of finals and graduation at SDSU. Game times are 6 p.m. (PDT) for Wednesday and Thursday, and 1 p.m., on Friday.

Starting for BYU on the mound to open the series is Dave Horlacher (5-2, 4.13). Lefty Lance Beus (1-1, 6.99) and James Platt (3-1, 6.41) are scheduled to start Thursday and Friday's games for BYU.

Among those to keep an eye on for the Cougars are Jeff Hiestand and Brandon Taylor. Hiestand just had his hitting streak stopped at 29 games, but has been on base the past 32 games. Taylor is currently ranked second nationally in RBI with an average of 1.49; seventh nationally in home runs per game, averaging .37; 12th nationally in slugging, averaging .735; and 40th nationally in runs per game with an average of 1.18.

All of the BYU-SDSU games can be heard live locally on KOVO Radio (960 AM) or live on the Internet through links at www.byucougars.com.

The Cougars bused to San Diego, but will return to Utah on Saturday for next week's MWC Tournament in Salt Lake City.

A multi-page release can be found by downloading the PDF file at the top of this story, which gives a detailed analysis of the Cougars.