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PROVO -- A two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th inning gave Air Force a 5-4 win over the BYU baseball team at Miller Park on Thursday.

The Cougars managed to tie the game 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth after surrendering the lead to the Falcons. In the chilly night air BYU struggled to bring in runs, leaving four runners on base through the final three innings.

“I don’t think we were prepared mentally,” BYU head coach Vance Law said. “Air Force is a great team and they just battled tonight.”

Jordan Muir received his first loss of the season. He came out of the bullpen to pitch 3.2 innings, surrendering only the winning run.

The Cougars trailed 2-0 through five innings. BYU starting pitcher Jeremy Toole struggled through the first inning, loading the bases after two outs and walking in a run. Toole settled into a groove, but after giving up a double a throwing error brought around another Falcon run.

Toole threw seven complete innings allowing three runs, two earned, off of seven hits, six walks and six strikeouts.

The first five innings proved unfruitful for the Cougar offense, but a persistent approach at the plate yielded success. With two outs in the sixth inning, the Air Force pitcher misfired on a pickoff attempt to first base that advanced Steve Parker to third. Brandon Relf hit a high fly ball that fell off of the glove of the second baseman, allowing Parker to score.

Michael Bowen singled to put two runners on before a misjudged fly ball from Kasey Ko landed just inside of the left field line to bring in both runners.

The Falcons evened the game at 3-3 with an RBI double before the Cougars ran into a jam in the eighth. A single and two walks loaded the bases and the third walk of the inning brought in the go-ahead run.

Back-to-back singles put a runner in scoring position for Bowen, who singled to right field to tie the game 4-4.

With both teams at a standstill the game entered extra innings. The Cougars got their best shot at bringing in a run when Falcon pitcher Aaron Kurcz walked three batters to load the bases. Andrew Law laid a bunt down the third base line, in a safety squeeze that bounced foul, before striking out to end the 10th inning.

In the top of the 11th a leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt gave Air Force a runner in scoring position, and the runner scored on a single to center.

BYU was unable to generate a run in the bottom half of the frame, hitting into a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.

The Cougars, now 18-13 overall and 5-5 in Mountain West Conference play, return to Miller Park on Friday at 7 p.m. for game two of a three-game series against Air Force, now 11-20 and 2-5.

Air Force Academy at BYU
Apr 09, 2009 at Larry H.Miller Field
Air Force Academy 5 (11-20,2-5 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RANDHAWA, K.J. ss........  6  0  0  0   0  3  4  5   0
GENTRY, Addison 1b.......  5  0  1  1   1  1 10  1   2
ALEXANDER, Matt dh.......  5  4  2  0   1  2  0  0   3
AUSBUN, Ben lf...........  2  0  2  1   2  0  1  0   0
 MOSS, Tytus pr..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MAYO, Parker c..........  1  0  0  0   0  0  6  1   0
WALKER, Daniel cf........  5  0  2  0   0  2  2  0   1
LUPO, Jack c/lf..........  5  1  3  2   1  1  5  1   1
McMAHON, Jon 2b..........  4  0  0  0   1  0  2  1   5
ROBERTS, Blair 3b........  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
 SCHIERHOLTZ, Vai ph/3b..  2  0  0  0   1  1  0  1   0
CARTER, Nathan rf........  2  0  1  0   3  0  3  0   0
ALLEN, Casey p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 PETRO, Jake p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 KURCZ, Aaron p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 39  5 11  4  10 11 33 14  14
BYU 4 (18-13,5-5 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
McNAUGHTON, Sean lf......  6  0  2  0   0  3  3  0   0
BANKS, Stetson cf........  6  0  1  0   0  3  1  0   0
WALTON, Kent dh..........  5  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
PARKER, Steve 3b.........  4  2  2  0   1  1  0  4   0
RELF, Brandon ss.........  4  1  1  0   1  0  2  3   2
BOWEN, Michael rf........  5  1  3  1   0  0  2  0   0
KO, Kasey 1b.............  4  0  1  2   1  1  9  2   1
MUSSO, J.T. c............  3  0  1  0   0  0  8  1   1
 AYOSO, Bryce ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
 NACAPOY, Chad c.........  0  0  0  0   1  0  3  0   0
LAW, Andrew 2b...........  5  0  1  0   0  1  5  4   4
TOOLE, Jeremy p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 OSLUND, Marc p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MUIR, Jordan p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 43  4 12  3   4 10 33 15  11
Score by Innings                       R  H  E
----------------------------------------------
Air Force Academy... 101 000 110 01 -  5 11  4
BYU................. 000 003 010 00 -  4 12  1
----------------------------------------------
E - RANDHAWA(12); McMAHON(6); ALLEN, C.(2); KURCZ(3); MUSSO(4). DP - AF 2;
Cougars 1. LOB - AF 14; Cougars 11. 2B - AUSBUN 2(7); CARTER(3); KO(7). HBP
- WALTON. SH - MAYO(3); WALKER(3); McMAHON(1). SB - LAW, An.(12). CS -
CARTER(4); McNAUGHTON(3).
Air Force Academy      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
ALLEN, Casey........  6.1  7  3  0  1  4 25 27  99
PETRO, Jake.........  1.0  2  1  1  0  2  5  5  17
KURCZ, Aaron........  3.2  3  0  0  3  4 13 16  74
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF  NP
--------------------------------------------------
TOOLE, Jeremy.......  7.0  7  3  2  6  6 25 32 116
OSLUND, Marc........  0.1  1  1  1  2  0  1  4  15
MUIR, Jordan........  3.2  3  1  1  2  5 13 16  53
Win - KURCZ (3-3).  Loss - MUIR (0-1).  Save - None.
HBP - by ALLEN, C. (WALTON). PB - MAYO(3). Pitches/strikes: ALLEN, C. 99/65;
PETRO, J. 17/12; KURCZ 74/41; TOOLE 116/71; OSLUND 15/6; MUIR 53/31.
Umpires - HP: Rich Padilla  1B: Bradley Hungerford  3B: Glen Ballangao
Start: 7:06 pm   Time: 3:32   Attendance: 865
Weather: 52 degrees, partly cloudy
Play-by-Play
Air Force Academy 1st - RANDHAWA grounded out to ss (0-1). GENTRY flied
out to lf (1-2). ALEXANDER singled to right field (2-0). AUSBUN walked (3-0);
ALEXANDER advanced to second. WALKER singled to first base (2-2); AUSBUN
advanced to second; ALEXANDER advanced to third. LUPO walked, RBI (3-1); WALKER
advanced to second; AUSBUN advanced to third; ALEXANDER scored. McMAHON flied
out to cf (0-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 1st - McNAUGHTON singled to center field (0-1). BANKS flied out to
cf (0-1). WALTON hit by pitch (2-0); McNAUGHTON advanced to second. PARKER
singled to left field (0-1); WALTON advanced to second; McNAUGHTON advanced to
third. RELF grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b (1-1); PARKER out on the
play. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Air Force Academy 2nd - ROBERTS grounded out to p (0-0). CARTER doubled
to left field (3-2). RANDHAWA struck out swinging (1-2). GENTRY struck out
looking (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - BOWEN popped up to 2b (0-1). KO struck out swinging (2-2).
MUSSO singled up the middle (3-2). LAW, An. flied out to lf (0-1). 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 3rd - ALEXANDER walked (3-2). AUSBUN doubled to right
field (0-0); ALEXANDER advanced to third, scored on a throwing error by c,
unearned. WALKER out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt (0-0); AUSBUN advanced to
third. LUPO struck out swinging (2-2). McMAHON walked (3-2). ROBERTS struck out
looking (0-2). 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - McNAUGHTON singled to shortstop (0-2). BANKS struck out
swinging (2-2). WALTON popped up to ss (0-0). McNAUGHTON out at second c to ss,
caught stealing. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Air Force Academy 4th - CARTER walked (3-2). CARTER out at second c to
ss, caught stealing. RANDHAWA grounded out to 2b (1-2). GENTRY flied out to lf
(1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - PARKER flied out to rf (1-2). RELF grounded out to ss (0-0).
BOWEN singled to left field (1-0). KO grounded out to p (2-2). 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 5th - ALEXANDER struck out swinging (0-2). AUSBUN
walked (3-1). WALKER singled to left field (0-1); AUSBUN advanced to second.
LUPO grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b (0-1); WALKER out on the play.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - MUSSO grounded out to p (1-2). LAW, An. grounded out to ss
(0-1). McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Air Force Academy 6th - McMAHON grounded out to 2b (0-2). SCHIERHOLTZ
pinch hit for ROBERTS. SCHIERHOLTZ grounded out to 2b (0-0). CARTER grounded
out to ss (0-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 6th - SCHIERHOLTZ to 3b. BANKS struck out swinging (2-2). WALTON
grounded out to p (0-0). PARKER walked (3-0). PARKER advanced to second on a
throwing error by p, advanced to third. RELF reached on a fielding error by 2b
(3-2); PARKER scored, unearned. BOWEN singled to left field (0-0); RELF
advanced to second. KO doubled to left field, 2 RBI (3-2); BOWEN scored,
unearned; RELF scored, unearned. MUSSO grounded out to 3b (0-0). 3 runs, 2
hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 7th - RANDHAWA flied out to rf (1-1). GENTRY singled
to center field (3-2). ALEXANDER reached on a fielder's choice (0-1); GENTRY
out at second ss to 2b. AUSBUN doubled to right center, RBI (1-0); ALEXANDER
scored. MOSS pinch ran for AUSBUN. WALKER struck out swinging (1-2). 1 run,
2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - MAYO to c for MOSS. LUPO to lf. LAW, An. flied out to cf
(1-0). PETRO, J. to p for ALLEN, C.. McNAUGHTON struck out swinging, out at
first c to 1b (1-2). BANKS flied out to rf (1-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Air Force Academy 8th - OSLUND to p for TOOLE. LUPO singled to shortstop
(0-1). McMAHON out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt (1-0); LUPO advanced to second.
SCHIERHOLTZ walked (3-2). CARTER walked (3-1); SCHIERHOLTZ advanced to second;
LUPO advanced to third. MUIR to p for OSLUND. RANDHAWA struck out swinging
(2-2). GENTRY walked, RBI (3-0); CARTER advanced to second; SCHIERHOLTZ
advanced to third; LUPO scored. ALEXANDER struck out swinging (2-2). 1 run,
1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 8th - WALTON struck out swinging (1-2). PARKER singled through the
left side (0-0). RELF singled to right center (2-0); PARKER advanced to third.
KURCZ to p for PETRO, J.. RELF advanced to second on a passed ball. BOWEN
singled to right field, advanced to second on the throw, RBI (3-1); RELF
advanced to third; PARKER scored. KO out at first 1b to 2b (1-2). AYOSO pinch
hit for MUSSO. AYOSO fouled out to lf (3-2). 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Air Force Academy 9th - NACAPOY to c for AYOSO. MAYO grounded out to 3b
(3-2). WALKER struck out swinging (0-2). LUPO singled to center field (2-1).
McMAHON popped up to ss (0-0). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 9th - LAW, An. singled to shortstop, advanced to second on a
throwing error by ss (1-1). McNAUGHTON struck out swinging (3-2). LAW, An.
stole third. BANKS struck out swinging (1-2). WALTON flied out to rf (0-0).
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Air Force Academy 10th - SCHIERHOLTZ struck out swinging (1-2). CARTER
walked (3-1). RANDHAWA struck out swinging (1-2). GENTRY flied out to lf (0-0).
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 10th - PARKER struck out swinging (2-2). RELF walked (3-1). BOWEN
fouled out to c (1-0). RELF advanced to second on a throwing error by p. KO
walked (3-2). NACAPOY walked (3-2); KO advanced to second; RELF advanced to
third. LAW, An. struck out looking (0-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 3
LOB.
Air Force Academy 11th - ALEXANDER singled to center field (1-2). MAYO
out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt (1-0); ALEXANDER advanced to second. WALKER
flied out to rf (0-1). LUPO singled to center field, RBI (0-0); ALEXANDER
scored. McMAHON grounded out to 3b (1-0). 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 11th - McNAUGHTON grounded out to ss (2-1). BANKS singled up the
middle (3-2). WALTON grounded into double play p to ss to 1b (1-1); BANKS out
on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

First place could be within reach of BYU's baseball team as it hosts the Air Force Academy in a three-game series starting Thursday.

The Cougars, 18-12 overall and in a tie for second place with a 5-4 record in the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars are tied with New Mexico with a 5-4 mark, while TCU and San Diego State are tied for first place with 6-3 league records.

While BYU hosts the Falcons, UNM is playing Utah in Ogden, SDSU hosts UNLV and TCU is playing a non-conference opponent this weekend.

The probable pitchers for BYU are Jeremy Toole (5-2, 3.74) and Blake Torgerson (3-2,6.92) in games Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. Cougar freshman Adam Miller (2-2, 4.50) will start Saturday's game at 1 p.m.

A couple of BYU seniors are starting to make some noise nationally. Kent Walton is batting .465 and ranks No. 5 in the nation in that category. Walton has a 16-game hitting streak. Teammate Jordan Muir has recorded seven saves, three away from breaking the school record set by Ryan Hancock in 1992.