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No. 6 Utah Upsets No. 3 San Diego State In Opening Game Of 2006 MWC Baseball Tournament
May 23, 2006 LAS VEGAS - Sixth-seeded Utah (28-26) rung up eight runs on nine hits off San Diego State (23-35) starter Justin Masterson through the first six innings, and held on for an 8-5 win on Tuesday afternoon in the first game on the 2006 Mountain West Conference Baseball Tournament from Earl E. Wilson Stadium. With the win, the Utes move on to face the winner of today's BYU-Air Force contest on Wednesday at 12:30 pm, while the Aztecs will play the loser of the BYU-Air Force game in the elimination bracket on Wednesday at 9 am. Utah got on the scoreboard early, manufacturing a run in the first inning after MWC Player of the Year Ryan Khoury doubled on the second pitch on the game, moved to third on a sacrifice hit, and scored on an Aztec error. Khoury added a second run in the top of the third, as he was hit by a pitch, moved to third on a throwing error, and scored on Jay Brossman's groundout RBI. San Diego State closed to within one in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly from Brock Ungricht to plate Quintin Berry. The Utes then broke the game open with a four-run fourth inning. With runners on first and third with one out, Adam Frank hit a RBI single to score John Welsh. After the Utes loaded the bases thanks to a walk, Khoury hit an RBI single and Brossman added a two-run single to give Utah an 6-1 lead. The Aztecs scored again in the bottom of the fourth, but Utah scored once each in the fifth and sixth innings for an 8-2 edge. SDSU scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, and added a Quintin Berry home run in the bottom of the eighth to account for the final 8-5 margin. Brossman went 2-for-4 with four RBI to pace the Utes, while Khoury finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and a RBI. Utah starter Josh Cooper (6-6) earned the win, throwing five innings and scattering four runs off five hits, despite throwing eight walks and no strikes. Brad Devore pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his seventh save of the year.
Paul Smyth went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead SDSU, while Berry was 2-for-5 with three runs and a RBI. Masterson (6-7) was charged with the loss, allowing eight runs, six earned, off nine hits over five innings. Mike Koon pitched the final four innings and retired 11 straight to close out the game.
Game 1 Notes: • Utah defeated San Diego State for the first time ever in MWC Tournament play. Utah has now won three straight MWC Tournament first-round games and has an overall conference tournament mark of 7-12. SDSU is now 18-11 in opening round tournament games and lost its first game of the tournament for the first time since 2001. • The No. 6 seed is now 1-6 all-time in MWC Tournament opening round games, while the No. 3 seed is now 5-2. • MWC Player of the Year Ryan Khoury and senior Jay Brossman led the Utah offense vs. San Diego State. Khoury went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored, while Brossman went 2-for-5 with four RBI. • Ryan Khoury's two hits vs. the Aztecs gives him 287 for his career which moves him into second place on the MWC career list. Khoury also moved up on the conference career list in games started and at bats today vs. SDSU. Khoury has now started 208 career games to move into third on the charts, while his 842 career at bats moves into a tie for third on the MWC career list. • Utah's Brad Devore collected his seventh save of the season. • San Diego State right hander Justin Masterson hit three batters today, tying the San Diego State single-season record for hit batters (16). Masterson tied the record held by Rory Shortell, who also hit 16 batters during the 2002 season. • The Aztecs' Mike Koons came on in relief to pitch 4.0 innings of perfect ball. He gave up no hits, runs or walks, while striking out two. |
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