BYU is the WAC baseball champion, earning that title the way they have earned everything else this season: from behind.
The Cougars overcame one-run deficits three times to defeat No. 23-ranked Fresno State 8-6 Friday at Cougar Field, earning an automatic NCAA Tournament bid and capping a season in which they made more comebacks than Freddy Krueger."Another ho-hum kind of game where you go home and make yourself a Maalox milkshake," said BYU coach Gary Pullins.
The hero this time was Carter Hagerman, who went 5-for-5 with two homers, a double and five RBI. Hagerman's single in the top of the ninth knocked in two runs, putting BYU ahead for good.
"Pretty much everybody on this team has been a hero at some time," Hagerman said. "We've made more comebacks than all the other teams I've been on."
With a mild breeze blowing out, it figured this game would be different than Thursday, when a brisk wind kept just about everything in the ballpark. And sure enough, in the bottom of the second inning, FSU's Kyle Fjelstad pounded a homer to right-center - the first of six that would be hit in the game. The 'Dogs got another run in the inning on a pair of singles and a sacrifice fly.
BYU scored a run in the top of the third (Fresno was the home team) on a double by Eric McDowell and single by Espiritu, then took the lead in the sixth on consecutive-pitch homers by Jared Bills and Hagerman.
The Bulldogs, no slouches at comebacks themselves, went ahead again in the bottom of the inning, 4-3, on a single by James Borges and home run by Bryan Judice.
In the top of the eighth, BYU regained the lead. With one out, Bills singled off the leg of FSU starter Jared Fernandez, the Kearns High graduate who has been one of two Bulldog aces this season. Hagerman followed with his second homer, on a hanging curveball.
"I was just fortunate to go up there both times looking for a certain pitch, and I got them," Hagerman said.
Fresno wasn't finished, however. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Fjelstad blooped a single to right, and Judice then popped his second homer, putting the 'Dogs up 6-5.
The ninth was, uh, eventful. With Fresno reliever Kevin Gunther on the mound, McDowell led off with a single - just as he had done in the ninth inning Thursday. Ryan Hall struck out, and Espiritu singled - though it appeared to be an error on the FSU shortstop. Pullins then gambled, big-time. With Dave Bayles at the plate, he sent McDowell and Espiritu on a double steal. The throw to third was in the dirt, and both runners were safe.
FSU coach Bob Bennett then elected to walk Bayles, loading the bases. The next batter, Jared Bills, hit a grounder that Fresno third baseman Matt Curtis made a diving stop on. As McDowell raced home with the tying run, Espiritu stopped midway between second and third, so as not to run into a tag. And when Curtis threw to second, forcing Bayles, Espiritu scampered to third.
So now there's runners on first and third, two outs, Hagerman at the plate. The Cougar sophomore hits a tapper down the third-base line, which Curtis makes a nice play on, nipping Hagerman. But the home-plate umpire (who, coincidentally, is from Fresno) calls it foul, and Hagerman gets another chance. Needless to say, the Bulldogs disliked the call. Hagerman then drills a single to center, scoring the go-ahead runs.
That wasn't the end of the suspense, however. With one out in the ninth and a runner on, Pullins went to his relief ace, Jorge Jaime. The first batter flied out to the fence in left, and then Jaime walked the bases full. But Borges grounded to Steve Cooper, playing first base as a defensive replacement for Bayles, to end the game.
Pullins said this victory - and Thursday's 2-1 win, on a two-run ninth-inning homer - mirrored the Cougars' season. Slightly more than a month ago, BYU was 2-5 in WAC play, 13-14 overall and just trying to figure how to play the game. Now they'll be gathered around the TV Monday, watching ESPN to see where they'll play next.
"It's hard to believe that was the same team in March," said Brian Knoll, the winning pitcher Friday."We were just plain bad."
Somewhere along the line, they became good.