The BYU baseball team clinched the Western Athletic Conference's Eastern Division title Saturday afternoon, but the Cougars weren't breaking out the fake champagne, hooting and hollering or doing much celebrating.
Cougar coach Gary Pullins, while happy about the championship, seemed downright disappointed with how his team has played of late - with good reason. After starting the WAC race with a 17-2 mark, the Cougars backed into the division title by going 5-6 in their last 11.The Cougars dropped two of three games to Grand Canyon in a regular-season ending triple-header Saturday at Cougar Field, but, thanks to an Air Force victory over second-place New Mexico, BYU backed into the division title anyway.
"Frankly, this ball club isn't playing quite right," Pullins said. "We've worked so hard this year, but the last three weeks we haven't been as competitive as we should be."
Three weeks ago the Cougars appeared to be coasting to the WAC Eastern Division title. However, a pair of home losses to New Mexico was followed a week later by a doubleheader loss to last-place Utah.
After the Cougars lost the first game of their triple-header against Grand Canyon, 9-7, they got some good news from the other side of the Rockies. Air Force had upset second-place New Mexico, so BYU needed only one win over the Antelopes in two more tries to clinch the title.
In Saturday's second game, the Cougars never led - until the final play of the game. BYU trailed 4-3 entering the seventh and final inning. Leroy Brown drove in Troy McNaughton with the tying run and Ryan Roberts scored the game winner from third base on a wild pitch by Grand Canyon reliever Erik DesRosiers to give the Cougs a 5-4 victory. Cougar ace Scott Haws (12-3) earned the complete-game victory and BYU had the championship.
The final game was more like an exhibition, as BYU, having already clinched the division crown, substituted freely, using seven different pitchers. The Antelopes won 6-2.
BYU will vie for the WAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament when it travels to Fresno State to take on the WAC Western Division champion Bulldogs in a three-game series next weekend. The first and second games will be Thursday and Friday, with the third game, if necessary, Saturday.