WAC Baseball Tournament : Campbell, Aztecs Quiet BYU, 6-1

James Campbell scattered nine hits Thursday to help San Diego State defeat Brigham Young, 6-1, in a Western Athletic Conference baseball playoff game at Provo, Utah.

The Aztecs (32-26-1), second-place finishers in the WAC Western Division, play Hawaii today at noon. BYU (40-21), first-place finisher in the Eastern Division, plays New Mexico at 9 a.m. in a loser’s bracket game. Hawaii beat New Mexico Thursday, 6-3.

The double-elimination tournament finishes Saturday.

The Aztecs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Nikco Riesgo. Steve Montejano’s squeeze bunt made it 2-0 in the second.

In the fifth inning, Riesgo’s two-run double pushed the lead to 5-0.

Campbell, who struck out two and walked none, made sure the lead stood up, with some help from his defense.

Bob Parry made a diving catch in right field to help stop a potential BYU rally in the eighth, and Kasey McKeon, who also had two hits, made a diving stop to stop a potential rally in the ninth.

BYU’s only run came on John Batina’s double-play grounder in the seventh. It was the first time since 1982 that BYU scored fewer than two runs in a game played at Provo.

If San Diego State beats Hawaii today, it will qualify for Saturday’s championship round. If the Aztecs lose to Hawaii, they will meet the winner of this morning’s BYU-New Mexico game today at 4 p.m. SDSU would then need a win to advance to the championship.