Aztecs Defeat BYU in WAC First Round

Second-seeded San Diego State, saving its best arm for today’s second-round game, used five pitchers to beat Brigham Young, 11-6, in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament Thursday.

Right-handed reliever Jay Hassel (2-1) allowed three earned runs pitching the fourth through sixth innings, but he benefited from two four-run innings for the Aztecs to get the victory. SDSU, which beat BYU three out of four times during the regular season, improved to 39-16 and advanced in the winners’ bracket. The Cougars fell to 38-18 and also will play today.

SDSU Coach Jim Dietz started Clint Borman before calling Hassel, John Lynn, Steve Trainor and Benji Grigsby out of the bullpen. Dietz, expecting to face top-seeded Hawaii in the second round, saved senior left-hander Rick Navarro (9-0, 1.45 ERA) for today’s game (6:30 p.m. PDT). Navarro was the only pitcher to beat Hawaii as SDSU went 1-3 against the WAC regular-season champion Rainbows.

BYU led, 5-4, entering the bottom of the sixth, the first of the Aztecs’ two four-run innings. Shortstop Steve Dietz, who extended his hitting streak to 26 games (two shy of the record 28 by Derek Vinyard), reached on an error to open the inning. Vinyard followed with a single, followed by an RBI-double by Greg Quam.

The Cougars then started to unravel when ace Eric Smith (10-2) allowed Vinyard and Quam to score on wild pitches. Quam, who has raised his average from .148 to .276 in 20 games, had three hits, drove in four runs and stole two bases. His two-run triple also keyed SDSU’s four-run seventh.