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No. 2 BYU Outlasts No. 7 Air Force, 7-5, At The MWC Baseball Tournament
May 23, 2006 LAS VEGAS - Second-seeded BYU moved into the winner's bracket by holding on for a 7-5 victory over seventh-seeded Air Force in the second game of the first day of the Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Tuesday. The Cougars, who improved to 31-26 overall, will face sixth-seeded Utah in Wednesday's second round at 12:30 p.m. PDT. The Falcons, who lost their 21st consecutive game in dropping to 10-37, will play San Diego State in an elimination game scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday. BYU starter James Platt (1-1) picked up his first win of the year by allowing five runs, including two unearned, on seven hits through 5.2 innings. Falcon starter Casey Allen (1-7) took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits through three innings. Air Force got off to a fast start at the plate, leaving the bases loaded in the first and then scoring two unearned runs in the second to take a 2-0 lead on Jon Polston's two-out double. BYU came right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the score with a sacrifice fly and fielder's choice. The Cougars would take the lead in the third inning when Ben Saylor blasted his 20th home run of the season -- a two-run shot to make it 4-2. BYU would then plate a single run in each of the next two innings to build its lead to 6-2. Air Force rallied in the sixth inning by loading the bases with no outs and eventually scoring three runs on just two singles to pull within one run. BYU reliever Anthony Bingham replaced Platt with a man on first and two outs and coaxed a pop fly to quickly end the Falcon rally. Cortland Andrews would take over for Bingham in the seventh and get the final seven outs to record his second save. Cougar centerfielder Kent Walton, who hit a solo shot in the seventh to close out the scoring, led his team with two hits and three runs. Polston paced the Falcons with two hits and three RBI.
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