Gamble pays off for Cougars

LAS VEGAS — BYU baseball coach Vance Law knew he would be second-guessed by tabbing Jake Wortham as the starter in the MWC tournament opener against New Mexico on Thursday instead of ace Jesse Craig.

It was a gamble Law was willing to make, and Wortham delivered.

Wortham threw 7 2/3 innings and allowed just three runs on five hits in leading the Cougars (36-18) to a 5-3 victory over the Lobos.

"I certainly wasn't overlooking New Mexico," Law said in defending his decision to go with the lefty. "Jess has had a lot better success against TCU than any of our other starters have and Jake has had good success against New Mexico. We're in Las Vegas; we may as well throw the dice and see what happens. It turned out well for us."

For the fourth time in his past five outings, Wortham (8-4) went seven innings or more.

"I was honored coach had that kind of confidence in me to let me take the first game in a big weekend for us," Wortham said. "I tried to focus on what I can do and throw strikes."

He kept the Lobos off balance with a sneaky fastball and change-up.

"He (Wortham) controlled the strike zone well," Law said. "I think the key for him was being able to throw the breaking ball for strikes on the first pitch."

Wortham, who allowed six hits and three runs in seven innings in his only other outing against New Mexico this season, retired the side in the first and was touched up for two runs in the second.

BYU's Apana Nakayama belted a two-run homer in the third to knot the score.

Wortham then retired the side in order the next two innings and faced only four in the fifth inning. But Jay Russell, who singled to open the fifth, scored on a balk, giving the Lobos the 3-2 lead.

Wortham retired the side in order in the sixth and faced four hitters in the seventh. He was pulled with two outs in the eighth.

The Cougars took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh as Nakayama scored a run on a fielder's choice, and Stephen Parker, the co-MWC freshman of the year, delivered a two-run double.

The Lobos managed to load the bases, but Matt Jensen induced a groundout to end the inning.

Jensen walked the first Lobo hitter in the ninth but retired the next three to pick up his fourth save of the season.

The Cougars face TCU today at 4 p.m. (MDT) in the semifinals.

Craig (10-2, 2.80 ERA) is 1-0 against the No. 18 Frogs (44-12). He twirled a complete-game shutout April 19. He allowed seven hits and fanned six and didn't walk a batter.

On March 22, he went 6 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out nine in a no-decision.

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