BYU baseball got off to an early lead and cruised to a 19-2 win over Utah Tech at Miller Park on Tuesday afternoon.
“It was a great game for us in all aspects,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “Our guys pounded the zone and threw a lot of strikes. We were patient at the plate and swung at pitches in the strike zone. That was the big thing. We’ll have a good practice tomorrow and then play a real good Cincinnati team this weekend.”
BYU (7-8) scored 19 runs off 22 hits including six home runs. While Utah Tech (13-4) had two runs on five hits, scoring both runs in the ninth inning. BYU struck first with one run in the first inning before exploding for eight runs in the second and never looked back.
Ryker Schow and Ryder Robinson each had two home runs, while McNaughton and Hurdsman accounted for the other two blasts.
BYU starter Austin Park held the Trail Blazers scoreless in the top of the first inning, then Robinson hit a solo homerun to deep right field in the bottom half to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
After the Trail Blazers went quietly 1-2-3 in the second inning, the Cougars got things going in the bottom of the frame with a single from Bryker Hurdsman, followed by a walk from Easton Jones. Schow’s single to left field brought Hurdsman home and advanced Jones to second base. Park then got an RBI single that scored Jones and advancing Schow to third. Luke Anderson kept things rolling for the Cougars, hitting a single to left that allowed both Skow and Park to score, pushing the Cougar lead to 6-0.
In the third, BYU added to its lead with a Schow single and a McNaughton homer to deep centerfield, increasing the Cougar lead to 11-0.
Robinson pushed BYU’s consecutive scoring innings to five, with his second homerun of the afternoon, this one over the left field scoreboard to put BYU up 14-0.
BYU opens Big 12 play at home in a three-game home series with Cincinnati, March 12-14. The first game is scheduled for Thursday at 3:00 p.m. MT at Miller Park. Streaming will be available on ESPN+ with radio coverage on BYUradio and on the BYUradio app.
BYU softball
The Cougars (6-17, 0-3 Big 12) scored a season-high ten runs, all in the first three innings before the game was called early due to the five-inning run rule to get by Abilene Christian 10-1.
In 18 at-bats, BYU produced nine hits and ten runs, including two runs each from Danica Acosta and Maddie Udall-Woolley. Hailey Schuler also recorded a season-high four RBI.
The Cougars will return to the road for the Trailblazer Classic, playing three games at Utah Tech, starting against Omaha on Friday, March 13 at 11 a.m. MDT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
BYU Golf
Kihei Akina (67-71-64-202) had the lowest 54-hole score of his career with 14-under par to win the R.E. Lamkin Invitational at San Diego Country Club Tuesday.
BYU men’s golf (280-289-282) had its lowest round score with a 10-under-par round three on its way to a third-place finish at 17-under par.
“Really quite amazing what Kihei accomplished the last six days,” head coach Bruce Brockbank said. “It’s so impressive how he played at the Lamkin. He had so many highlights this week.”
Akina started out the day five strokes back from the lead before making six birdies, an eagle and no bogeys in the final round to claim the victory. The preseason All-American beat out his previous best round by three strokes to give himself the lowest-scoring tournament of his career and his first individual win. This was accomplished four days after making his first PGA Tour cut at the Puerto Rico Open.
“I didn’t feel tired at all today,” Akina said. “I felt great coming into today and knew I had to go low. I know everyone on this team has really high potential so I’m looking forward to playing our best golf as we get late in the season.”
BYU will head to the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational hosted by the GCAA in Napa Valley, Calif. from March 23-24.
