On Thursday, BYU baseball needed four and a half hours to overcome Pacific.

No such marathon was needed on Friday.

The Cougars pounded out 16 hits and led the whole way, finishing with a 9-3 victory in front of 1,934 fans at Miller Park to win their eighth consecutive game.

Leadoff hitter Ozzie Pratt drove in three runs, including one on his second home run of the season. Brock Watkins went 3 for 5, including a towering solo shot that cleared the center field fence, hit the street in front of the Marriott Center and bounced off the concrete steps. Austin Deming also had three hits, including a pair of doubles.

“It was a great win,” Deming told the BYU Sports Network. “It was a little rough last night but now we have two good wins. It’s always a good feeling winning games, even two or three in a row. So we’re going to try to keep it going and keep winning. It was a tough day overall yesterday but we got the win and that’s what matters. Each game is important and we’re still trying to get a good spot in the WCC Tournament.”

Game 1 of the series went 12 innings and between the two teams included 12 pitchers, 21 runners left on base and 31 strikeouts. BYU finally got the win in the bottom of the 12th when Jacob Rogers singled in the winning run.

The Cougars (30-18 overall, 13-10 WCC) scored two in the first inning. Ryan Sepede had an RBI single and later came home on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.

In the fifth, Pratt led off with his solo home run to make the score 3-0. The Cougars loaded the bases and a single through the right side by Josh Cowden drove in two runs for a 5-0 advantage.

Pacific (14-33, 5-18) struck back in the sixth with a 2-run, 2-out double from Brandon Motheral and an RBI double by Jacob Weiss to make the score 5-3.

In the sixth inning, Watkins detonated his long home run, his team-leading seventh of the year and BYU led 6-3. Later in the inning, Deming doubled, sending Cole Gambill home for a 7-2 lead.

In the seventh, Pratt knocked in two runs with a single to right for a 9-3 advantage.

Bryce Robison pitched 5 2/3 strong innings, striking out five, to get his seventh win of the year against only one loss. Cy Nielson, Aidan Callahan and Janzen Keisel picked up Robinson in relief.

“We scored early and I thought we swung the bat good all night,” BYU interim coach Trent Pratt told the BYU Sports Network. “Bryce got a little tired in the sixth but our bullpen came in and did what they usually do, and that was good to see. Pacific put up a three spot (in the sixth) and we did a good job responding. It’s always good when they score and you answer back. It puts momentum back on your side.”

The Cougars and Tigers meet in Game 3 on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT.

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