SALT LAKE CITY — Cooper Vest scored three runs with two hits including a home run as BYU baseball rode a four-run eighth inning to a 7-3 rivalry win over Utah at Smith’s Ballpark on Tuesday night.

Vest came home on a sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning then recorded a solo homer in the fourth before scoring his third run of the evening in the Cougars productive eighth.

BYU (14-15) put up seven runs on eight hits while allowing Utah (21-10) three runs on six.

“We played hard tonight to come away with this win,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “I really like how this team is playing together and getting better.”

Including a 13-7 win at Utah on May 9, 2023, BYU has now beaten the Utes in back-to-back road games for the first time since 2012. Tuesday’s win also marks the Cougars’ 250th win over Utah since record keeping began in 1948.

Utah tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning and threatened again in the third, but BYU got out of the inning when Collin Reuter threw out Utah’s Kai Roberts attempting to steal third. The out marked just the fourth time in 25 attempts the Pac-12 stolen base leader has been caught stealing.

Vest put the Cougars back on top 2-1 in the top of the fourth with a solo shot to right center. The Cougars tacked on a third run in the top of the sixth with Collin Reuter singling through the right side to bring Luke Anderson home from second.

Utah knotted the game 3-3 with a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the seventh before BYU ran off for four runs in a game-sealing eighth.

After BYU loaded the bases in the eighth, Utah looked to put a quick end to the Cougar threat with a home-to-first double play for the first two outs. Kuhio Aloy then broke the 3-3 tie with a two-out, two-strike single up the middle that sent Vest to second and scored Easton Jones and Keoni Painter.

The Cougars added to the 5-3 lead with a run from Vest as Robinson singled to right center. BYU’s seventh and final run came with Chipper Beck bringing in Aloy from third on an infield groundball.

Cutter Clawson commanded the mound for the Cougars in each of the final two innings as he retired the final six Ute batters and sealed the win. Boston Mabeus, who came on in relief in the seventh, earned the win and moved to 2-0 on the season.

BYU begins an eight-game homestand on Thursday at 6 p.m. MDT with the first of three matchups with Baylor at 6 p.m. Watch the Cougars take on the Bears on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio 107.9 FM/BYU Radio App.

UVU baseball goes long in rout of Northwest Nazarene

Utah Valley University defeated Northwest Nazarene, 22-7 on Tuesday afternoon at UCCU Ballpark, slugging a program-record seven homers in the contest. Matthew Schwarz finished 3-for-5 with two triples and a grand slam to set a new school record with seven RBIs.

“There were a lot of great things today, but most importantly, we played as a team from the first pitch to the last. When guys are willing to put the team first it is amazing what we can accomplish together and how their individual accolades are reached more often when selfless,” said UVU head coach Eddie Smith.

After the Nighthawks scored a run to tie the game at 1-1 in the second, Utah Valley responded after a single from Jayden Smith and Joe McBride was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base for Luke Iverson, who singled home a run to make it 2-1. The real damage was added by Schwarz’s first triple that cleared the bases to make it 4-1, and then Dickinson doubled to bring home one to put UVU in front 5-1.

They added more in the bottom of the fourth inning after Iverson walked to start the inning, and Schwarz knocked him home with a second triple. He came home on the next hitter, as Dickinson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 7-2 Wolverines. UVU kept the pressure on after a walk to Halvorson, and Cole Jordan homered to left field for his first of two in the game.

As the fourth inning continued, UVU held a 9-2 lead. Nate Bach quickly homered to left field for UVU to go back-to-back and take a commanding 10-2 lead. Northwest Nazarene crept back into the game and put five runs across in the top of the fifth inning to quickly cut the UVU lead to 10-7.

After the rally, UVU (17-17) jumped right back on the Nighthawks and scored on a two-run home run from Dickinson for his 21st career home run and put the Wolverines up 12-7.

Burke Camper reached on an error before Halvorson homered to left field for his sixth big fly of the season, making 15-7, Utah Valley. Jordan worked a 3-2 walk as UVU loaded the bases after a single from Smith and a pitch hit McBride. They scored a run on a pitch that hit Iverson to make it 16-7 before Schwarz hit a grand slam for his first-round tripper of the season.

Gray Bailey earned the win after going one inning and recording a strikeout.

The Wolverines travel this weekend for a three-game WAC series against UT Rio Grande Valley. The series starts on Friday, Apr. 12 at 5:30 p.m. MT from UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg, Texas. The series continues with games on Saturday, Apr. 13 at 5:30 p.m. MT and Sunday, Apr. 14 at 11:00 a.m. MT.

BYU women’s golf splits with UNLV, Texas State at Texas Showdown

DALLAS, Texas – BYU women’s golf finished the match-play rounds of the Texas Showdown in sixth after defeating UNLV in the morning 3-2, but later falling to Texas State in the afternoon, 3-1-1.

“It was great to beat UNLV and follow up our solid stroke play rounds,” BYU head coach Carrie Roberts said. “It’s fun to see a few low rounds after they’ve put in some hard work.”

María José Barragán was the sole Cougar to win both of her matches on Tuesday. She secured a two-up win with a birdie during the morning round and defeated Texas State’s Matilda Svahn 2&1 in the afternoon. Alexa Udom and Berlin Long each won their morning matches against UNLV 4&3.

In the afternoon, Lila Galeai halved her match with Texas State’s Fia Lindblom. With the loss to the Bobcats, the Cougars finished sixth at the match play event while Texas State finished fifth.

SMU earned the team title after defeating Baylor and Maryland during the last day of play.

The Cougars will tee it up next at the Big 12 Women’s Championship at Houston Oaks Country Club, in Hockley, Texas, April 18-20.

Cougars take on powerhouse Oklahoma

BYU softball jumps back into Big 12 play this week with a three-game series at No. 1/2 Oklahoma from Thursday-Saturday, April 11-13.

The Cougars (21-17, 4-11 Big 12) have struggled since earning their first Big 12 series win two weeks ago and are on a four-game skid after dropping their midweek game at Utah Valley on Tuesday night following a series loss at UCF over the weekend.

The Cougars’ season batting average now sits at .331, which ranked No. 16 heading into their midweek game at UVU. Their scoring average ranks No. 12, with a .420 on-base percentage also ranking 12th.

BYU gets set for its first matchup with Oklahoma since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and first visit to the Sooner State since playing in the Stillwater Regional in 2019.

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