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BYU roundup: Walkoff gives Cougar baseball doubleheader split with Saint Mary’s

By Staff | Mar 25, 2023

BYU's Jacob Wilk hits the ball during a WCC game against Saint Mary's at Miller Park in Provo on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

After a tough 6-4 loss in the first game of the doubleheader against Saint Mary’s at Miller Park in Provo, the BYU baseball team appeared to be back on track as it took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning in Game 2.

But the Gaels refused to surrender easily and plated a pair of runs to tie the score and force the Cougar offense to respond.

This time, however, BYU had the answer.

Tate Gambill led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Luke Anderson. With two outs, Jacob Wilk’s line drive down the right field line popped out of the Saint Mary’s fielder’s glove.

Gambill crossed the plate to give Wilk his second walkoff of the season and BYU the 4-3 victory.

The Cougars played an error-free game for the fifth time this season and are 5-0 in those games, while BYU also has yet to lose a game (8-0) when holding a lead after eight innings. All four Cougar runs were unearned.

Ironically, BYU also had a 3-1 lead in the opening game after Easton Jones doubled and then scored in the fourth.

The Cougars tacked on a fourth run in the fifth, but couldn’t maintain the offensive momentum. Instead it was Saint Mary’s who scored five unanswered runs to snatch the road win.

BYU will be back in action on Tuesday, March 28, as it travels across town to take on Utah Valley at UCCU Ballpark at 6 p.m. MDT.

Cougar pole vaulters and high jumpers shine in San Diego

BYU men’s and women’s track and field competed at San Diego State’s Aztec Invitational Saturday, with a strong showing from the pole vaulters and high jumpers.

Returning 2022 Outdoor All-American Caleb Witsken took second in the pole vault, posting a clearance of 5.45m/17-10.5. With the mark, Witsken is now No. 2 in the nation among all NCAA Division I pole vaulters so far in the outdoor season.

The Cougars’ success in the pole vault didn’t stop with Witsken, as Nathan Burnett posted a new personal-best, 5.15m/16-10.75 clearance to finish fourth. Both Burnett and Witsken finished ahead of two Outdoor All-Americans from last year – South Dakota’s Eerik Haamer and Washington’s Jacob Englar (seventh-place tie). Ben Barton also competed, recording a personal record as he cleared the bar at 4.35m/14-3.25.

“Considering we’ve yet to practice outdoors due to weather, I thought our squad did amazing,” BYU men’s track and field pole vault coach Rick McWhorter said. “Caleb and Nathan jumped regional qualifying marks while Ben Barton had a double PR in the pole vault which will improve his chances of making it to nationals in the decathlon. Overall, it was an excellent day.”

On top of the pole vault, Barton notched personal-bests in two more events Saturday: the 110-meter hurdles and 100-meter dash. His 14.39 time in the 110m hurdles was good for ninth overall in a race that included nationally-ranked, No. 2 Ethan Exilhomme of Northeastern who finished first. Barton’s time of 10.68 in the 100m beat his previous best by 0.34 seconds. Both prior personal records were set in April 2019.

On the women’s side, Cierra Tidwell Allphin cleared a personal-best 1.85 meters/6-0.75 as she won the high jump and highlighted BYU women’s track and field’s showing at the Aztec Invitational at SDSU Sports Deck on Saturday.

“It was just insane how well Cierra was jumping today,” said BYU jumps coach Mark Robison. “She was just unbelievable.”

Tidwell Allphin’s clearance in San Diego marked the latest rung in her ascent up the BYU top-10 board. The junior from Gilbert, Arizona is now tied for fifth all-time at BYU with Jeana Bingham (2001). Tidwell Allphin’s win came over runner-up Grace Campbell of Arizona State and fellow 2022 Second Team All-American Daniella Anglin of South Dakota.

Heading into this weekend, Tidwell Allphin’s 1.85 would lead all women’s high jumpers nationally.

BYU jumps, throws, sprints and hurdles next head to the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas March 29-April 1. Men’s and women’s distance will return to action March 31-April 1 at the Stanford Invitational.

Cougar women’s tennis shuts out Portland

BYU women’s tennis defeated Portland 7-0 on Saturday afternoon for its third-consecutive victory. The Cougars improved to 10-5 on the season, 6-1 at home and 4-1 in conference play.

Freshman Tina Li secured her 13th singles victory of the season, improving to 13-2. Li is currently on a nine-match win streak. Sophomore captain Bobo Huang earned her 11th singles victory of the season, improving to 11-3.

Sophomore Jacque Dunyon also came out victorious, improving to 10-2 on the year in singles play. Senior captain Emilee Astle moved to 7-7 on the year with her singles victory.

“Our girls really took care of business this weekend, and should feel great confidence going into our match versus San Diego next week,” said head coach Holly Hasler. “We focus on learning from every match and it’s just fun to see improvements every day.”

The Cougars return to action next week, Friday, Mar. 31 against San Diego. The road match will begin at 12:00 p.m. PDT.

 

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