Senior pitchers Wayland Crane and Garrison Sumner combined to hold Houston to just three hits and two runs, while striking out 10 in the win. Crane started and went 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and allowing just two hits and one earned run. In relief, Sumner pitched 4 2/3 innings and contributed seven strikeouts with just one hit and one earned run.

“Crane and Sumner were outstanding tonight,” BYU head baseball coach Trent Pratt said. “It was great to see them go out and lockdown a win for us in game one of the series. Sumner was electric with total command of three pitches which made him very hard to hit.”

BYU (16-16, 6-7) scored three runs on 11 hits and had at least one runner on base in eight of its nine at bats Thursday. Meanwhile, Houston (16-16, 3-10) had three hits and stranded seven runners.

BYU struck first with one run in the top of the first inning on a single by Easton Jones that scored Ezra McNaughton, who had doubled to deep center field to open the inning.

After a scoreless second inning, Baylor tied the ball game in the bottom of the third on a two-out solo home run to even the score at 1-1.

BYU responded in the top of the fourth with two runs on two hits for a 3-1 lead. Matt Hansen and Ridge Erickson  led off the inning with back-to-back singles, then advanced a base on a wild pitch. An infield ground ball scored Hansen from third and advanced Erickson to third before he also came home on an infield ground ball by McNaughton.

Another solo shot in the bottom of the eighth brought Houston to within one run at 3-2 through eight complete. After Houston stranded two BYU runners on base in the top of the ninth, Sumner retired the three Houston batters he faced in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 3-2 win.

Softball powers to 13-10 victory against Houston

BYU softball tallied 13 runs on 16 hits, both season highs, in a series-opening 13-10 win over Houston at Gail Miller Field on Thursday night.

The Cougars (12-26, 3-10 Big 12) in blue showed off a balanced attack at the plate against the Cougars in red. Each BYU batter contributed a hit to the parade, including seven players slapping multiple hits on the night.

Tying their season with runs in an inning twice, the Cougars plated five once in the first and again in the fifth in the 13-run effort. UH also stayed busy on offense by accumulating 15 hits in its 10-run performance.

BYU wasted little time getting runs on the board. After Gianna Mares sat UH down in 1-2-3 fashion with eight pitches in the top of the first inning, the Cougars matched a season-high five runs in the bottom of the frame off four hits. Hailey Shuler and Ilove’a Brittingham  each smacked doubles, resulting in a combined three RBI, before Tristen Turlington got involved with an RBI-single. After batting through the order, the Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Houston.

UH responded in the following frame with a bloop RBI-single and a double down the left field line to plate two runs.

The Cougars of Provo extended their lead off a solo homer to left by Maddie Udall-Woolley, her second long ball of the season in the second, increasing the BYU lead to 6-2.

In the bottom of the third, Turlington’s base hit and Lexie Bennett reaching on an error set up back-to-back RBI-singles by Lily Owens  and Shuler.

The Cougars of Houston threatened with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth frame, but Mares overcame that with a strikeout to get out of the jam, keeping the BYU lead at six runs.

Houston led off the fifth with a solo blast to right center, making the score 8-3 for the Cougars in blue. UH continued to chip into its deficit in the sixth, tacking on three runs on four singles and two walks. BYU escaped the top of the frame still up 8-6.

The Cougars replicated their five-run first by tallying five more runs in the fifth. The inning featured a triple by Rita Tavita followed by a Bre Townsend RBI single on the next pitch. A two-run double by Danica Acosta and an RBI-single by Owens, who later scored on a wild pitch in the frame, gave BYU the added insurance runs to go up by seven.

Houston cut into the seven-run lead with a home run to center and a three-run double four batters later. That was it for the late push by UH as BYU closed things out for a 13-10 triumph.

Seven Cougars had at least two hits with Shuler knocking in three runs and Acosta two.