CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —Lefty Brandon Finnegan handcuffed BYU’s batters throughout seven innings Friday, leading TCU to a 10-0 victory at the Kleberg Bank Classic.

TCU (4-1) took a 3-0 lead over BYU (1-6) in the first inning and added four more runs in the sixth when Cougar starter Kolton Mahoney left the mound.

“He (Finnegan) is an excellent pitcher,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “He is a potential first-rounder who throws between 92-96."

Finnegan, now 2-0, struck out nine Cougars in seven innings. The junior was a member of the 2013 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and was drafted in the 45th round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers out of high school.

“We weren’t good all the way around,” Littlewood said. “We had some good at bats here and there, but they outplayed us in every aspect. They have a better offense now than last year. When we gave up three runs in the first inning, it seemed to let the air out of us.”

The Cougars got six hits off Finnegan, who had only given up three hits in his previous seven innings this season.

Three of those hits were consecutive two-out singles to load the bases in the seventh, but BYU stranded those runners. Out of BYU’s seven hits, all singles, second baseman Parker Starr had two hits.

Finnegan threw 86 pitches in those seven innings, compared to the 106 thrown by BYU’s Mahoney in five innings.

“Kolton didn’t have his best stuff, but he’ll settle in eventually,” Littlewood said.

The Cougars have their final game of the Classic on Saturday against Texas San Antonio at 2 p.m. CST.

No. 19 TCU (3-1) highlights the four-team field in this week’s Kleberg Bank Classic at Corpus Christi where BYU baseball will play three teams from Texas.

BYU (0-4) is seeking its first victory of the season in the AA pro stadium Whataburger Field. The Cougars will first play a doubleheader against host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-3) on Thursday before meeting No. 19 TCU on Friday. The Cougars close the tourney on Saturday against Texas San Antonio (3-1).  The three Texas teams all had games on Tuesday night.

“We are excited to get back on the field and put the Kansas series behind us,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We will use it as a building block to getting better.  We understand our areas of weakness and we’ll fix them.

“I was happy with play of (Brennon) Lund who had 6 hits. He seemed like his at bats got better and better. It is pleasing for us to have him in the leadoff spot.“ The freshman centerfielder leads the team with a current four-game hitting streak this season, although teammate Jarrett Jarvis has a five-game hitting streak dating back to last year.

“I was happy with our hitters, “ Littlewood continued. “It’s tough when we don’t get leadoff guys on in early innings. Kansas made us earn everything we got.

“Our starting pitching was great.  I told them it’s their game to win or lose. We expect them to go a complete game. We want them to go deep in the games.”

Senior co-captain Desmond Poulson (0-0, 3.60 earned run average) will start BYU’s opening game against A&M-Corpus Christi, followed by freshman Hayden Rogers in the nightcap. Sophomore Kolton Mahoney (0-1, 1.29) will be BYU’s starter against TCU.  Junior Jeff Barker (0-1, 5.14) will start against UTSA. The Cougars’ starter on Monday at Texas Tech is TBA.

NOTE:

Here is a link for the tournament central page. There's a link to live stats and to live video for each game. Video will cost $7.95 a game and will only feature commentary for the games A&M - Corpus Christi plays in.

For more information, please see the multi-page PDF below: