LAS VEGAS—Hometown native Tanner Chauncey was one hit shy of the BYU baseball record Monday in an 11-7 victory over Saint Louis University.

The Las Vegas junior led the Cougars to their best regular season start at 4-0 since 1998.  Chauncey was 5-for-6 in the finale at Cashman Field to complete a sweep over the Billikens to open the season.

Chauncey singled four consecutive times after doubling in the first frame, including tying the game at 5-5 when he drove in Brennon Lund in the fourth inning. Chauncey flew out to centerfield in the ninth frame.

Lund, BYU’s lead-off hitter, was unaware at that point he had been named the Rawlings West Coast Conference Player of the Week that afternoon for a 10-for-16 performance in the first three games. The Cougar centerfielder went 3-for-6 on Monday, tying Chauncey and Hayden Nielsen with a pair of RBI.

Nielsen scored BYU’s initial run in the first inning when Chauncey singled to left-center. The next inning BYU took a 2-0 lead when Eric Urry led off with a wind-aided home run over 328-feet to right field, a blast that may not have needed the gust.

The Billikens, 0-4, roughed up BYU starter Connor Williams in the third to take a 5-2 lead and chase him from the mound.  Freshman lefty Bo Burrup shut down the Billikens, limiting them to one hit in three innings as his teammates regained the lead.

“I’m so proud of the way we came out today and played hard for nine innings,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “It would have been easy to be satisfied with three wins, but the guys weren’t satisfied and they came out with great energy today.”

The Cougars rallied for four runs in the fourth after lead-off batter Colton Shaver dodged a bullet when the SLU first baseman dropped a pop foul in the windy, sunny weather. Then Lund, Nielsen and Chauncey went to work with two outs driving in the four runs for a 6-5 lead.

After Chauncey’s double in the first inning and Urry’s homer in the second, BYU got doubles in the sixth inning from Shaver and Kyle Dean, and Lund in the ninth. Shaver’s blast would have been a homer in many parks as it hit a couple feet below the 20-foot wall in right field.

“I couldn’t be happier with our offensive approach all weekend,” Littlewood said. “The guys have been working hard with Trent for months and it’s nice to see the results of that hard work.”

In addition to Burrup, the winning pitcher, the Cougars used four other relievers to gain experience for the upcoming weekend opponent in Alabama, Samford University, also 4-0.

“It was also good for us to get the new guys on our staff some work out of the bullpen in low pressure situations," Littlewood said.

Admission is free to all four games

Saint Louis University and host BYU open the 2016 baseball season with a four-game series at Las Vegas starting Friday.

Although the Cougars have been picked as high as third and as low as fifth in the West Coast Conference, hopes are high prior to 17 non-conference games scheduled before the league opener in March because there is more depth.

Friday’s season opener between BYU and SLU starts at 1 p.m. PST, with the Cougars as the home team.  Saturday’s doubleheader has the Billikens as the “home” team at noon, with BYU home in the nightcap.  SLU will be the home team in Monday’s noon tilt.

The 2016 season marks the fourth year for BYU coach Mike Littlewood, who has guided the Cougars to WCC tournament berths in his first and third years.

“Saint Louis is going to be a tough test as we open the season,” Littlewood said. “They've won the Atlantic-10 Conference the last four years and are picked to win it again this year. They've won 30 games for three or four years in a row now so they're used to winning and used to being successful. We know they are well coached, have great personnel, and they're going to play hard for nine innings.”

Probable pitchers for BYU in the SLU series are righthanders Michael Rucker (5-1, 3.22 in 2015), a junior; sophomore Maverik Buffo (0-1, 8.77); redshirt sophomore lefty Hayden Rogers (0-1, 9.00); and Connor Williams (0-0, 0.00) for Monday.

“As good as Saint Louis is, we feel like we are as ready to play as we have ever been.  We have great veteran leadership at key positions, and some talented young guys that are bringing a great energy to the park every day.  I think we are all more than ready to play.”

The Cougars have worked out mainly at the Indoor Practice Facility, but have had outdoor scrimmages in St. George and Salt Lake City the past two weekends. An outdoor practice is scheduled for Thursday in St. George en route to the games in Las Vegas.

The four-game series will be hosted by BYU at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, home to the New York Mets’ AAA 51s. Saint Louis University has been picked to finish first by several polls for the Atlantic 10 Conference.  Last season, BYU played Oklahoma in a four-game series at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, instead of at Norman, Okla., due to weather concerns last season.  OU won three of the four games.

Following the series at Las Vegas, BYU baseball returns to Provo, then travels to Birmingham, Alabama, to finish the month in a four-game series against Samford University, Feb. 25-27.

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