LAWRENCE, Kan. — Freshman Kyle Dean’s three home runs lifted BYU to an 11-10 victory Thursday at Kansas , extending the Cougars’ record to 8-1.

Kansas, now 3-5, had a furious five-run rally in the ninth inning, which was finally quelled by junior reliever Keaton Cenatiempo who got the save. Cougar freshman Bo Burrup, now 2-0, was credited with the victory in relief.

“Today we faced adversity throughout the game and still found a way to win,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “Mike Rucker wasn't real sharp, but he gutted it out and got us into the fourth inning. Bo (Burrup) was tremendous out of the pen, and the rest of the pen did enough to get us a victory. Kyle Dean had a special day and continues to pound the ball.”

Dean led BYU’s home-run assault as the team’s five dingers sailed over three different walls. Those homers were part a 17-hit, 11-RBI, four-double barrage, as BYU battled back from a 4-0 deficit in the third inning.

The first of those belts was a two-run homer by Dean to dead center field over the batter’s eye at 400 feet. Dean’s blast closed the gap to 4-3 in the fourth.

Dean, who went 4-for-5 with five RBI, knocked his second homer of the day, a solo shot to left in the 7th on a 3-1 count, for a 9-5 margin. Dean’s third round-tripper was the eventual game-winning RBI, another two-run homer in the ninth for an 11-5 lead.

Joining Dean in the home run parade were Eric Urry and Bronson Larsen. Urry stroked a two-run shot to right-center over 375 feet in the fifth, following a double in his previous at-bat.

Bronson Larsen broke out of his slump with a two-run homer to left for an 8-5 lead in the sixth inning, preceded by a leadoff double to the leftfield corner in the fifth frame.

“The bottom half of our lineup got 13 hits today and that's what makes this team different – our ability to put quality at-bats together one through nine,” Littlewood said.

The Cougars avoided disaster with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. They protected that 9-5 lead when Mason Marshall relieved Riley Gates, and Brennon Lund made a running stab to catch a fly in shallow centerfield.

Marshall, was in line for his 12th career save, when he loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth and was replaced by Cenatiempo.

Colton Shaver and Nate Favero both extended their current hitting streaks to seven games, with Favero having a leadoff double in the sixth.

Cougar starter Michael Rucker left the game after throwing 84 pitches and striking out five, all looking, in just over three innings.

The two teams play the second of a three-game series on Friday afternoon in a contest that can be viewed live on ESPN3 or followed through links on www.byucougars.com.

Extending the best start ever for BYU baseball is the goal as the 7-1 Cougars fly to Kansas for a three-game series starting Thursday.

West Coast Conference pitcher of the week Michael Rucker (2-0, 1.38) will start Thursday and Maverik Buffo (1-0, 1.93) will be on the mound Friday for the Cougars. Both games start at 3 p.m., CST.

BYU coach Mike Littlewood has not announced who will start Saturday’s game, which has now been moved up to 11 a.m., CST, due to the Kansas-Iowa State basketball game.

Kansas, 3-4, just finished its fourth game this week at the Big12/Pac12 Challenge tournament in Arizona with a 1-3 record. The three games for BYU at Kansas will be streamed online through ESPN3.

“Coach (Ritch) Price does a great job with his team and Kansas will be a very good team despite their 3-4 record,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “Our goal is to go to Kansas, continue playing solid baseball and finish off a tough three weeks of travel on a high note before coming back to Provo for a long stretch of games at home. “

The Cougars got off to a 6-0 start before losing the nightcap of a doubleheader at Samford.

Previous best starts by BYU baseball were 10-2 in 1988; 9-2 in 1980; 8-2 in 1984 and 1992; 7-2 in 1973, 1989 and 1990; 9-3 in 1969 and 1994; 8-3 in 1983, 1993 and 2007; and 7-3 in 1998. The 1990 and 1989 BYU teams also started with 10-3 and 12-3 records, respectively.

BYU is ranked No. 2 in the nation with 102 hits, with Cougar centerfielder Brennon Lund ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with his 19 hits.

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