LAWRENCE, Kansas (March 4, 2016)—Brennon Anderson’s two-run double in the fifth inning on Friday boosted BYU baseball past Kansas for an eventual 8-2 win.

BYU improves to a school-record start of 9-1 while Kansas falls to 3-6.

Starting pitcher Maverik Buffo struck out five in just over five innings to earn his second win of the season. Buffo left the game in a sixth-inning jam when Jordan Wood, the second of two relievers, entered with the bases loaded and a 4-2 lead.

“It was a gutsy performance by Mav (Maverik Buffo) today,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said of the junior righthander that threw 107 pitches. “He didn't have his best stuff but battled his tail off for five innings. Jordan (Wood) was sharp out of the pen and gave us three plus strong innings to finish out the game.”

Wood struck out Joven Afenir, one of KU’s leading batters, then raced over to cover first base for the inning-ending out.

The Cougar offense overtook a 1-0 deficit in the third from back-to-back doubles by senior Eric Urry and freshman Noah Hill which put BYU up 2-1. The Jayhawks tied the score in the bottom of that frame.

Urry saved two runs in the fourth frame when he leaned out to his right in left field and dove for the inning-ending catch (video credit KU Athletics).

In the fifth inning the “Brennon” show started airing for BYU. Brennon Lund and Hayden Nielsen singled consecutively with one out. Then Lund scored the go-ahead run when Anderson stroked a double

The “Brennon” snow continued in the seventh when Lund scored from second again on Anderson’s no-out double to the left field wall for a 5-2 lead. Lund was 2-for-3 for the day, while Anderson was 2-for-4 with three RBI.

“Our everyday starters were solid today, but I was really proud of Noah Hill and Brock Hale who got the start and were productive against the left handed pitching,” said Littlewood. “We need to come out Saturday and finish the series the right way and avoid being satisfied with two wins.”

Game time has been moved up from noon to 10:30 on Saturday morning for the final game with Kansas due to Jayhawk basketball. The BYU-KU baseball game on Saturday 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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