SAN FRANCISCO—A pair of home runs helped three BYU baseball pitchers secure a 12-6 victory over the University of San Francisco on Friday.

Brennon Anderson’s two-run homer in the fifth inning ended up being the game-winning difference for a 7-0 lead as he batted 4-for-4 on the afternoon. Eric Urry’s towering solo homer in the seventh punctuated the win that evened the series.

Lefthander Riley Gates started the game tossing another no-hitter in early innings, before surrendering four consecutive no-out singles in the fourth.  Gates was spelled by freshman Easton Walker who matched Gates’ tally of four strikeouts before being relieved by eventual winner Mason Marshall (2-3).

“We showed great resiliency today,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “I was a little unsure of how we would respond, but the guys showed up and played their tails off. Riley, Easton and Mason pieced together the game on the mound for us and our hitters did a great job one through nine.”

Marshall showed his moxey time and again, getting out of a jam in the sixth with two on and one out, closing that frame with the first of his five strikeouts. In the seventh frame, Marshall near single-handedly got the Dons out. He alertly pinned a USF runner on a base-running miscue between second and third for out No. 1, then fanned two of the next three batters looking and swinging.

Marshall picked up swinging strikeouts in the middle of the eighth and the final out of the game.

The trio of Cougar pitchers capped a 16-hit barrage by their teammates.  Anderson’s homer was the second in as many days. Speaking of moxey, Urry’s mammoth blast was his third of the week.

“It was probably the furthest one I've ever hit,” said the left-handed hitting Urry of his dinger which cleared the 80-foot high net in right field.

The Cougars, now 33-14 overall and 14-9 in the West Coast Conference, never trailed in game two against USF, now 20-32 and 14-12 in the WCC.

The finale between the two teams starts at 1 p.m. PDT on Saturday and will be broadcast live by ESPNSports 960 AM, BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143.

PROVO, Utah (May 9, 2016)—With the nation’s winningest pitcher on the mound, BYU baseball is undefeated.  Without him, the Cougars are 21-13.

While Michael Rucker (10-0, 2.58) is not scheduled to pitch until Thursday when BYU opens a three-game series at San Francisco, the Cougars play a make-up game on Tuesday at Utah Valley University. Game time is 6 p.m. MDT.

Sophomore lefthander Hayden Rogers (4-3, 3.51) is scheduled to start for BYU as it seeks to improve its 31-13 overall record.  For the first time in eight weeks, the Cougars are not ranked in a national poll.

“We have to come and play every single day,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We need to finish the most important 10 percent of the games we play.

“Utah Valley is scrappy, they have confidence and they are playing really well. It’s a game we need to win just like Utah—it’s a must win."

The Wolverines won last week’s game, 7-6 in 11 innings at BYU.

After the UVU game, the Cougars look to improve their 13-8 record in the West Coast Conference at San Francisco en route to a possible berth in the four-team WCC tourney.

“Mentally, we should be at peak performance—holding the conference bid in the palm of our hand,” Littlewood said.  “We have given ourselves a chance to control our own destiny, we don’t have to scoreboard watch. We have to keep plugging away, its imperative we get one.  The goal is to win the series.  If we sweep the series, I think that gets us in the tournament.”

Rucker will start for the Cougars at USF on Thursday at 3 p.m. PDT.  Sophomore lefty Riley Gates (2-1, 4.50) will start for BYU on Friday at 3 p.m., and Rogers is the likely starter for Saturday’s game at 1 p.m.

Tuesday’s game was postponed from two weeks ago at Utah Valley. The BYU-UVU game will be broadcast live on the Internet by BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143. The USF series will also be carried on BYU Radio through broadcasts from ESPNSports 960 AM.

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