SAN DIEGO—A second-consecutive upset was registered by BYU baseball over No. 19 San Diego with a 12-8 victory on Saturday.

The Cougars (22-14 overall and 11-4 in the West Coast Conference) took the series by knocking the Toreros (27-11 and 13-5) out of first place in the league. BYU, who will sit no worse than third place in the WCC this weekend, moved up from fourth place past USD.

Pinch-hitter Nate Favero laced a three-run double to the centerfield wall to regain the Cougar lead at 9-8 in the seventh inning. Reliever Jordan Wood struck out the final batter looking in each of his three innings to improve his record to 3-0.

"This was a great weekend for BYU baseball," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "To go on the road and win a series against a team like San Diego is pretty special. Every guy on our team made a contribution the last three days and I couldn't be more proud of them."

A pair of six-run spurts in the second and seventh innings helped BYU win the rubber match against USD.

The Cougars took the initial lead when Bronson Larsen scored on Brennon Anderson’s right field single in the second inning. Then four-straight two-out singles by Tanner Chauncey, Keaton Kringlen, Brock Hale and Colton Shaver plated runs for a 6-0 start.

San Diego generated eight runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings to overtake BYU, 8-6, partially due to a two-run homer by Roman Garcia that chased starter Hayden Rogers from the mound in the fifth.

The second six-run BYU rally came in the seventh frame following Larsen’s ground-rule double, Favero produced the game-winning RBI. Schneemann then plated Favero with a single for a 10-8 margin. Kringlen completed the six-run seventh with a two-run single to left field to extend the cushion to 12-8.

Defensive plays bolstered the Cougars who were errorless. Kringlen made a diving catch to end the first inning as USD went down in order. A lineout to Daniel Schneemann set up an inning-ending double play to set the Toreros down in the second.

Kyle Dean ran down a Hunter Mercado-Hood’s deep fly ball in centerfield in the sixth for the second out. Shortstop Schneemann short-hopped a grounder for out No. 2 in the eighth.

Lefty Bo Burrup spelled Wood in the eighth, mowing USD down in order that inning and surrendering one hit in the ninth.

BYU is idle until Thursday when it hosts San Francisco to start a three-game series.

A pair of showdowns are on BYU's baseball schedule this week, starting with rival Utah on Tuesday and ending with a three-game weekend series at league-leading No. 19 San Diego.

The second of three games against Utah this season is Tuesday night at 6 p.m. MDT, and is televised live by the Pac-12 Network. Sophomore Jordan Wood (2-0, 5.29) will start on the mound for BYU as it seeks to improve its overall record of 20-13 against Utah (14-17).

"What they (Tuesday games) do is keep our bullpen sharp," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "It’s giving Jordan Wood some crucial experience if he needs to move into the rotation next year. We’re going to be looking for someone to take Brady’s (Corless) spot and if Maverik (Buffo) gets drafted we’ll have to fill at least one and maybe two spots. It also gives us live at-bats and you can’t simulate that."

The Deseret First Duel Trophy in Tuesday's game could extend to a rubber match if Utah wins, with BYU beating the Utes last month in Salt Lake City. The third game of the Cougar-Ute Deseret Duel is May 9 in Provo.

The second place Cougars take a 9-3 West Coast Conference record to San Diego (25-9 overall and 12-3 WCC). BYU has never beaten the Toreros in San Diego.

The Cougars' pitching rotation at San Diego will be the same in recent weeks with Maverik Buffo (4-4, 5.40), Brady Corless (5-0, 3.29) and Hayden Rogers (4-1, 2.36). A win by Corless would make him one of a dozen pitchers in school history to earn a 6-0 start.

"They’re all big weeks to us," Littlewood said. "Utah’s always a big game. I’m already thinking about how we’re going to approach that. Ultimately, when you get going and the juices start flowing, you want to win that ball game. We’ll take Utah first and then worry about San Diego, who's a good team that plays well at home."

Cougar tri-captain Tanner Chauncey takes a 12-game hitting streak into this week's action.

After the San Diego trip the Cougars return to host a three-game series against San Francisco.

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