PROVO, Utah – Maverik Buffo threw a quality start and BYU baseball had 19 hits in its 19-6 win on Thursday night against San Francisco at Larry H. Miller Field.

"We really swung the bats," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "Maverik (Buffo) wasn't super sharp in that first inning, but getting him that 6-1 lead allowed him to settle in, and he cruised for five innings after that."

The Cougars improved to 23-14 overall and 12-4 in the West Coast Conference. BYU got multiple hits from five players, including four hits apiece from Brennon Anderson, Tanner Chauncey and Kyle Dean. The Dons walked 11 Cougars and fell to 22-21, 7-12.

BYU surrendered one run in the first but had six hits and took advantage of two San Francisco errors to plate six in the bottom half of the frame. The biggest blow was Dean's two-run triple off the right field fence.

Keaton Kringlen’s second-inning double tacked on another Cougar run as they led 7-1 after two innings.

A two-run dinger off the bat of Anderson found its way over the right field fence for two more BYU runs in the third inning.

In the fifth inning, Kringlen scored Nate Favero on a sacrifice fly to put the Cougars up 10-1.

The Dons manufactured two runs in the seventh inning but again were unable to shut down the BYU bats. The Cougars anwered with a five spot on the board, using three singles, three walks and two hit batsmen to lead 15-3.

Buffo (5-5) was relieved after 6.2 innings. He allowed seven hits and two earned runs, fanning five. Mason Marshall got the final out of the top of the seventh and was perfect in the eighth inning. 

BYU put four runs on the board in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by Favero's two-run double over the right fielder's head. 

Cougar reliever Rhett Parkinson got one out in the top of the ninth and Connor Williams got the next two. The Dons got three across, but the bleeding stopped there.

Game two of the series will be Friday night at 6 p.m. MDT.

As the topsy-turvy nature of the West Coast Conference baseball race continues, BYU hosts San Francisco in a three-game series starting Thursday.

The Cougars (22-14 overall and 11-4 WCC) could return to first place if they sweep USF and a loss were to happen to both league leaders Gonzaga and LMU. Winning the series against USF would give BYU its fifth tiebreaker over teams beneath its third-place standing.

With rain in the forecast, the  Cougars will meet the challenge from USF one game at a time.

“San Francisco is a well coached team and Coach Giarratano always has his guys ready to play," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "This will be a tough series and an important one for us as we look to stay in the top four in the conference."

The Cougars knocked league-leading San Diego out of first place by winning the series last week over the Toreros.

BYU is playing well as a team, with a couple of items of note. Brock Hale returned to the batting order last week after being out of the lineup all of April recuperating from an injury. Colton Shaver's batting average has climbed nearly 100 points from when league play began last month and he leads the team with a current seven-game hitting streak. Plus Tanner Chauncey is now No. 3 in the NCAA as the toughest batter to strike out.

Pitcher Brady Corless remains undefeated at 5-0 after fellow relievers and hitters rallied for a first-ever win at USD. Corless will start Friday’s game at 6 p.m. MDT and Maverik Buffo and Hayden Rogers are the Cougar starters for the opening and closing games of the USF series, respectively at 6 p.m. Thursday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Following the series with USF, BYU plays at Utah Valley on Tuesday in the UCCU Cross Town Clash, then travels to Santa Clara.

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