BAKERSFIELD, California (March 3, 2017)—Sophomore outfielder Brock Hale blasted a grand slam home run to lift BYU baseball to a 10-2 victory Friday night over CSU Bakersfield.

BYU, now 4-5, snapped the Roadrunners’ six-game winning streak, making their record 7-3.

Hale’s two-out granny broke the game open in the sixth inning to increase the Cougars’ lead to 7-1.

Starting pitcher Brady Corless loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but escaped when he struck out a CSUB batter for out number two and picked off a Roadrunner napping off first base. Corless improved his record to 2-0, striking out five on 88 pitches.

“That start by Brady was just what this team needed,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “He was dominant for 5 2/3 innings and gave our offense a chance to get rolling. We had great at bats throughout the lineup but Brock (Hale) really stepped up big for us tonight. We were pretty solid in all aspects of the game tonight.”

Hale accounted for BYU’s first run with a two-out first-inning single to extend his current streak to 10 games. Hale went 3-for-4 on the evening from the plate. Daniel Schneemann and Bronson Larsen also extended their hitting streaks to five and four games, respectively.

Schneemann produced BYU’s second run with a high infield popup which scored Colton Shaver to make the score 2-0.  Schneemann sliced an RBI gap triple in the fourth as the Cougars took a 3-0 lead. 

Those first three Cougar runs were aided by four CSUB miscues and another error was costly in the three-run ninth.

The final game of the series, a rubber match,  will be played on Saturday at noon PST.

A return to California against CSU Bakersfield provides BYU’s baseball team an opportunity to work through issues in week three of the season.

The Cougars, 3-4, are hosted by the Roadrunners, 6-2, who are on a five-game win streak.  Games are Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. PST, followed by a noon finale on Saturday.

“I don't believe our record is indicative of how well we've been playing,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said.  “Every one of our games have been so close we can point to one or two plays that have determined the outcome of each game. Once we start hitting on all cylinders we should be a very tough team to beat.”

There have been several bright spots in the pitching corps, but late inning rallies have haunted the Cougars. A pair of 3-2 losses in 10 and 13 innings plus a 4-2 loss last week are indicators BYU’s offense needs more consistency.

Maverik Buffo (1-1, 3.27) will start on the mound in Thursday’s opener, followed by Brady Corless  (1-0, 2.03) on Friday, with both games starting at 6 p.m.  PST. Saturday’s Cougar starting pitcher is Kendall Motes (0-0, 0.00) for the noon start.

Cougar pitchers combined for 20 strikeouts in the 13-inning 3-2 loss, including a dozen by Corless.  Buffo got his first victory last week with a 6-0 shutout, striking out eight in his six innings of work. Motes also threw a shutout in his five innings of work when he started last Saturday.

“CSUB is a good team that is off to a very hot start and we're excited to see if we can meet the challenge this week,” Littlewood said.

The Roadrunners have impressive wins over UC Santa Barbara and Utah, who won their respective leagues last season.

After the CSUB series, BYU returns to Provo for its home opener on March 9 which starts a four-game stand against UC Santa Barbara.

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