PROVO, Utah – An offensive show by the BYU baseball team and a strong outing from starter Jordan Wood gave the Cougars game one against Portland 10-1 Thursday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

"I think we learned a little bit Tuesday night at Utah Valley," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We got up seven runs and lost that lead, so the feeling in the dugout tonight was a little bit different. If there is one guy you want on the mound it's Jordan. He's just a bulldog out there." 

BYU vs. Portland Box Score

Game Summary

• The Cougars scored five runs in the first inning to take an early lead. BYU is 5-0 when scoring in the first inning and 8-1 when earning the first run of the game this season.
• In the second inning, Jackson Cluff and Keaton Kringlen each brought in a run to bring the score to 7-0.
• The Pilots scored their only run in the fourth inning after a double to left field.
• BYU added two more runs in the seventh following a triple by Danny Gelalich and singles from Brian Hsu and Cluff.

Player Highlights

• Jordan Wood: W (3-0), 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
• Jackson Cluff: 2-3, 2B 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Mitch McIntyre: 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI, HBP

In the first inning, Bryan Call singled to left field to give BYU (15-5, 2-2 WCC) momentum early. Brock Hale earned the first walk of the night and Cluff was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out on the board. Austin Deming also walked to bring in the first run of the game before Mitch McIntyre doubled to right field for three runs. Noah Hill rounded it out with an RBI to bring the score to a dominant 5-0 lead.

In the second inning, Cluff’s second time at bat resulted in an RBI as he doubled to center field. With two outs on the board, Keaton Kringlen added his own single to bring a runner home and extend the Cougars’ lead to 7-0.

The Pilots (15-7, 1-3) scored their only run of the game in the fourth inning after a double to left field, bringing the score to 7-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, Danny Gelalich tripled down the right field line and was sent home as Hsu hit a single on the next pitch. An error advanced Hsu to second base and an RBI by Cluff gave BYU a 9-1 lead.

Jordan Wood threw eight full innings, tallying six strikeouts. In the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, Portland had two runners on base, but Wood closed out each inning without allowing a run. Wood's ERA is now at 1.63 on the year as he improves to 3-0.

The Cougars return to Larry H. Miller Field for game two of the three-game series against the Pilots on Friday, Mar. 22, at 6 p.m. MDT. The link to live streaming can be found here.

PROVO, Utah - BYU baseball and Portland will compete in three games from March 21-23 in the second weekend of WCC play for both teams.

The Cougars and Pilots currently have the two highest win totals in the conference with BYU coming in at 14-5 and 1-2 in the WCC and Portland at 15-6, 1-2.

BYU vs. Portland Game Notes

The Pilots have a team ERA of 2.98, good for No. 22 in the country. Pitchers Chris Clements and Eli Morse each rank top-50 in the nation in strikeouts. At the plate, Portland is batting .261 but hits for distance, ranking third in the country in doubles and 14th in home runs. 

Cougar Right-hander Jordan Wood will get the start Thursday, entering the game with a 1.76 ERA in five starts over 30.2 innings. Only two pitchers in BYU history have an ERA under 2.00 with at least five starts in a single season - Jim Englehardt in 1967 (1.62 ERA, 13 starts) and Peter Kendrick in 1981 (1.28 ERA, 19 starts).

Right-hander Easton Walker is slated as the game two starter. A year ago he was serving a mission in Peru, now he’s one of just three pitchers in the country with a 0.00 ERA and will be starting his first game of the year and second of his career.

Game three starter Justin Sterner leads the team with 28 strikeouts in just 24.1 innings, a 10.36 strikeouts per nine inning average. The right-hander's three wins are tied for most on the team with relief pitcher Reid McLaughlin.

Senior first baseman Brian Hsu comes into the weekend ranked 32nd in the nation with a .415 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .493. Other notable streaks include senior catcher Noah Hill who has a hit in 14-straight games dating back to the second game of the season. Sophomore infielder Jackson Cluff and senior right fielder Brock Hale have both reached base safely in all 19 of BYU’s games this season.