SANTA CLARA, Calif. – One swing in the first inning was enough for Santa Clara to defeat No. 24 BYU baseball 4-2 on Thursday.

“We set a bad tone on the mound and the meat of our lineup stranded too many guys early in the game,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “Now we understand we can’t just show up and win without total focus.”

BYU vs. Santa Clara Box Score

Game Summary

• Santa Clara scored all its runs on a grand slam in the first inning
• The Cougars stranded runners every inning until bringing two across in the sixth
• BYU had previously won 10 straight against the Broncos

Player Highlights

• Brian Hsu: 2-4, 2B
• Casey Jacobsen: 1-3, HR, R, BB, RBI
• Danny Gelalich: 1-4, 2B, R

A single, hit batter and walk set up a grand slam for Santa Clara to give the Broncos the 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the third, but a strike out and fly out ended the threat.

BYU turned double plays in the second and seventh innings and starter Jordan Wood settled in, but the Cougar offense couldn’t string together enough plays to score. Casey Jacobsen finally broke the drought with a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning. It’s the second home run in as many games for the senior third baseman.

A double by Danny Gelalich and two consecutive errors by the Broncos led to Gelalich scoring to narrow the lead to 4-2.

However, following the Cougars’ second run, the next seven BYU batters proceeded to strike out from the sixth through the eighth inning to keep down any thoughts of completing the comeback.

BYU and Santa Clara will play game two of three on Friday, May 17, at 6 p.m. PT. The game will air on TheW.tv, BYU Radio and ESPN 960 AM.

PROVO, Utah - The No. 24-ranked BYU baseball team will look to claim its third West Coast Conference regular season title in its final series of the year at Santa Clara starting Thursday, May 16.

BYU vs. Santa Clara Game Notes

Should BYU (34-14, 17-7) sweep the Broncos (11-38, 4-20) or lose one less game than Gonzaga (28-21, 16-8) in the Bulldogs’ series at Pepperdine (23-23, 13-11), the Cougars would win their first outright and third WCC regular season title while also claiming the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament for the first time. The Cougars were co-champions of the conference in both 2016 and 2017 and won the tournament in 2017.

BYU has won 10-straight games over Santa Clara and six of seven series since the Cougars started WCC play in 2012. The Broncos have not claimed a win in the series since 2015. 

After rolling through much of the season on the strength of their pitching, the nationally ranked Cougars have been hot from the plate lately in winning two of three against San Francisco and defeating Utah on Tuesday. Sophomore shortstop Jackson Cluff was named a national player of the week and conference player of the week after hitting five doubles and a home run with nine RBIs and seven runs over four games.

The long ball has been a favorite of the BYU outfield lately as well. Against Utah on Tuesday, sophomore outfielder Danny Gelalich hit a grand slam to break a 2-2 tie and help the Cougars defeat the Utes. Senior outfielder Brock Hale had two grand slams of his own in the series against the Dons before hitting a solo shot against Utah. Sophomore outfielder Mitch McIntyre has also hit home runs in back-to-back contests.

Jordan Wood (5-2, 4.36 ERA), Easton Walker (6-1, 1.76) and Justin Sterner (8-3, 3.09) will start each game for BYU as the Cougars look to win their seventh WCC series in nine tries.

The Thursday and Friday games will start at 6 p.m. PT while Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. PT. All games will be aired on TheW.tv, BYU Radio and ESPN960.