PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball dropped game one of a three-game series against Portland 5-3 on Thursday at Miller Park.

The Cougars got off to an early lead plating one run in the first with Cooper Vest, who doubled earlier in the inning and scored on a bloop single to right by Andrew Pintar. 

Portland took the lead in the top of the fourth after a double to left, combined with two infield errors by the Cougars, gave the Pilots a 2-1 lead. 

After Pintar walked to start the bottom of the fourth, Joshua Cowden crushed the first pitch he saw to right putting BYU back in front, 3-2.

The Cougars threatened in the sixth with runners on second and third and two outs, but Freddie Achecar struck out to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, the Pilots capitalized on another BYU error, scoring three runs to take the lead back at 5-3.

"Unfortunately our defense let us down tonight," said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. "We need to get back to the basics and make plays." 

Portland scored five runs on nine hits, while the Cougars scored three runs on six hits.

Player Notes

• Walker: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 4 K
• Pintar: 2-3, R, RBI
• Cowden: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI

Game two of the series with the Pilots is scheduled for Friday, April 9, at 6 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and the BYUtv App. Audio broadcasts will also be available on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. Ticket information can be found at BYUtickets.com

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball (9-15, 5-4) returns to Miller Park Thursday through Saturday for just the second home series of the year, having played 20 of its 24 games on the road this season. 

The Cougars will take on Portland in a three-game WCC series April 8-10. The Thursday and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with the Saturday contest at 1 p.m. BYU is 2-2 at home this year and 22-5 (.815) over the last three seasons (2019-21). 

BYU is coming off a conference series at Santa Clara that saw the Cougars drop the first two games before bouncing back to win game three 3-1 on Saturday. 

Portland (14-13, 6-3) heads to Provo having defeated No. 19 Oregon 6-4 in Eugene on Tuesday. The Pilots also took two of three games from St. Mary's over the weekend (4-3, 2-14, 3-0) in Moraga, California.

At 6-3 in WCC play, Portland is currently tied for second with San Francisco. BYU comes into the weekend series in sixth place at 5-4. San Diego is leading the league at 5-1 and 17-5 overall on the year.

Game one at Miller Park on Thursday features BYU right-handed pitcher Easton Walker (1-2, 1.78 ERA) versus Pilot right-hander Brett Gillis (1-3, 6.00 ERA). Walker has appeared in seven games and has given up just seven earned runs, while recording 32 strikeouts over 35.1 innings. Gillis has also appeared in seven games with 12 earned runs and 27 strikeouts in 18 innings of work. 

BYU and Portland have met 41 times in baseball, with the Cougars holding a 28-13 overall advantage in the series and a 12-3 record at home. Due to the 2020 pandemic, the WCC foes last met during the 2019 regular season in Provo on April 21-23. BYU swept the series 3-0 with scores of 11-1, 3-1, 10-1. The Cougars would go on to finish the season 36-17 and win the WCC regular season title with a 18-9 record. 

All three games will be broadcast live on the BYUtv App as well as online at BYUtv.org. The Friday and Saturday games will also be broadcast live on BYUtv. The BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app—will have the radio broadcast of all three games.