OREM, Utah — BYU baseball defeated Utah Valley, 11-4, on Tuesday at UCCU Ballpark to sweep the two-game series and win the UCCU Crosstown Clash.

“I thought we had real good energy tonight,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “After UVU scored early there was no panic, just a feeling that we’re going to score it’s just a matter of time. The bats got hot in the third inning and the pitching was solid all night.”

UVU (7-36, 5-23) got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out home run down the right field line for a 1-0 lead.

BYU (17-23, 9-9) answered in the top of the third with four runs on four hits to take a 4-1 lead. Brock Watkins and Mitch McIntyre led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Peyton Cole then singled to drive in McIntyre. Cole Gambill walked then Joshua Cowden singled to left center scoring Cole. Gambill would later score on a wild pitch to give BYU a three-run lead.

Both teams would score three runs in the fourth inning to make the score 7-4. Abraham Valdez and Walkins led off the inning with back-to-back walks, then Andrew Pintar singled to right to score Valdez. A Gambill double to right field scored Pintar and Watkins for the Cougars second and third runs of the inning.

BYU tacked on another run in the sixth inning on three singles from McIntyre, Cole and Gambill to increase the BYU lead to 8-4 through six.

After scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, the Cougars added three insurance runs in the ninth. Joshua Cowden reached on a fielding error to get things going. Danny Gelalich then walked and Valdez singled through the left side to score Cowden. Back-to-back walks by Watkins and McIntyre scored Gelalich and Cole’s sacrifice fly to deep right center scored Valdez for the Cougars 11th run of the game.

Zimmerman entered the game in relief in the bottom of the ninth to retire the side for the 11-4 Cougar victory.

It was a staff pitching day for both teams. BYU used five pitchers to hold the Wolverines to just four hits, while UVU threw seven pitchers and surrendered 11 hits. Cy Nielson got the start for the Cougars, going three innings and giving up just one hit while striking out three Wolverines for the victory, improving his record to 3-2 on the year.

BYU heads to California for a three-game series with WCC leader San Diego (28-8, 14-4). Thursday-Friday games are set for 6 p.m. PT, with the Saturday contest scheduled for 1 p.m. PT. The Toreros have won their last eight games, including back-to-back series sweeps of Santa Clara and Pepperdine in WCC action.

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball returns to action on Tuesday, May 4 in the UCCU Crosstown Clash with rival Utah Valley at 6 p.m. MT at UCCU Ballpark in Orem. 

The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM, BYUcougars.com and BYU Cougars App, with Greg Wrubell on play-by-play. 

Tuesday will mark the 41st game between BYU and UVU and the second of two games on the 2021 schedule. The Cougars defeated the Wolverines, 11-7, in the first game of the UCCU Crosstown Clash on March 23 at Miller Park in Provo. 

The Cougars are 31-9 all-time and have won the last 10 contests over the Wolverines, the longest winning streak in series history. In 2020, BYU won 5-4 in Provo in what would be the only home game for the Cougars during the Covid-shortened 2020 season.

UVU enters Tuesday’s contest with a 7-35 overall record and 5-23 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Wolverines are coming off four-games at Dixie State last weekend that saw the Trailblazers sweep the series. 

BYU also played four games last week, going 4-0 to improve to 16-23 on the year and 9-9 in West Coast Conference play. The four Cougar wins including a victory over No. 26 ranked ASU (8-5) and a three-game sweep of WCC foe Saint Mary's (12-0, 4-2, 4-3).

Cougar outfielder Cole Gambill was named the UCU WCC Player of the Week on Monday for his overall performance last week. In 15 at bats over the four games, Gambill had eight hits including three home runs, scored six runs, had six RBI and drew three walks. Gambill had a hit in all four games, with multiple hits in three of the four. He amassed 18 total bases, hit .533 and posted an on base percentage of .611.

Following the Tuesday night game at UVU, BYU will travel to California for a three-game series with WCC leader San Diego (28-8). Thursday-Friday games are set for 6 p.m. PT, with the Saturday contest scheduled for 1 p.m. PT. The Toreros have won their last eight games, including back-to-back series sweeps of Santa Clara and Pepperdine in WCC action.