OREM, Utah — BYU baseball defeated Utah Valley 12-5 at UCCU Ballpark on Tuesday to extend its winning streak over the Wolverines to 12 games. Home runs by second baseman Alex Sardina in the second inning and a solo shot in the fifth by right fielder Cole Gambill paced the Cougars, who collected 12 hits on the night.

“I loved the energy we brought tonight,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “We put a lot of emphasis on these in-state games, and I was really proud of the way we scored early but we didn’t stop when we got a lead. We kept being aggressive at the plate and putting the pressure on them.” 

BYU got on the board in the top of the first inning on a walk by Gambill, a single up the middle by Ryan Sepede and a Wolverine error that scored them both for a 2-0 lead. 

The Cougars plated two more runs in the top of the second on a double to right-center field by Jacob Wilk, followed by the home run to left center by Sardina for a 4-0 advantage. 

BYU tacked on two more runs in the fifth for a 6-0 lead. Gambill homered to right for the first run, then Hayden Leatham singled down the right-field line to score Ryan Sepede who had walked and stole second.  

UVU got on the board in the bottom half of the fifth on a double and a triple to cut the BYU lead to 6-1. The Wolverines picked up another run in the seventh to make the score 6-2. 

The Cougars blew the game open in the seventh with six runs on four hits to push the lead to 12-2. The big inning included RBI singles by Mason Strong and Sardina, as well as a double to left center by Mitch McIntyre. 

A two-run homer by UVU in the bottom of the seventh and a solo shot in the ninth made the final score 12-5. BYU is now 9-0 on the season when scoring at least six runs. 

The Cougar pitching rotation of Bryce Robison (2.0 innings), Jake Porter (1.0), Payten Cole (1.0), Carter Smith (1.0), Justis Reiser (.1), Nate Dahle (1.2), Cy Nielson (1.0) and McLaughlin (1.0) held UVU to just five hits. Robison got the win to improve to 4-0 on the year. 

“I was really proud of our pitching staff,” said Littlewood. “Every guy came in and gave us a great effort.”

Notables
  •  Bryce Robison: W, 2.0 innings, O hits, 3K
  •  Alex Sardina: 2-4, 2R, 4RBI, HR
  •  Ryan Sepede: 2-3, 2R, 1BB
  •  Hayden Leatham 2-3, 1RBI
  •  Cole Gambill: 1-4, 2R, RBI, HR
  •  Mason Strong: 2-2, 1R, 2RBI
  •  Collin Reuter 1-1, 1R, 2RBI

BYU returns home to face No. 23-ranked Gonzaga on March 22-24 in a three-game West Coast Conference series. The Thursday and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, while the Saturday contest is slated for Noon. 

Thursday and Saturday games will be televised live on BYUtv and simulcast on the BYUtv App, while the Friday contest will be broadcast solely on the BYUtv App. All three games will also air on the BYU Radio Network—107.9 FM, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars App.

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball returns to action on Tuesday against Utah Valley at 6 p.m. MDT at UCCU Ballpark in Orem. 

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio broadcast of the game can be heard on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio 107.9 FM, BYUcougars.com and BYU Cougars App.

Tuesday will be the 42nd meeting between BYU and UVU, and the first of two games between the two schools in 2022. The second game of the season series will be played at Miller Park in Provo on April 26. 

The Cougars are 32-9 all-time and have won the last 11 contests against the Wolverines, the longest winning streak in series history. The first game between the two schools was played on March 8, 2005, and ended in a 15-8 BYU victory. 

UVU enters Tuesday’s contest with a 6-13 overall record and is 2-7 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Wolverines are coming off three games at Grand Canyon last weekend that saw the Antelopes sweep the series 11-1, 8-0 and 4-3. 

BYU played four games last week, going 2-2 to improve to 10-7 on the year and 1-2 in West Coast Conference play. The Cougars posted back-to-back wins over rival Utah 10-3 on Tuesday and WCC foe Portland 6-2 on Thursday, before dropping the final two games of the weekend series to the Pilots 11-1 and 3-1. 

Following the Tuesday night game at UVU, BYU welcomes No. 24-ranked Gonzaga (14-4, 3-0), to Provo for a three-game series. The WCC leader faces the Cougars Thursday and Friday in 6 p.m. MDT starts while the Saturday contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of then No. 4 ranked Oklahoma State.