STOCKTON, Calif. – A two-run LMU home run in the top of the sixth was the difference as BYU was eliminated 5-1 in the opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament at Banner Island Ballpark on Wednesday. 

"It was a tough night at the plate for us,” said BYU interim head coach Trent Pratt. “Tip your hat to LMU. Their pitching was great. They came ready to play. It stings because we are better than how we played tonight, but sometimes that’s baseball.” 

After four scoreless innings to open the game, No. 5 seed LMU (20-32-1, 15-13) got on the board first in the top of the fifth with a two-out hit to shallow centerfield that scored Benny Casillas for a 1-0 lead. 

The Lions tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a two-run home run over the left-field wall by Dylan Dennis for a 3-0 advantage. 

BYU, the No. 4 seed, answered with a run of its own in the bottom half of the sixth inning to cut the LMU lead to 3-1. Mitch McIntyre led off the inning by being hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ryan Sepede flied out to right field to advance McIntyre to third, where he scored on a single down the left field line by Cole Gambill. 

LMU picked up an insurance run in the seventh inning and another in the eighth for the 5-1 victory.

Lion starter Diego Barrera (4-3) went 5.2 innings, surrendering just one run while striking out eight for the win. Owen Hackman (5) came on to pitch the final 3.1 innings for the save. 

Cougar starter Jack Sterner surrendered just one run on six hits over 4.2 innings while striking out seven in the loss. 

The Cougars wrapped up the 2022 season with a 33-21 overall record and were 16-12 in WCC play. 

STOCKTON, Calif. – No. 4 seed BYU baseball will face No. 5 seed LMU on Wednesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. PT to open West Coast Conference Tournament action at Banner Island Ballpark. 

The game will be broadcast live on the WCC Network. The BYU Radio Network will also broadcast the game on 107.9 FM, BYU Radio App, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

The 2022 WCC Tournament features an expanded six-team field, with two single-elimination games on May 25, followed by a double-elimination bracket, May 26-28. No. 3 seed San Diego (32-18, 17-10) will face No. 6 San Francisco (28-28, 14-13) in the earlier single-elimination game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT. 

The winner of the WCC Tournament clinches an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. For the complete WCC Tournament schedule, click here.

ON THE HILL. Sophomore right-hander Jack Sterner will get the start against LMU on Wednesday. He enters the game with a 3.26 ERA and a 4-3 record as the Cougars’ game-one starter throughout the 2022 season. Sterner led BYU in games started (13), innings pitched (69) and strikeouts (61). The sophomore right hander from Laguna Niguel, California, was named second-team All-West Coast Conference on Tuesday. 

COUGAR RECAP. BYU finished the regular season with a 33-20 record, 16-11 in conference. The Cougars are looking for their second WCC Tournament title after winning the tournament and advancing to the NCAAs in 2017.

LION REVIEW. LMU enters the WCC Tournaments with a 19-32-1 overall record and was 14-13 in conference play, tied with San Francisco for fifth place. The Lions earned the No. 5 seed thanks to a 2-1 series victory over the Dons. 

BYU-LMU SERIES HISTORY. Wednesday’s contest will be the 39th meeting between BYU and LMU. The Cougars lead the overall series 20-18 and are 19-14 in conference play versus the Lions, with a 1-2 record in the WCC Tournament. 

2022 SEASON SERIES. BYU took two of three games versus LMU in the final week of the 2022 regular season at Miller Park in Provo. The Cougars won game one on Thursday 4-3 and game two the following night 9-3, before dropping the final game 17-7 on Saturday.

BYU WCC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Year    Rnk  Rec   Games
2019    4th    0-2    LMU (L, 1-4); Gonzaga (L, 1-3)
2017    1st    4-1    LMU (L, 2-3); SMC (W, 8-4); LMU (W, 5-4), Gonzaga (W, 10-3), Gonzaga (W, 16-3)
2016    4th    0-2    Gonzaga (L, 3-5); Pacific (L, 2-7)
2015    4th    0-2    Pepperdine (L, 7-8); San Diego (L, 4-5)
2013    3rd    1-2    San Diego (L, 8-9, 10 innings); Gonzaga (W, 8-1); San Diego (L, 4-7)

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT TITLES. BYU baseball has played in 27 conference tournaments that have featured four teams or more, winning six—1983, 1985, 1988 in the WAC; 2001, 2002 in the MWC; and 2017 in the WCC. The Cougars have also won eight best-of-three conference championship series in WAC divisional play (1949, 1952, 1958, 1961, 1968, 1971, 1979, 1981).