ST. GEORGE, Utah — BYU baseball lost an offensive shootout to Utah Tech, 10-9, in a Tuesday night game at Bruce Hurst Field in St. George. 

The Cougars are now 4-8 on the year, while the Trailblazers improved to 5-8. BYU travels to Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday for a three-game series with Creighton, March 9-11, at Charles Schwab Field.

Game Summary
  •  BYU scored 9 runs on 9 hits
  •  Utah Tech had 10 runs on seven hits
  •  Cougars hit .265 (9-34) vs the Trailblazers at .206 (7-31)

BYU Highlights
  •  Cooper Vest: 1-2, 3 RBI, HR, Run
  •  Ryan Sepede: 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 Runs
  •  Ozzie Pratt: 2-4, RBI, Run
  •  Mason Olson: 5.1 Innings, 7 SO, 0 ER

BYU jumped out to a big lead with six runs on three walks and three hits in the top of the first inning. A walk by Ozzie Pratt, a hit by Tate Gambill and back-to-back walks by Austin Deming and Cole Gambill brought home the first run of the game. With bases loaded, Ryan Sepede promptly doubled down the third base line for a 3-0 lead. Cooper Vest then homered to left center scoring Cole Gambill and Sepede for a 6-0 advantage. 

The Trailblazers responded with six runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning on five walks, four wild pitches, a hit batter and a single to tie the game at 6-6.

After four scoreless innings, BYU retook the lead in the sixth with a run on two hits. Easton Jones led off the inning with a single to center and immediately stole second base. Bryant Ball moved Jones to third on a sac bunt, where he scored on a single to left by Pratt for a 7-6 lead. 

Utah Tech took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with two runs on a hit and a Cougar fielding error for 8-7 advantage.

Cole Gambill led off the seventh inning with a walk and advanced to third on a Sepede single to centerfield. He then tied the game at eight on a passed ball. A double to center by Jacob Wilk scored Sepede, giving BYU a 9-8 lead.

The Trailblazers tied the game, 9-9, in the bottom of the seventh on a passed ball. Three singles in the bottom of the ninth gave Utah Tech a walk-off win, 10-9. Jacob Porter took the loss for BYU, while Brett Porthan got the win for Utah Tech. 

BYU’s three-game series at Creighton includes Thursday and Friday games scheduled for 6 p.m. CST and a Saturday finale at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market.

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball is back in action on Tuesday, March 7 at 6:05 p.m. MDT versus Utah Tech at Bruce Hurst Field in St. George. 

BROADCAST. The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market. In addition, the game will be broadcast by Utah Tech on WAC International. 

SERIES HISTORY. Tuesday’s contest will be the 15th meeting between BYU and Utah Tech (formerly Dixie State), and the first of two games between the two schools in 2023. The second game of the season series will be played at Miller Park in Provo on April 11.  

The Cougars are 12-2 all-time vs Utah Tech, having split a two-game series in both 2022 and 2021. Last year, the Trailblazers won the first of two games on April 5, 7-5, in St. George and the Cougars won the second game on May 10 in Provo, 3-2. The first baseball game between the two schools was played on March 26, 1953, and ended in a 15-2 BYU victory. 

SERIES BY THE NUMBERS. 
Overall: 12-2 BYU
   H: 9-0 | A: 3-2 | N: 0-0
First Meeting: 3/28/1953 | 15-2 BYU
Last Meeting: 5/10/2022 | 3-2 BYU

UTAH TECH REVIEW. The Trailblazers enter Tuesday’s game with a 4-8 overall record having played three four-games series with Portland (1-3), Wichita State (1-3) and South Dakota State (2-2). All 12 games were played at home in St. George. 

COUGAR REWIND. BYU won its first series of the year last weekend, 2-1, over Omaha at Miller Park in Provo. The Cougars are 4-7 on the year having played back-to-back series on the road to open the 2023 campaign at LA Tech (2-2) and Louisiana (0-4). In the second series, BYU dropped three hard-fought games versus the Ragin' Cajuns by one run each.  

ON THE HILL. Starting on the mound for the Cougars versus the Trailblazers will be junior right-hander Carter Smith. He has pitched 3.1 innings of relief in three games so far this season. Utah Tech will start righty Ben Clark who has made three appearances, with one start in 2023. The game will be a staff day for both teams. 

AT THE PLATE. Offensively the Cougars are led by Austin Deming, Ryan Sepede and Ozzie Pratt. Deming is a returning first-team All-WCC performer who leads the team in multiple offensive categories including average (.395), RBI (14), hits (17), HRs (5), doubles (7) and slugging (.907). Sepede leads the Cougars in on base percentage (.462) and is second in HRs (2). Pratt leads BYU in at bats (44), doubles (7) and is second in hits (14), triples (1), total bases (23) and walks (7). Deming and Pratt are tied for fifth nationally in doubles with seven each.

HOMEWARD BOUND. Four Cougars will be returning to Southern Utah where they played high school baseball to take on the hometown Trailblazers. The group includes Deming, Snow Canyon HS (Santa Clara); Luke Anderson, Snow Canyon HS (Santa Clara); Payton Gubler, Desert Hills HS (St. George) and Cooper Vest, Dixie HS (St. George). 

WEEKEND SERIES. Following Tuesday’s game at Utah Tech, the Cougars head to Nebraska to take on Creighton in a three-game series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, March 9-11. The Bluejays are 4-5 on the year having previously played McNeese State (2-1), Coastal Carolina (1-2) and Cal State Northridge (1-2).