PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball took game one of a three-game series with Portland, 9-8, in 10 innings, led by Cooper Vest's three hits and two RBIs Thursday night at Miller Park. 

With the win, BYU improves to 18-21 (8-8 WCC) on the year, while Portland falls to 22-18 (11-8). The Cougars will face the Pilots in game two of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. MDT. 

“It was a total team effort,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “I was proud of the way the guys just kept fighting. It wasn't pretty at times, but we figured out a way to get an important win tonight.”

Game Summary 
  •  By scored nine runs on 12 hits, while the Portland had eight runs on 16 hits
  •  The Cougars hit .308 (4-13) with runners in scoring position
  •  BYU hit .400 (6-15) with two outs

BYU Highlights
  •  Cooper Vest: 3-4, 2 RBI, 2B
  •  Easton Jones: 1-3, 2 RBI, HR
  •  Cole Gambill 2-5, 2R, 3B
  •  Ryan Sepede: 1-3, 2 RBI

Following a leadoff walk to Ryan Sepede and Cooper Vest getting hit by a pitch, Jacob Wilk moved them into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Easton Jones then gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to left field.

The Pilots countered BYU in the top of the third inning with a two-run home run to left center for a 2-1 advantage.

Three-straight base hits for the Pilots brought a run home in the top of the fourth inning, extending their lead to 3-1.

The Cougars answered with two of their own in the bottom of the frame to tie the game, 3-3. Jones homered over the right field wall for the first run. Later an RBI single from Luke Anderson scored Ozzie Pratt who had doubled.

A two-out single from Vest followed by a RBI single to the right-center gap by Jacob Wilk gave BYU a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Pilots quickly tied the score at 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning on a solo home run to right field from Ty Saunders. 

Portland retook the lead in the top of the eighth inning with a run on two base hits for a 5-4 advantage.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ozzie Pratt reached on an error and Auston Deming ripped a double down the left field line to put runner on the corners. Cole Gambil was then hit by a pitch loading the bases for the Cougars. Sepede then came through with a sacrifice fly to right field tying the score at 5-5. A clutch, two-out double by Vest to left field scored two more runs giving the Cougars a 7-5 advantage through eight innings. 

A two-run home run from Pilots catcher Nich Klemp in the top of the ninth tied the score at 7-7 and sent the game to extra innings. 

A run on two hits and two BYU errors gave Portland an 8-7 lead in the top of the tenth inning.

In the bottom of the 10th, a leadoff triple by Gamble, followed by an RBI single up the middle from Sepede knotted the game, 8-8. A sacrifice bunt by Vest moved Sepede to second. Tate Gambill, who came in to run for Sepede, then moved to third on ground ball to first base by Chad Call. An eventual wild pitch scored Tate from third giving BYU a walk off, 9-8, win. 

Boston Mabeus (1-0) got the win for BYU, while Ryan Rembisz (1-1) took the loss for Portland. 

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball is home for a three-game series with West Coast Conference foe Portland, April 27-29, at Miller Park. First pitch for the Thursday and Friday games is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with the Saturday game slated to begin at 1 p.m. MDT. 

BROADCAST PLANS. All three games will be broadcast live on the BYUtv App and online at BYUtv.org with the Friday and Saturday games simulcast on BYUtv. Dave McCann and Gary Sheide will provide play-by-play and analysis for the television broadcasts. The games will also air live on the BYU Radio App and 107.9 in northern Utah with the Voice of the Cougars Greg Wrubell on the call. 

Ticket information for all four games can be found at BYUtickets.com.

COUGARS-PILOTS HISTORY. BYU and Portland have met 47 times in baseball, with the Cougars holding a 30-17 advantage. The WCC foes last met during the 2022 regular season in Portland on March 17-19. The Pilots won the series, 2-1, with BYU taking game one (6-2) and the Portland taking games two and three (11-1, 3-1). 

PORTLAND RECAP. The Pilots are 22-17 on the year and 11-7 in WCC play. Portland is 11-8 on the road in 2023 and currently owns a two-game winning streak, having defeated Gonzaga 7-4 on Saturday and 5-4 on Sunday. Portland is 5-5 over its last 10 games. Pilot pitcher Nick Brink was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week for his performance Sunday versus the Bulldogs. Brink threw a career-high six innings, allowing just one run and five hits. 

BYU REVIEW. The Cougars enter the weekend series with a 17-21 record and are 7-8 in WCC games. BYU is 11-5 at Miller Park and enters the Portland series on a three-game winning streak, having swept UNG Greensboro at home over the weekend. In four games last week, BYU scored 60 runs. The Cougars are 7-3 over the last ten games. 

DEMING DOMINATES. BYU third baseman Austin Deming was named the WCC Player of the Week for his stellar performance versus Utah and UNC Greensboro. In four non-conference games, the senior hit .706 (12 for 17), had four home runs, four doubles, scored 11 runs and had 15 RBI. He totaled 30 bases with an OBP of .737 and a slugging percentage of 1.647. 

In addition to being named WCC Player of the Week on Monday, Deming was also recognized as national player of the week by four baseball organizations—National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, D1Baseball|Blast Baseball and Perfect Game|Rawlings. 

UP NEXT. Following the four-game home stand, BYU hits the road again for a Tuesday night game at UC San Diego, before a three-game WCC series with San Diego, May 4-6.