Schneemann, Jacobsen come through to seal sweep vs. Santa Clara

BYU vs. Santa Clara game 2  box score

BYU vs. Santa Clara game 3 box score

PROVO, Utah – Daniel Schneemann and Casey Jacobsen provided game-winning hits in dramatic wins (6-4 in 10 innings and 6-5) to seal a sweep for BYU over Santa Clara in a doubleheader Friday at Larry H. Miller Field.

“We were relaxed these last two days,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “We didn’t panic, and I just had that feeling that we were going to get that big hit when we needed it.”

The Cougars got back to .500 in the West Coast Conference at 6-6 (17-13 overall), while the Broncos fell to 15-14, 4-8 (WCC).

In the first game, Schneemann sent a two-run homer high above the right-center fence for a second-straight walk-off win over Santa Clara.

Jacobsen provided the heroics in the nightcap, with a three-run double off the left field wall in the eighth. He came on as a defensive replacement at third base in the fourth inning and came up big in his third plate appearance.

The Cougars took the middle of the three-game series 6-4, getting dingers from the top two hitters in the lineup, with Brennon Anderson also putting a charge into one in the sixth inning to bring BYU back from a 3-2 deficit.

Hayden Rogers threw 5.1 effective innings for the Cougars, surrendering just four hits and two earned runs. Bo Burrup (2-1) picked up the win by throwing a perfect 10th inning.

Anderson, Schneemann, Brock Hale, Nate Favero and Jarrett Perns all collected two hits for BYU.

Favero came up in the series finale with runners on second and third in the seventh and lined a two-run single into left field to shrink the Cougars’ deficit to one run at 4-3.

BYU got in the hole by giving up three runs in the first two innings. Joe Becht led off the game with a home run for Santa Clara.

The Cougar pitchers settled in, with Kenny Saenz, Justin Sterner and Rhett Parkinson combining for seven relief innings and just two earned runs. Parkinson (1-0) was credited with the win.

The Broncos manufactured a run in the eighth to lead 5-3, but BYU responded by putting Jake Brown, Perns and Anderson on base before Jacobsen’s decisive knock.

The Cougars are off until Thursday, April 12, when they begin a three-game road series at Portland.