BYU Tops Ohio State, 5-1

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Another big inning for the Cougar batters and solid outings on the mound from Jordan Wood and Easton Walker gave the BYU baseball team a 5-1 victory over Ohio State on Friday at Whataburger Field.

BYU vs. OSU Box Score

Game Summary

• For the second day in a row, BYU again had a big inning, scoring all five of its runs in the bottom of the third
• The Cougar pitching staff set season bests in runs allowed (1), hits allowed (3) and walks allowed (2)
• Combined with wins over Northwestern last week, the victory over Ohio State marks the first time in program history the Cougars have defeated two Big Ten teams in the same season

Player Highlights

• Jordan Wood: W (1-0), 6.0 IP, 5 K, 1 ER, 3 H, BB
• Easton Walker: S (1), 3.0 IP, 2 K, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB
• Jackson Cluff: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB

Wood earned his first win of the season, allowing just one run and three hits over six strong innings for BYU (4-2). Walker followed up with the first save of his young career, allowing no hits, no runs and one walk over the final three frames against the Buckeyes (4-1).

“Woody was a bulldog today and Easton was solid as usual,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood.

On offense, the Cougars scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the third. With Danny Gelalich on second and one out, Brian Hsu’s single through the right side brought Gelalich home for the game’s first run. After a Brock Hale walk, Jackson Cluff hit a bases-clearing double before coming around himself off an ensuing double by Keaton Kringlen. Kringlen then rounded out the scoring by coming home thanks to a single up the middle by Mitch McIntyre.

“Offensively we had a really solid approach against (OSU starting pitcher Seth) Lonsway,” Littlewood said. “We did a nice job taking fringe pitches and getting ourselves into offensive counts.”

Like Thursday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Cougars again had contributions from down the lineup, with seven BYU batters recording a hit. Cluff finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a walk, while McIntyre finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. After collecting three hits yesterday, Noah Hill followed up by going 2-for-4 against the Buckeyes.

BYU will close out its weekend in Corpus Christi by playing Oral Roberts on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live online and can be heard on BYU Radio and ESPN 960.