Oregon State scores three late to hold off BYU, 5-3 

CORVALLIS, Oregon — No. 20 Oregon State scored three runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat BYU 5-3 Friday evening in game two of a three-game series. 

"Our hitters did a pretty good job tonight grinding out at bats and there were a lot of positive takeaways," said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. "I really believe our team is getting better facing these quality opponents early in the season."

After giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Cougars responded in the top of the second with a run of its own. Jacob Rogers and Freddy Achecar put together back-to-back singles and moved up a base on a passed ball by Beaver starter Cooper Hjerpe. With Danny Gelalich at the plate and two outs, Rogers scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.

Oregon (9-1) scored again in the bottom of second inning, but BYU (3-7) evened the score at 2-2 with another run in the top of the third. Abraham Valdez led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Pintar. The senior first baseman then moved to third on an infield ground ball and scored on a single to right field by Josh Cowden. 

Lefty starter Cy Nielson held the Beavers scoreless in the third, fourth and fifth innings, while BYU took its first lead of the series in the fifth. With two outs, Pintar stole second base and alertly took third on the same play due to a passed ball. After a walk from Austin Deming put Cougars on the corners, Cowden beat out a chopper over the pitcher’s head for an infield single to score Pintar and give BYU a 3-2 lead. 

"I was really proud of Cy tonight," said Littlewood. "He got in a little jam early but settled in and gave us a quality start."

The Beavers took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the sixth on three consecutive ground balls up the middle with bases loaded and two outs. 

Player Highlights:

• Cowden: 2-4, 2 RBI
• Rogers: 1-3, 1 run
• Valdez: 1-3, 1 run, 1 walk
• Nielson: 5.1 IP, 3 hits, 3 ER, 7 K

The final game of the series is scheduled for Saturday, March 6 at 1:05 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed live by Oregon State and also broadcast by BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.