Cougars fall in game one at Pacific

STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific scored six unanswered runs to come from behind and defeat BYU baseball 6-3 at Klein Family Field on Thursday.

“We got out early and then went silent,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “Pacific has some guys that can hit, and they came up big for them tonight. We need to come back tomorrow ready to play with better energy.“

The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a home run to left center by reigning WCC Player of the Week Andrew Pintar. A single by Hayden Leatham to centerfield set up the two-run blast by Pintar.

BYU (19-25, 11-11 WCC) picked up another run in the top of the third, as a solo home run by Leatham stretched the lead to 3-0. Pacific answered in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own to cut the Cougar lead to 3-1.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Pacific (15-28, 5-14 WCC) added three runs off a walk and three hits in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead, 4-3.

The Tigers tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth inning, taking advantage of a hit batter and an error combined with a two-out double by Thomas Gavello for a 6-3 advantage. All six Tiger runs in the game came with two outs.

Game two of the three-game series is set for May 14 at 6 p.m. PDT at Klein Family Field. The game will be broadcast on the WCC Network. The audio broadcasts will air on the BYU Sports Network: BYU Radio FM 107.9 FM, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

Photos by Samantha Toy | Pacific