BYU splits doubleheader with Marshall

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — BYU baseball split a doubleheader with Marshall on Saturday for its first win of the 2022 season at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida. After a tough 6-3 loss in game one, the Cougars bounced back in the nightcap with a 3-2 victory.

GAME TWO
The Cougars (1-2) struck first in the top of the first inning on a single up the middle by Ryan Sepede to score Mitch McIntyre, who led off the game with a single to right field. Three-straight strikeouts by BYU freshman Janzen Keisel in the bottom half of the inning gave BYU a 1-0 lead.

“Janzen is a real special pitcher,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “When he pitches in the zone where he wants, he’s very hard to hit. I love his competitiveness. He gave us a great outing tonight when we really needed it.”

BYU scored two more runs in the top of the third off Marshall starter Zac Addkison to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead. Joshua Cowden singled down the left field line to score Andrew Pintar. The BYU designated hitter then stole second and scored on a Hayden Leatham single through the right side for the second run of the inning.

Marshall (1-2) picked up one unearned run in the bottom of the seventh inning on three Cougar errors to make the score 3-1. The Herd scratched out another run in the eighth on a walk and a double to cut the lead to 3-2.

BYU closer Reid McLaughlin entered the game with one out in the eighth and retired five straight batters to record his first save of the season. BYU pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in the win.

“Reid is a guy you can give the ball to when the game is on the line,” said Littlewood. “College baseball is never easy. Every game is a challenge. It’s great to have a guy you can hand the ball to late in the game and know you’re going to win.”

Keisel struck out 10 in his Cougar debut. The true freshman from Gunnison, Utah, gave up just one hit in the bottom of the fifth inning on his way to recording his first collegiate victory.

“I had great command of my fastball all night,” said Keisel. “I was able to throw it in the zone where I wanted to. I just tried to throw strikes and give us chance to win.”

Notables

Janzen Keisel: 6.0 IP, 10 K, 1 Hit, 0 ER
Reid McLaughlin: 1.2 IP, 2 K, 0 Hit, O ER
Ryan Sepede: 2-4, RBI
Joshua Cowden: 1-4, RBI
Hayden Leatham: 1-4, RBI

GAME ONE
BYU got on the board early with two runs in the top of the first inning. With one out and the bases empty, Andrew Pintar singled to left field and advanced to second on a single to right by Cole Gambill. Both runners moved up a base on a passed ball and scored easily on a double down the left field line by Ryan Sepede to give BYU a 2-0 lead.

Marshall answered with four runs in the top of the third inning on a walk and four hits to take a 4-2 lead. The Herd extended its lead to 6-2 with two runs on two hits in the top of the eighth inning.

The Cougars threatened in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings with runners in scoring position but were unable to get timely hits to drive in runs.

BYU designated hitter Josh Cowden drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the eighth and Hayden Leatham advanced him to second on a single to left. Cowden moved to third on a fly ball to center field by Austin Deming and scored on a balk by Marshall pitcher Cole Agemy to cut the lead to 6-3, but that was as close as the Cougars would get.

Notables