BYU drops final game of series with Omaha

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball fell to Omaha, 16-4, in game three of the weekend series with the Mavericks at Miller Park in Provo on Saturday. 

The Cougars won the over series 2-1 and are now 4-7 on the year, as they head south to St. George to take on Utah Tech (3-6) in a midweek game scheduled for 6:05 p.m. MST on March 7 at Bruce Hurst Field 

“We needed to play better in all phases of the game today,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “Give Omaha credit, they came ready to hit and we didn’t respond well. We walked to many guys and they took advantage of it.”

Game Summary
  • Omaha scored 16 runs on 17 hits
  • BYU had four runs on six hits
  • Mavericks hit .459 (17-37) versus the Cougars at .222 (6-27)

BYU Highlights
  • Austin Deming: 2-3, HR, 2B, RBI
  • Cooper Vest: 3-3, HR, 3B, 3 Runs, RBI
  • Easton Jones: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI

Omaha jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first inning off four hits. The Mavericks picked up another run in the second off a single and a double to push the lead to 4-0. 

BYU responded with a run of its own off a home run by Cooper Vest in the bottom of the second inning and picked up another run on a solo shot by Austin Deming to straightaway center in the fourth to cut the Omaha lead to 4-2. 

The Mavericks scored two more in the top half of the fifth, but BYU got one back in the bottom half of the inning off a triple by Vest and an RBI by Easton Jones to make the score 6-3.   

Omaha scored four more runs in the sixth and broke the game open in the seventh with six more runs and a 16-3 lead. The Cougars picked up one more run in the seventh on a Jones double that scored Vest who had singled. The game end at the conclusion of the seventh inning with the final score 16-4, due to the 10-run rule and Saturday being a travel day for Omaha. 

Mavericks starter Charlie Bell (1-1) got the win, while Cutter Clawson (1-1) took the loss for the Cougars.  

Following the midweek game with Utah Tech next Tuesday, the Cougars head to Nebraska to take on Creighton in a three-game series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, March 9-11.

All four games will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market. In addition, the game at Utah Tech will be broadcast on ESPN+