Cougars cruise to win over Dons

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball took game one of a three-game series with San Francisco, 6-2, on a pitching gem by junior southpaw Mason Olson at Miller Park on Thursday night. Olson threw 120 pitches over 8.0 innings, striking out six Dons for the victory. 

With the win, BYU improves to 10-18 (4-6 WCC) while USF falls to 12-12 (3-7) on the year. The Cougars will face the Dons in game two of the West Coast Conference series on Friday at 6 p.m. MDT. 

“It's always good to win the first game of the series,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “Cooper Vest’s two-out hit in the first inning was huge. It gave us a 1-0 lead and helped the guys relax early. It also extended the inning and got Jacob Wilk to the plate for the big hit.”

Game Summary 
  •  BYU scored six runs on 11 hits, while USF scored twice on nine hits
  •  Lefty pitchers Mason Olson and Boston Mabeus surrendered no walks over a combined nine innings
  •  Jacob Wilk’s three-run homer in the first was all the offense BYU needed for the win

BYU Highlights
  •  Jacob Wilk: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, Run
  •  Ryan Sepede: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 Runs
  •  Cooper Vest 2-4, RBI, Run
  •  Mason Olson: 8.0 IP, 6 K, 0 BB, 2 R

BYU jumped out early with four runs in the bottom of the first inning for a 4-0 lead. Luke Anderson singled to center field and Ryan Sepede walked to set up an RBI opportunity for Cooper Vest who singled through the left side with two outs for the first run. Jacob Wilk then homered over the right field fence for three more runs. 

“Mason is a bigtime competitor,” said Wilk of BYU’s starting pitcher. “It doesn’t matter if he has his best stuff or not, he’s always going to give you a chance to win. It’s easy being a hitter when he’s on the hill.” 

USF cut into the Cougar lead with a solo home run by Patrick Keighran in the top of the third inning to make the score 4-1. The Dons picked up another run in the sixth with a triple and a single to cut the lead to 4-2. 

A two-run Sepede home run to left center in the bottom of the seventh pushed the Cougar lead to 6-2. The blast scored Cole Gambill who led off the inning with a double to straight-away center field. 

Olson (2-2) got the win for BYU, pitching a season-high 8.0 innings, while Ryan Yerby (0-2) took the loss for USF. BYU reliever Boston Mabeus came on in the top of the ninth to get the final three outs for the win. Olson and Mabeus combined to hold the Zags scoreless over the final three innings of the game.