BYU falls to Portland Friday at Miller Park

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball dropped game two of a three-game series with Portland, 12-10, in nine innings on Friday night at Miller Park.

With the loss, BYU fell to 18-22 (8-9 WCC) on the year, while Portland improved to 23-18 (12-8). The Cougars will face the Pilots in game three of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT. 

“They got a couple more big hits than we did and made a couple of plays that we didn’t make,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “When we get leads we have to execute better pitches and put teams away.”

Game Summary 
  •  BYU scored 10 runs on 12 hits, while Portland had 12 runs on 18 hits
  •  Cougars hit .417 (5-12) with runners in scoring position
  •  Portland scored six run on six hits in the 8th and 9th innings

BYU Highlights
  •  Austin Demming: 3-5, RBI, 2 2B
  •  Cooper Vest: 3-5, 2 RBI, 2B
  •  Cole Gambill 2-4, HR, 3 RBI
  •  Jacob Wilk: 2-3, RBI, 2B

Portland got on the board first with and RBI ground ball in the top of the first inning for a 1-0 lead. 

A leadoff solo homerun over the left field wall for Cole Gambill knotted the teams at 1-1 in the bottom of the second. The Cougars then loaded the bases and an Easton Jones two-run double down the left field line scored Cooper Vest and Ryan Sepede for a 3-1 lead. Parker Goff then scored Wilk on a ground ball to third and Austin Deming had an RBI double to the left field gap for a 5-1 advantage. 

Two Pilot hits combined with two BYU infield errors in the top of the third gave Portland two unearned runs and trimming the Cougar lead to 5-3. 

Three runs on four hits in the top of the fourth gave the Pilots a 6-5 lead, but BYU answered with three runs of its own in the bottom the frame to retake the lead 8-6. A two-run double for Vest off the top of the wall in right field scored Gambill and Sepede who had reach on back-to-back walks. Jacob Wilk then singled through the left side of the infield to score Vest. 

Following three scoreless innings, Portland scored five runs on five hits in the top of the eighth inning, giving the Pilots an 11-8 lead before a Gambill two-run double in the bottom of the frame brought BYU to within one at 11-10. 

In the top of the ninth inning, the Pilots gained an insurance run with a 440-foot blast to left field from third baseman Evan Scavotto, extending Portland's lead to 12-10, which ultimately was the final score. 

Brock Gillis (3-2) got the win for Portland, while Jake Porter (2-6) took the loss for BYU.