BYU drops three-game series at San Diego with 5-1 loss on Saturday

SAN DIEGO — San Diego defeated BYU, 5-1, in game three of its West Coast Conference weekend series at Fowler Park on Saturday, giving the Toreros a 2-1 series win.  

The Toreros improved to 22-22-1 (15-9) on the year, while the Cougars fell to 19-26 (9-12 WCC).

Game Summary
  •  USD hit .250 (6-24), while BYU hit .182 (6-33)
  •  BYU stranded six runners, to three by USD
  •  Ozzie Pratt’s single in the sixth inning extended his team leading hitting streak to 10 games

BYU Highlights
  •  Ozzie Pratt: 2-4, Run, 2B
  •  Ryan Sepede: 1-4, Run, 3B
  •  Cooper Vest: 1-3, RBI

After three and a half innings of scoreless baseball, San Diego scored first in the top of the fourth on a single and a double for a 1-0 lead. 

BYU answered with a run of its own in the top of the fifth on a triple by Ryan Sepede and an RBI ground ball by Cooper Vest to tie the game at 1-1.  

A leadoff walk, followed by a double and a triple in the bottom of the sixth led to a three-run inning for the Toreros and a 4-1 lead. 

The Cougars had chances in the top of the seventh and eighth innings but stranded two runners in the seventh and left the bases loaded in the eighth.

“Their starter Austin Smith was very good today,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “He had command of all three pitches and was tough to hit. Tip your hat to him because he made it hard on our hitters. I thought we battled hard but just couldn’t come up with a big hit when we needed it.”

USD tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning with a run on three walks and a wild pitch for a final score of 5-1.  

BYU starter Ben Hansen (0-3) took the loss, while USD starter Smith (4-1) went 6.2 innings for the win. 

The Cougars return to Utah for an in-state game with the Utes on Tuesday, May 9, at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT. BYU will then return to West Coast Conference play with a three-game series, May 11-13, versus Pacific in Stockton, California. 

All four games will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market, with Jason Shepherd on play-by-play.