Victories 20 & 21 Come From Sweep Over SUU
PROVO, UTAH-Four Cougars had three hits each in their respective games of BYU's doubleheader non-conference sweep Tuesday over Southern Utah, 8-0 and 12-3.
In the shutout, second baseman Tyler Perry was three-for-three as teammate Jordan Opdahl kept his pitching record unblemished at 3-0. Perry accounted for BYU's final two runs in the opener, scoring Nick Greene off his left-field single and then scoring himself off a double play.
The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Nick Day extended his hitting streak to seven games with a left field single which scored lead-off batter D.J. Jackson, who had also gotten aboard with a left field single. Michael Davies drove in Tyler Haguewood and Day with a single to centerfield.
The closest SUU got was in the fifth inning when they stranded three T Birds after loading the bases with two outs, starting with Corey Jeppsen's centerfield single.
BYU got a two-run homer in the fourth by David Rock and a solo blast by Ty Haguewood in the fifth. Game one lasted only one hour and 23 minutes.
In the nightcap, Cameron Coughlan, Aaron Whitley and Shane Belliston each had three-for-four performances. Coughlan scored as BYU's leadoff batter when he singled, stoled second and was driven in by Craig Peterson's single to center in the first inning.
The Cougars scored three runs in the third, starting with singles from Whitley and Belliston, who were both driven in by Steve Snow's single down the leftfield line. Peterson got the game-winning RBI in the third when he hit a sacrifice fly with no outs to score Perry.
Whitley and Belliston scored again in the third and fourth innings. The Cougars scored six runs, four unearned, in the fourth inning when they batted around the order. Matt Carson extended his team-leading hitting streak to 16 games with a pair of singles in that fourth inning.
The T-Birds led briefly at 2-1 after the second inning when Amos Bright singled and stayed alive on an error off Keith Dickinson's fielder's choice to third. Bright scored off Jarod Ingersoll's single to left and Dickinson scored off a passed ball.
BYU starter Rusty Gray got his first victory of the season, while teammate Nate Fernley pitched three solid innings to earn his fifth save of the year.
BYU, now 21-14 overall, hosts SUU, now 12-13, in a single game on Wednesday at noon.
Recent Stories
Deming wins second WCC Player of the Week award
BYU third baseman Austin Deming has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week for the second time in 2023…
Baseball closes season with senior day loss to Pepperdine
BYU baseball recognized 11 seniors prior to a 19-6 season finale loss to Pepperdine at Miller Park on Saturday.