BYU baseball improves to 7-11 on season after LMU series

BYU baseball (5-10) traveled to southern California over the weekend to take on Loyola Marymount (7-8) in a three game series to open their 2023 WCC campaign.

The Cougars were looking for some revenge on the Lions after losing to them in last year’s WCC tournament. BYU came into the matchup following a dominant 7-0 win over their rivals, Utah. LMU, on the other hand, was looking to rebound after a crushing 6-13 home loss against UCSB.

Game 1

BYU fell to LMU on Thursday night, 2-12. LMU’s pitcher, Diego Barrera (2-1), was lights out on the mound, earning the win. He pitched 7 total inning, allowing just 4 hits. Coach Trent Pratt of BYU praised the left handed pitcher afterwards.

“We knew we were in for a tough night against Barrera, and he was really good,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “I thought we had a good approach at the plate and put together some good at bats, but defensive errors really hurt us in some key spots.”

LMU scored in the bottom of the first inning, and would tack on two runs in the fourth inning, followed by three in the fifth. BYU wouldn’t get on the board until the 8th inning, when Cooper Vest hit a solo home run. The Lions responded to the home run with three separate RBI singles. Down 11, BYU tacked on a consolation run in the ninth inning as Safea Mauai’s RBI double allowed Cole Gambill to get home.

BYU allowed 17 hits on the night, tied for most allowed all season.

Game 2

BYU came back with vengeance with game 2 of the series, shutting out LMU 8-0. This was the second time this season that the Cougars held their opponent scoreless, coming just days after the shoutout against Utah.

BYU pitching ace Bryce Robison had an excellent night, earning the win for BYU after pitching six innings, allowing just two hits and no runs, while also tossing four strikeouts.

The first score of the night for BYU came as Jacob Wilk reached on a fielding error, allowing Austin Deming to get his 16th run on the year. Unfortunately for BYU, they would end the first with two runners left on base.

Up one, Ozzie Pratt increased the lead to 2-0 with a solo home run, his first of the season. Another homer in the 3rd inning, this time from the swing of Jacob Wilk, stretched the lead to 3-0. Both Pratt and Wilk have proved lethal while batting, combining for an average 1.3 hits a game. Together, they have also scored over a quarter of the Cougars’ 101 runs.

BYU doubled their lead the next inning, Jacob Wilk getting on the board off of a wild pitch. Chad Call hit a RBI single up the middle of the field as Vest scored. Vest has a solid outing as he also hit a double and an RBI. After three scoreless inning, the Cougars added one more run in the ninth inning to finish the game 8-0 over the Lions.

Game 3