RENO, Nev. (March 31, 2012)—A cycle by Brooks Klein amidst wind, rain-delays and snow lifted Nevada to a 9-3 victory Saturday over BYU baseball.
Klein singled in the second, doubled in the fifth, had a two-run homer in the seventh and a one-run triple in the eighth. The junior right-fielder also scored after being hit by a pitch in the six-run first inning, which put BYU in a hole from which it couldn’t overcome.
“It was tough conditions, but there is no excuse for walking three batters and hitting another with out an out to start the game,” BYU coach Vance Law said. “It is really tough for any team to come back from that kind of demoralizing start.”
Nevada (15-11) won the three-game series as BYU evened its record (11-11) after winning the first game.
The Cougars stranded 10 runners on Saturday, but had a couple of bright spots. BYU scored one run in the second inning when Jaycob Brugman got aboard with an error after Nevada benefited from a double play. Brugman ended up scoring twice on Austin Hall’s two singles on the afternoon.
In the two-run eighth, prior to Brugman scoring, Brock Whitney got one of his two hits with a one-out double and crossed the plate when pinch hitter Christian Mua hit a two-out single.
BYU left a pair of runners on base in every inning except for the first when it spotted theWolf Pack their initial six runs. There was a brief rain-delay in the fifth inning when the mound was covered and snow started falling in the ninth frame.
Nevada native Tanner Chauncey performed well for BYU in his home state, going 1-for-4 Saturday, 7-for-13 against the Wolf Pack and 9-of-18 for the week.
“This is one of the most disappointing road trips I have had in recent memory,” said Law. “We are starting to swing the bats better, but this is a series we could have won.”
BYU continues non-conference play this Tuesday with a rematch in Salt Lake City against Utah in Spring Mobile Ballpark at 6 p.m. The Cougars return to league play when it hosts a three-game series with Loyola Marymount starting Thursday.
(See the PDF below and link to this play-by-play.)