SAN FRANCISCO—A pair of home runs helped three BYU baseball pitchers secure a 12-6 victory over the University of San Francisco on Friday.
Brennon Anderson’s two-run homer in the fifth inning ended up being the game-winning difference for a 7-0 lead as he batted 4-for-4 on the afternoon. Eric Urry’s towering solo homer in the seventh punctuated the win that evened the series.
Lefthander Riley Gates started the game tossing another no-hitter in early innings, before surrendering four consecutive no-out singles in the fourth. Gates was spelled by freshman Easton Walker who matched Gates’ tally of four strikeouts before being relieved by eventual winner Mason Marshall (2-3).
“We showed great resiliency today,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “I was a little unsure of how we would respond, but the guys showed up and played their tails off. Riley, Easton and Mason pieced together the game on the mound for us and our hitters did a great job one through nine.”
Marshall showed his moxey time and again, getting out of a jam in the sixth with two on and one out, closing that frame with the first of his five strikeouts. In the seventh frame, Marshall near single-handedly got the Dons out. He alertly pinned a USF runner on a base-running miscue between second and third for out No. 1, then fanned two of the next three batters looking and swinging.
Marshall picked up swinging strikeouts in the middle of the eighth and the final out of the game.
The trio of Cougar pitchers capped a 16-hit barrage by their teammates. Anderson’s homer was the second in as many days. Speaking of moxey, Urry’s mammoth blast was his third of the week.
“It was probably the furthest one I've ever hit,” said the left-handed hitting Urry of his dinger which cleared the 80-foot high net in right field.
The Cougars, now 33-14 overall and 14-9 in the West Coast Conference, never trailed in game two against USF, now 20-32 and 14-12 in the WCC.
The finale between the two teams starts at 1 p.m. PDT on Saturday and will be broadcast live by ESPNSports 960 AM, BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143.