PROVO, Utah – Behind a power performance by junior Brennon Anderson, BYU completed the sweep on Senior Night with a 10–5 victory over Santa Clara Saturday at Miller Park.
“That home run (by Anderson) took the wind out of their sails early and I think they had to have the feeling that it didn’t matter how many runs they scored, it wasn’t going to be enough," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "As long as we keep having quality at bats from hitters one through nine I think we’re going to compete in every single game we play.”
With the win over the Broncos (23-29, 10-17 WCC), the Cougars (37-15, 18-9 WCC) are tied with Gonzaga for first place and remain in contention for a partial share of the West Coast Conference regular season crown.
Relief pitcher Keaton Cenatiempo (3-1) earned the win after four innings of work, allowing just three hits and one run against 16 Broncos batters.
On the offensive side for the Cougars, Anderson went 2-for-4 with 4 RBI off a home run and a double. Senior Eric Urry batted 3-for-4, scoring three runs and driving in a run while fellow senior Hayden Nielsen went 1-for-4 on the evening.
“These seniors mean so much to our team off the field and they’re great players, too," Littlewood said. "Hayden has started every single game at short and Urry came in as a sophomore transfer and turned into an all-conference player for us. But what they have done off the field is more important and helped us build a winning culture.”
The Broncos began the scoring in the top of the second. With runners on first and second, Woods hit a dribbler up the middle to score the runner from second giving the Santa Clara an early 1-0 lead.
Connor Williams started on the mound for the Cougars but was replaced by southpaw Bo Burrup in the middle of the second inning after walking six batters in less than two innings of work.
Still in the second with the bases loaded, the Broncos knocked in another run after Stevie Berman singled through the left side. A sacrifice fly by T.C. Florentine brought home one more run and the Broncos led 3-0.
In the bottom of the second, Urry made it on base after a Bronco fielding error and Colton Shaver reached on a walk to get things started for the Cougars. Anderson came up next and drilled a ball over the left field fence for his sixth home run of the year to tie the game at three.
In the bottom of the third, Urry singled up the middle to score Brennon Lund for the go-ahead run, putting the Cougars ahead 4-3. Next, Shaver hit a bloop single to right to advance Urry to third before Keaton Kringlen doubled off the right field wall, scoring both Urry and Shaver for the game-winning RBI. Anderson followed with another deep double to center for the Cougars’ fifth hit of the inning, scoring Kringlen and giving BYU a 7-3 lead.
The Broncos scored their fourth run of the game in the top of the fourth with Florentine collecting his second RBI of the game with a single up the middle that scored Kyle Cortopassi from second. The Broncos’ threatened to score again but the Cougar defense turned a double play on the next batter to avoid any further damage.
Bronson Larsen kept the hitting going for the Cougars in the bottom of the fourth with a bloop single to left. Lund laid down a perfect bunt to the left side and the Cougars had two runners on with no outs.
The Broncos retired the next two Cougar batters before Urry drew a walk to load the bases for Shaver. Santa Clara pitcher Jake Steffens hit Urry on the elbow to walk in a run for BYU making the score 8-4.
Relief pitcher Cenatiempo assumed pitching duties for the Cougars in the fifth and held the Bronco offense to limited production for the rest of the game.
With runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, Florentine picked up a third RBI with a single to center to cut the Cougars’ lead to three for the final Broncos’ run of the evening.
BYU answered in the bottom half of the sixth after Urry doubled. The Cougars scored two runs off back-to-back errant throws by Broncos shortstop John Cresto off routine ground balls to put the score at the final tally of 10-5.
BYU begins play in the West Coast Conference tournament Thursday, May 26 in Stockton, California at the Banner Island Ballpark. Games will be available for live streaming on TheW.tv and fans can listen to the radio broadcast on ESPN 960 AM and BYU Radio —Sirius Satellite 143.