OREM, Utah – No. 22 BYU baseball swung its way to a 23-4 win on Tuesday against Utah Valley in the UCCU Crosstown Clash at Brent Brown Ballpark.
"The hitters did a nice job of jumping on them," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We didn't sit on it. We just kept going and that was the key to the win."
The Cougars had 23 hits and runs, with a six-run first inning and nine-run seventh. They improved to 26-14 overall and 2-0 against UVU (15-27) this season. Kyle Dean had two home runs and knocked in six, while David Clawson, Tanner Chauncey and Keaton Kringlen plated three apiece.
"We're playing with a lot of confidence," Littlewood said. "We've got a lineup full of guys that are just going to be relentless at the plate."
Brock Hale, Bronson Larsen and Dean each homered as part of BYU's first inning rally. Larsen's was a tape-measure blast that appeared to hit a stadium light above the fence in left-center. His and Hale's were both two-run shots.
The Cougars allowed a run in the first inning but came back swinging in the third. They tacked on two more runs, highlighted by Clawson's double and Chauncey's third hit of the game, which scored Clawson.
Clawson's two-run home run in the fifth inning contributed to four more Cougars runs. He also homered in the season's first matchup between BYU and UVU at Brent Brown Ballpark.
After the Wolverines scraped across a couple more runs, the Cougars erupted for nine runs in the seventh inning.
Pete Nielsen's RBI single was the first hit of his BYU career. Dean smacked a grand slam for his third multi-homer game as a Cougar.
UVU scored one run in the seventh and trailed 23-4.
Matt Bushman, who's a candidate for starting tight end on the football team, had his first BYU at-bat in the eighth inning, and went down on strikes.
The two teams will square off in Provo for the final time this season on May 16.
BYU hits the road for a weekend series at Santa Clara, with the first game on Thursday at 6 p.m. PDT.
