PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 1-1 stalemate and win the UCCU Crosstown Clash 5-1 on Tuesday at Miller Field.
Game Summary
- BYU scored four runs in the eighth, including a three-run triple by Jackson Cluff
- Cluff had two triples on the night, tying the BYU record and becoming the first to do so since Kelton Caldwell against Utah on March 4, 2014
- Six BYU pitchers combined to allow no earned runs and finish with 10 strikeouts against the Wolverines
Player Highlights
- Jackson Cluff: 2-5, 2 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Reid McLaughlin: W (3-0), 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K
- Blake Inouye: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K
Freshman Carson Matthews singled and seniors Brian Hsu and Brock Hale loaded the bases after both getting hit by a pitch with two outs and the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore Jackson Cluff followed with his second triple of the night to score all three runners, then tacked on a run himself after an error by the Wolverines to put BYU up 5-1.
"Kudos to Jackson," said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. "He got a swing on a pitch that he liked; it was good to see him get that."
The Wolverines got on the board first with an RBI single to go up 1-0 early in the third inning. The Cougars got a double play soon after, however, to keep the Wolverines at bay and end the inning.
UVU loaded the bases in the fourth, but senior Blake Inouye came in and ended the inning with no runs scored. Inouye went a total of 3.0 innings, tying a career high with four strikeouts and allowing no runs.
BYU got even with UVU in the fifth, when senior Keaton Kringlen's RBI single scored Cluff from third after the third baseman had reached on a triple the at-bat before.
Cluff finished going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run; his two triples tied a BYU record and made him the first Cougar with two triples in a game since Kelton Caldwell against
Utah on March 4, 2014.
The highlight play of the night on defense came on the third out of the sixth on a rapid-fire relay from Hale in deep right field to freshman Zack Peterson in shallow right and on to Cluff at third to throw out the Wolverine runner attempting to stretch out a triple.
Sophomore Drew Zimmerman came on to relieve freshman Reid McLaughlin on the mound in the ninth following the Cougars' offensive burst and closed out the game in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts.
McLaughlin earned the win, going to 3-0 on the season after pitching 1.1 innings with no runs.
The Cougars stay at home to take on Milwaukee in a four-game series starting Thursday, March 7, at 6 p.m. MT before playing a doubleheader on Friday and final game on Saturday.