SEATTLE – One swing in the bottom of the eighth inning was all Washington needed to defeat BYU 1-0 in the series opener at Husky Ballpark on Thursday.
“Jordan (Wood) and Reid (McLaughlin) did a great job tonight," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We couldn't string together a few hits and we didn't do a great job of executing offensively when we need to."
Game Summary
- A solo home run by the Huskies in the bottom of the eighth was the difference in a rainy game that saw only seven combined hits
- The run was just the second earned run in the last 18 innings for BYU pitcher Reid McLaughlin
- BYU starting pitcher Jordan Wood had a season-high eight strikeouts, including inning-ending Ks with runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings
Player Highlights
- Casey Jacobsen: 1-3, 2B
- Jordan Wood: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K
BYU (24-10) and Washington (17-15) battled through seven innings scoreless as the Cougars’ Jordan Wood and the Huskies’ Jordan Jones kept bats on both sides at bay well into the game. Wood struck out a season-best eight in just under six innings, allowing three hits. Jones went six innings with five strikeouts, no walks and three hits.
Freshman Reid McLaughlin came on for BYU with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, striking out the Husky batter to get out of the jam. Coming in with the lowest ERA of any freshman in the nation at 1.54, McLaughlin retired the side in the seventh but a solo home run to left field with one out in the eighth gave Washington the win.
Casey Jacobsen hit a double with two outs in the third and Austin Deming and Brock Hale had leadoff singles in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively, but the Cougars couldn’t string together enough plays to score.
BYU and Washington will play again on Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. PT. The game will stream online live on the Pac-12 Network, BYU Radio and ESPN 960 AM.