SAN DIEGO — BYU baseball scored 10 runs in the first three innings, then cruised to a 10-6 win over San Diego at Fowler Park in San Diego Thursday night. BYU junior southpaw Mason Olson threw 120 pitches over 6.1 innings, striking out nine Toreros in the victory.
BYU improves to 19-24 (9-10 WCC) on the year, while San Diego falls to 20-22-1 (13-9). The Cougars will face the Toreros in game two of the three-game West Coast Conference series on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT.
“I thought Ozzie set the tempo for us early with a home run in his first at bat,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “As a team we had a lot of good at bats tonight. We hit the ball well and put a lot of pressure on them early. Mason battles every time he takes the mound and give us a chance to win. He did that again tonight.”
Game Summary
• BYU hit .395 (15-38), while USD hit .278 (10-36)
• The Cougars scored 10 runs on 15 hits, while the Toreros scored 6 runs on 10 hits
• BYU had four extra base hits, including home runs by Austin Deming and Ozzie Pratt
BYU Highlights
• Deming: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 Runs
• Pratt: 3-4, 2 RBI, 2 Runs, HR, 2B
• Cole Gambill: 4-6, Runs
• Mason Olson: 6 IP, 9 SO, Win
BYU jumped out to an early lead with four runs on four hits in the first inning. Ozzie Pratt led off the inning with a solo home run. Back-to-back singles by Austin Deming and Cole Gambill, combined with a walk by Ryan Sepede loaded the bases for a Cooper Vest single down the right field line that scored two more runs. Easton Jones then picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 4-0 advantage.
San Diego got a run back in the bottom of the second on a double, and back-to-back ground balls to cut the Cougar lead to 4-1.
The Cougars exploded for six more runs in the top of the third on six hits. With two outs, Parker Goff singled to score Sepede, who had singled to left field to open the inning. Pratt then singled to center to score Easton Jones, who had been hit by a pitch. Another single up the middle by Luke Anderson brought home Goff. Deming then homered to right field on a 0-1 count to push the BYU advantage to 10-1.
USD fought back with one run in the bottom of the third, two in the fifth and two more in the seventh to narrow the BYU lead to 10-6 through seven innings. Peyton Cole and Boston Mabeus then held the Toreros scoreless in the eighth and the ninth innings to preserve the 10-6 BYU win.
BYU starter Mason Olson (4-3) went 6.1 innings, striking out nine for the win, while USD starter Garrett Rennie (1-3) took the loss.
The Cougars and Toreros will face-off in game two of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT at Fowler Park in San Diego.
The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and simulcast on 107.9 in the northern Utah market. Jason Shepherd will have the call. San Diego will also broadcast the game on the WCC network.