PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball fell to the Houston 9-2 in its Big 12 home opener at Miller Park on Thursday night.
Houston (12-4, 4-0) scored nine runs on 13 hits, while BYU (7-8, 1-3) scored twice on eight hits.
Player Highlights
– Easton Jones: 2-3, RBI, Run, 2 Walks
– Luke Anderson: 3-5, Run
– Jake Porter: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 SO
Houston scored first with three runs in the top of the first, headlined by an RBI double followed by two more coming home on an RBI triple, all happening with two outs.
BYU responded in the bottom half of the frame with a leadoff triple by Luke Anderson off the right field wall. Cooper Vest brought in Anderson with an RBI groundout. Easton Jones then followed it up with a solo home run to bring the score within one, 3-2.
A Houston solo home run in the second inning extend the lead 4-2, but BYU worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts from Ben Hansen.
UH scored first with three runs in the top of the first headlined by an RBI double, followed by two more runs coming home on an RBI triple, all with two outs. BYU responded quickly in the bottom half of the frame with a leadoff triple by Luke Anderson off the right field wall. Cooper Vest brought in Anderson with an RBI groundout. Easton Jones followed it up with a solo home run to bring the score within one, 3-2.
A Houston solo home run in the second inning extend its lead 4-2, but BYU worked out of the jam with back-to-back strikeouts by BYU starter Ben Hansen.
Houston scored four runs in the top of the fifth, on four hits and two walks to extend the lead to 8-2. The visiting Cougars then picked one more run in the top of the sixth for a 9-2 advantage.
Crew Robinson drew a walk on a full count in the bottom of the sixth to load the bases, giving BYU a chance to get back in the game, but a line out to second base ended the threat.
Three Houston relievers held BYU scoreless for the final 6.2 innings for the 9-2 win.
BYU will return to action Friday for game two of the three game series against Houston. Friday’s game is set for 6 p.m. MDT, with the Saturday contest scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Both games will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the BYU Radio App and locally on BYU Radio 107.9 FM.