PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball fell to Utah Valley 15-11 at Miller Park on Monday night, driven by a nine-run seventh inning for the Wolverines.
BYU (11-11, 4-5) had 11 runs on 12 hits, while Utah Valley (12-13, 4-2) managed 15 runs on 12 hits.
The game, which saw the teams combine for 26 runs, lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes, making it the season's longest for both teams.
Player Highlights
- Luke Anderson: 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBIs
- Chipper Beck: 2-5, double, 2 RBIs
- Parker Goff: 1-4, triple, 2 RBIs
- Candon Dahle: 3 innings pitched, three hits, four strikeouts
- Hayden Coon: 1.1 innings, H, K
BYU took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning with one run on one hit. Cougar left fielder Luke Anderson led off the bottom of the inning with a double, advanced to third on a balk and scored on a wild pitch.
Utah Valley responded in the second inning, scoring four runs on one hit and three walks, highlighted by a grand slam, to move ahead 4-1.
With two outs in the bottom of the second, Crew Robinson hit a double to right center before advancing to third on a balk. Parker Goff then tripled off the wall, driving in Robinson and cutting BYU's deficit to 4-2.
The Wolverines extended their lead to 6-2 with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning, scoring two runs on two hits.
The Cougars rallied in the bottom of the third, scoring eight runs on four hits while bringing 12 batters to the plate for a 10-6 lead. Consecutive walks to Anderson and Keoni Painter, followed by a single from Easton Jones, loaded the bases for BYU. A wild pitch then allowed Anderson to score and moved Painter and Jones into scoring position.
A walk to Kuhio Aloy loaded the bases again before Cooper Vest drew a walk and Bryker Hurdsman hit an RBI single to left, cutting the deficit to 6-5 without recording an out and loading the bases for a third time. Goff's walk brought in another run, and back-to-back two-RBI doubles from Chipper Beck and Anderson extended BYU's lead to 10-6.
Beck and Anderson hit consecutive singles in the bottom of the fifth inning, setting up an RBI single by Jones that extended BYU's lead to 11-6.
Utah Valley countered with nine runs on six hits in the top of the seventh to take a 15-11 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, trailing by four runs and with two outs, Jones reached on an error, but a pop-out by Aloy then sealed the Wolverines' 15-11 win.
BYU returns to Big 12 play with a three-game series versus Kansas, March 28-30. The Thursday-Friday games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. MT, with the Saturday game slated for 1 p.m. All four games will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the BYU Radio App and 107.9 FM in Utah County.