PROVO, Utah — After splitting four games last week, BYU baseball returns home for a crosstown clash with Utah Valley on May 7 followed by the season's final weekend home series with Cincinnati on May 9-11.
| BYU (18-26) at Utah Valley (25-23) | UCCU Ballpark | Orem, UT | |||
| Date & Time (MDT) | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Tuesday, May 7 at 6:05 p.m. | ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Cincinnati (27-21, 13-11) at BYU (18-26, 6-18) | Miller Park | Provo, UT | |||
| Date & Time (MDT) | Watch | Listen | Live Stats |
| Thursday, May 9 at 6 p.m. | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Friday, May 10 at 6 p.m. | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
| Saturday, May 11 at 11:30 a.m. | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | BYU Radio 107.9/BYU Radio App | Follow Here |
WEEK TWELVE REVIEW
The Cougars broke from Big 12 play in week 12 with a midweek home game versus Abilene Christian prior to a weekend road trip to Miami. BYU rode a 2-for-4 and two-RBI day from third baseman Easton Jones on its way to an 8-6 win over ACU on April 29. After a 3-2 loss to Miami in 12 innings on May 2 and a 6-4 setback the following night, the Cougars returned to the win column on May 4 in an 8-2 defeat of the Hurricanes.
BYU’s Saturday win came on the strength of four different Cougars recorded a home run. BYU was trailing 2-0 to start the sixth inning when Kuhio Aloy came to the plate and sparked a scoring spurt with a lead-off single. Aloy scored a few moments later on the first of four BYU bombs, this one courtesy Collin Reuter. With the game then tied 2-2, BYU seized momentum and didn’t relent with six more runs to close the game on an 8-0 run.
Aloy totaled 10 hits on 17 at bats (.588), two RBI, two home runs and four runs scored on the week with multiple hits in each of the Cougars’ four games.
The true freshman designated hitter followed this performance with the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week honor on May 6. Aloy is the first BYU player to receive a weekly Big 12 honor. The Maui, Hawaii native leads BYU in batting at .307 with a season total of 24 runs on 50 hits, seven doubles, eight homers and 36 RBI. Aloy also holds a league-leading seven sacrifice flies.
Ben Hansen and Stone Cushing highlighted the Cougar pitching staff’s performances in week 12.
Hansen earned his fifth win of the season on Saturday as he tied a season-long outing with six innings pitched. The sophomore from Pleasanton, California struck out three of the 27 batters he faced without surrendering a walk.
Cushing notched his eighth save of the season in BYU’s 8-6 win versus ACU. The Cougar closer now leads the Big 12 in saves and games finished, while tied for third with 23 appearances. Cushing’s eight saves rank fifth all-time at BYU over a single season and tied for sixth in career saves.
| BYU All-Time Single Season Saves Leaders | |||
| Rank | Name | Saves | Season |
| 1. | Jordan Muir | 11 | 2009 |
| 2. | Reid McLaughlin | 10 | 2022 |
| 3. | Mason Marshall | 9 | 2012 |
| Ryan Hancock | 9 | 1992 | |
| 5. | Stone Cushing | 8 | 2024 |
| 6. | Jeremy Thomas | 7 | 1999 |
| Dan Wheeler | 7 | 1993 | |
KNOW THE FOE
UTAH VALLEY (25-23): The Cougars and Wolverines meet for the 47th time and second this season on Tuesday. BYU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings, leads the all-time series 35-11 and are 16-7 when playing at UCCU Ballpark.
Utah Valley got the best of BYU in a 15-11, 4-hour and 10-minute barnburner at Miller Park on March 25. The Wolverines battled back from a 10-6 Cougar lead with a nine-run seventh inning. Luke Anderson led BYU on the night at 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of doubles.
Since the teams’ last meeting, Utah Valley has gone 13-10, winning four of their last five series in WAC play and six of their last 12 games overall. The Wolverines won two of three (9-3, 10-11, 7-3) versus Seattle U in Orem May 3-4. Infielder Daniel Dickinson leads Utah Valley in batting average (.363), runs (63) and hits (73). Catcher Burke Camper tops the Wolverines in RBI (44), home runs (18) and doubles (13).
Head coach Eddie Smith is in his third season at the helm in Orem and has Utah Valley fourth in the WAC standings with a 15-9 record.
CINCINNATI (27-21, 13-11): BYU and Cincinnati meet for the first time on the baseball diamond this week. BYU is 5-4 all-time versus teams from Ohio with Cincinnati becoming the first to face the Cougars in Provo.
First-year head coach Jordan Bischel joined the Bearcats in 2023-24 after going 177-80 in five seasons at Central Michigan. Cincinnati went 24-33 (10-14) and finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference in 2023. Bischel has the Bearcats at fifth in the Big 12 standings with a 27-21 (13-11) season record. BYU and Cincinnati were tied for last in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
The Bearcats arrive in Provo having won their last three-straight Big 12 series and seven of their last 12 games. Cincinnati has 2-1 series wins over West Virginia (4-5, 10-4, 8-2) on May 3-5, UCF (9-4, 2-5, 8-2) on April 26-28 and Houston (6-4, 5-4, 5-8) April 19-21.
Outfielder Josh Hegemann leads the Bearcats in hitting at .354 while utility player Kerrington Cross leads the team in runs (53) and infielder Josh Kross in RBI (56). Cincinnati pitcher Nathan Taylor is tied for the Big 12 lead with seven wins on the season and is one of five in the league to record a complete game in 2024.