PROVO, Utah – On a rainy afternoon in Provo, BYU baseball fell to UCF in its Big 12 opener, 9-8. The Cougars' eight runs came on nine hits, including a three-run home run from Cooper Vest, but came up just shy in the contest.
“You always want to win game one,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “It was a good ball game. They just made one more pitch and one more hit than us and that’s what it boils down to.”
BYU Highlights
Cooper Vest: 1-4, HR, RBI
Bryker Hurdsman: 2-4, 3B, 2B, Run
Ryder Robinson: 1-3, 3B, 2 Runs
Keoni Painter: 2-3, 2B, Run
UCF struck first as it scored two runs despite having two outs on the board in the top of the first. The Cougar defense then held the Knights without a run over the next five innings.
During this stretch BYU began to find its rhythm at the plate. Tate Gambill got the first hit of the day for the Cougars with a well-executed bunt in the bottom of the third. This was followed by a single from Parker Goff to advance Gambill to scoring position. The Knights then walked Painter to load the bases with no outs. The Cougar runners were able to advance on a wild pitch thrown by the Knights that brought Gambill home for the first BYU run. Robinson then stepped up to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to left field with Goff scoring the tying run.
The Cougars kept it rolling in the fourth as Hurdsman led off with the tean's second triple of the year. A single from Gambill brought Hurdsman home to take the lead, 3-2. BYU scored two more in the fifth behind a lead-off double from Painter, followed by a triple from Robinson to bring him home. Luke Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring the Cougar lead to three at 5-2.
In the seventh inning, the Knights were able to find home plate again as they poured in three runs behind three hits, a walk and an error. This effort tied the game at 5-5 heading into the seventh inning stretch. BYU responded in the bottom of the inning as they picked up three more runs. The Cougars were walked twice by UCF, setting up a runner on first and second. Vest stepped up to the plate and hit a three-run shot to left field to take back a three-run lead at 8-5.
The top of the eighth would prove too much for BYU as it let up four more runs and surrendered the lead, 9-8. The Knights scored behind two back-to-back home runs, a double and a single, and two more hits.
Neither team was able to score again, and the Cougars fell 9-8. Their three-game series against UCF continues tomorrow, as they face the Knights in the second matchup at 3 p.m. MDT. Watch BYU and UCF in game two on ESPN+ or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio.