Cougars fall to No. 23 Mountaineers in 19-16 series finale shootout

PROVO, Utah – Despite seven combined RBI from outfielders Luke Anderson and Bryker Hurdsman, BYU baseball fell in a 19-15 shootout to No. 23 West Virginia at Miller Park on Saturday afternoon.

"It was a wild game," said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. "We just have to find a way to pitch a little better."

After trailing 7-0 midway through the third inning, the Cougars responded with five in the bottom of the third and 10 in the bottom of the fourth for 15 unanswered runs. The game of dramatic swings continued with West Virginia putting 12 straight runs on the board. 

BYU scored once more in a ninth-inning comeback effort but fell short, 19-16, in the marathon, season-long game of four hours and 14 minutes. 

The Cougars' 16 runs came on 15 hits with one error and 11 left on base. WVU scored 19 on 20 hits with three errors and stranded six. BYU and West Virginia combined for 80 runs over three games - the most in a Big 12 series this season. 

With the loss, BYU drops to 14-11 and 4-5 in Big 12 play while the Mountaineers go to 22-4 (4-3).

BYU Highlights

Luke Anderson: 4-6, 2 Runs, 2B, 5 RBI

Bryker Hurdsman: 3-6, 2 Runs, 2B, 2 RBI

Parker Goff: 3-4, 3 Runs

Easton Jones: 1-5, Run, 3 RBI

The top of the second saw three a three-run homer by the Mountaineers as they took an early 3-0 lead. West Virginia knocked in another four runs in the top of the third to advance the lead to 7-0. 

The Cougar offense found a spark in the bottom of the third with five runs on six hits. The scoring began for BYU with Goff singling to third base and advancing to second before scoring on a Keoni Painter triple down the leftfield line. Painter came home moments later with help from an Anderson single to short. 

BYU did the rest of its third-inning damage to WVU's lead with three straight at bats ending in doubles, all with two outs. Hurdsman doubled to left, scoring Anderson. Brock Watkins followed with a double to plate Hurdsman while Ryder Robinson scored Watkins with a double of his own. Following the flurry of doubles, BYU trailed by just two, 7-5. 

BYU took what appeared to be a commanding 15-7 lead with a 10-run onslaught in the bottom of the fourth. With 15 straight runs over two innings, it marked the second time this series with 14 or more unanswered runs for the Cougars. 

Anderson kicked-off the barrage, knotting the contest 7-7 in the bottom of the fourth with a two RBI double that scored Goff and Crew McChesney. Hurdsman put the Cougars atop with a RBI single that brought in Anderson. The momentum continued for BYU with a Robinson walk on loaded bases to tack on another run. Jones secured two more runs with a two RBI double that brought in Watkins and Hurdsman before Robinson came home on a Painter hit-by-pitch. 

In its second time through the order in the fourth, BYU plated its last three runs of the inning on a 2 RBI single to left from Anderson and a Painter score from third following an obsturction error assessed to the Mountaineer catcher. 

When the dust had settled, BYU's 10-run fourth inning came with four hits and three WVU errors. 

West Virginia stayed in the mix with six runs on four hits in the top of the fifth to cut the Cougars’ lead to 15-13. The top of the seventh saw the Mountaineers retake the lead 16-15 with a three run home run. Three runs in the top of the eighth furthered the West Virginia lead 19-15. 

Jones plated his third runner of the day to bring BYU within three at 19-16 in the bottom of the ninth. The Cougar comeback had life as the tying run then came to the plate but a WVU strikeout iced the game 19-16 for the Mountaineers.  

Up Next

The Cougars head out for an eight-game road swing beginning with Oral Robers in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 1. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CDT with coverage on the Summit League Network and BYUradio.