PROVO, Utah – Shortstop Ryder Robinson hit two home runs to propel BYU to an 11-6 win over Kansas State in game one of a three-game Big 12 series on Thursday night at Miller Park.
The Cougars got off to a fast start with Robinson blasting a two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the second inning. A three-run first and four-run fourth helped BYU to a game-high 7-0 lead before K-State fought back to an 8-6 game with four runs in the top of the sixth.
BYU put the game away late with a run in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. The Cougars scored 11 runs on 11 hits with one error while K-State scored six runs on seven hits. Thursday marked BYU's 14th double-figure scoring game of the season and fourth time doing so in back-to-back outings.
Hayden Coon made his first Division I start on Thursday and recorded a career-high nine strikeouts over four innings. As a staff, BYU tallied a season-high-tying 15 strikeouts on the night. Ashton Johnson earned the win for the Cougars to move to 2-0 on the season.
"This was a huge win," said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. "Hayden stepped up and did an unbelievable job. Offensively we just kept putting pressure on them by scoring runs in all but two innings. I was proud of how we performed today."
BYU Highlights
Ryder Robinson: 3-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Tate Gambill: 3-4, 3B, 2B
Parker Goff: 2-3, HR, 3 RBI
Brock Watkins: 2-4, 2 RBI
Game Summary
The Cougars got out to an early 3-0 lead and never relinquished it with three runs on two hits in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff walk from Keoni Painter, Robinson's two-run shot put BYU up 2-0. With two outs, Bryker Hurdsman and Tate Gambill kept the inning going with a two-out hit-by-pitch and a walk, respectively. Gambill then scored the Cougars' third run moments later on a Brock Watkins RBI single.
BYU added four more runs to its lead in the bottom of the third on three hits, each coming with two outs. Gambill sparked the Cougar bats with a triple to right field then came home on another Watkins single. After a Crew McChesney walk, Parker Goff came to the plate and blasted a three-run homer to left for the 7-0 lead.
The Wildcats got on the board in the top of the fourth with a two-run homer with two outs to shrink the lead to 7-2. Robinson quickly respond in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff solo homer to left to push the BYU lead to 8-2
After a scoreless fifth inning K-State cut the Cougar lead to 8-6 with four runs off four walks and a single.
The Cougar offense responded with runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to put the game away with a final score of 11-6. Gambill delivered an RBI double to plate one run in the sixth, while Robinson had as RBI single in the seventh and McChesney brought in BYU's final run with an eighth-inning single.
The Cougar defense held the Wildcats scoreless over the final third of the game with Johnson pitching the seventh and eight then gave way to Jake Porter in the ninth. Johnson earned the win with a strikeout and no runs allowed in two innings of work, while Porter stuck out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
Up Next
BYU remains at home to continue its series against Kansas State. Tomorrow’s game is set for 6:30 p.m. MDT, while Saturday's first pitch is 1:30 p.m. Each game can be found on ESPN+ and BYU Radio.