PROVO, Utah – A six-run fifth inning for Utah doomed BYU baseball in an 8-4 Deseret First Duel loss Tuesday night at Larry H. Miller Field
With the defeat, the Cougars (18-17) fell behind in the season series to the Utes (10-28), 2-1.
Utah scraped one across in the first but left the bases loaded as BYU’s Bo Burrup escaped a jam. The Cougars answered in the bottom half when Nate Favero singled up the middle to plate Daniel Schneemann.
Kendall Motes pitched a scoreless second inning before allowing a run in the third for a 2-1 Utah lead. He impressively fanned three straight in the third with the sacks full to limit the damage. Once again, BYU responded, with Brock Hale coming across on a wild pitch in the third. He walked, stole second and advanced to third on a Favero infield single before scoring.
The Utes hung a crooked number on the Cougars in the fifth, with six runs on six hits, including five doubles.
BYU chipped away in the seventh, pushing across two runs to trail 8-4. Kyle Dean doubled to score David Clawson, then came home on a single into centerfield by Keaton Kringlen.
In all, the Cougars sent eight pitchers to the mound. The last four—Kenny Saenz, Blake Inouye, Jake Suddreth and Drew Zimmerman—combined to pitch 4.1 innings without allowing a run.
The 2,605 in attendance represented the ninth-largest crowd in school history.
Starting Thursday, the Cougars host a three-game series against San Diego.