STANFORD, Calif. (May 15, 2018)— Kyle Stowers belted a two-run homer off the right-field scoreboard in the eighth inning to cement a 5-1 win for No. 3 Stanford over BYU Tuesday afternoon.
The Cardinal, now 40-8, had taken a 3-0 lead in the third frame. All five of Stanford’s runs were unearned.
A couple good defensive plays by BYU helped retire Stanford in order in the second inning. Second baseman Brennon Anderson went to his right for the grab and teamed with Nate Favero to record the first out. Catcher David Clawson dug a pitch from the dirt and gunned down the Cardinal runner attempting to steal second for out number two.
BYU left fielder Keaton Kringlen added a spectacular inning-ending catch at the wall in the seventh.
Earlier in the seventh, Cougar Brock Hale got a “third life” after his pop foul was dropped by the Cardinal catcher, then scrambled to first base safely after a passed ball on a swinging strike three.Kringlen singled to right field, then Clawson drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Hale scored on Mitch McIntyre’s grounder to short.
BYU, now 21-26 and 10-14 in the West Coast Conference, returns to Provo for the final three games of the season starting on Thursday against Pacific (20-28 overall and 9-15 in the WCC) at 6 p.m. MDT.