PROVO, Utah – For his 700th career win, head coach Gordon Eakin and the Cougars swept No. 25 Baylor in a two-win doubleheader on Friday afternoon.
Game One vs. Baylor | BYU 7, Baylor 5
Game One Highlights
- Head coach Gordon Eakin recorded his 700th career win in the 7-5 game against Baylor. He currently holds the highest number of win among active BYU head coaches.
- Freshman center fielder Violet Zavodnik scored her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot to center field. She is just two shy of tying BYU's No. 5 all-time spot for homers in a season among BYU freshman. Teammate Huntyr Ava is currently in that group with eight after the shortened 2020 season.
Player Highlights
- HannahJo Peterson: 2-4, 2RBI, 3B
- Arissa Paulson: 2-3, 2R, 2 RBI, 1 HR, 7 PO
- Violet Zavodnik: 1-3, 2R, 2 RBI, HR, HBP
- Carley Brown: (W, 2-2), 4.1 IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB,
Senior Arissa Paulson came out swinging in the bottom of the first knocking her first homer of the day also bringing in Violet Zavodnik for a 2-0 lead.
However, Baylor responded quickly putting up four runs in the top of the second and tacked on one more in the third. Sophomore pitcher Carley Brown came in as relief and ultimately held the Bears scoreless for the remaining innings.
Zavodnik led the Cougar comeback in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer shrinking Baylor's lead at 5-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, a Taylei Williams double followed by a hit by pitch for Rylee Jensen put BYU in scoring position. The Cougars regained their as HannahJo Peterson blasted a ball to the center-field wall for a two-run triple sending Williams and Jensen home as BYU went up 6-5. Moments later, a Baylor wild pitch brought Peterson home, giving BYU a 7-5 edge.
Brown kept the Bears off the scoreboard in the top of the seventh as the Cougars secured the 7-5 win and Eakin's 700th career win.
Game Two vs. Baylor | BYU 7, Baylor 5
Game Two Highlights
- The Cougars hit two home runs in the game, a solo shot by Huntyr Ava and a two-run jack from Arissa Paulson, her second of the day. BYU finished the series against Baylor with six homers.
- Senior pitcher Autumn Moffat-Korth improved to 9-8 on the year with the win and BYU's best ERA of the week.
Player Highlights
- Autumn Moffat-Korth: 7 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K
- HannahJo Peterson: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
- Arissa Paulson: 2-3, 1 R, 4 RBI
The Cougars got things going early, plating five in the second inning, starting with a homer to right center by Huntyr Ava. A Jensen single brought Alyssa Podhurcak home and Peterson followed it up with another single scoring Williams. A two-run double from Paulson scored Jensen and Peterson to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead through two.
Baylor answered with two runs in the third and another in the fourth, to make it 5-3 before Paulson launched a two-run home run to left center in the fifth, scoring Zavodnik who reached on a single and put BYU up 7-3.
The Bears tacked on two more runs in the seventh frame and loaded the bases. However, the BYU defense got out of the jam as Baylor grounded out to give BYU the win 7-5.
BYU returns on Tuesday night for an in-state game against Utah State at Gail Miller Field. The game is slated for 6 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on BYUtv.