Box Score
PROVO, Utah --- Portland senior Bryant Kraus knocked in four runs and sophomore Scott Burris worked six solid innings as the Pilots defeated the Brigham Young Cougars 8-3 in a non-conference baseball game on Friday afternoon at Larry H. Miller Field. The Pilots and Cougars will next play the rubber match of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Bryant, an outfielder, continues his torrid start to the 2009 season with a 3-for-4 day. He belted a home run and smacked two doubles to raise his batting average to .529. He also has a team-high 10 RBI’s for the Pilots, who improve to 3-2 on the season.
Burris (2-0) had his second straight effective outing in just his second collegiate start. The left-hander allowed three earned runs on just five hits. He struck out six.
Fellow sophomore Zach Varce worked the final three innings to pick up his first save on the year. Varce, a right-hander, didn’t allow a run, while surrendering two hits. He struck out three and walked one.
Blake Torgerson (0-2) takes the loss for BYU, which drops to 2-5. The Pilots touched Torgerson for six runs, all earned, on 10 hits.
After struggling to find the plate during the series-opener on Thursday, the Pilots wasted little time getting on the board on Friday. Freshman SS Kris Kauppila began the day with a lead-off single to left field. After a sacrifice bunt and a line-out, Kraus brought home his first run of the day with a two-bagger to center field, making it 1-0.
After the Cougars tied the scored with a run in the bottom of the second inning, Portland responded with a three-spot in the top of the third. With runners on first and third and two outs, Kraus sent the first pitch he saw high over the centerfield fence to give the Pilots a 4-1 lead.
The Pilots seemed to have an answer for the Cougars all afternoon. BYU made it a two-run game with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but Portland pushed the lead up to four with two runs in the top of the fifth. Filling in as the DH, freshman catcher Beau Fraser knocked in the first run with a single before Kraus recorded his fourth RBI with his second double of the game.
An inning later, the Pilots once again followed a BYU run with two more runs. After sophomore 2B Riley Henricks led off the top of the sixth with a walk, junior OF Austin Pearce drilled his first home run as a Pilot deep to leftfield. The two-run blast made it an 8-3 ballgame.
UP outhit BYU 12-7. Kauppila finished with two hits in four at-bats and is now batting .444 during his brief collegiate career. Pearce also tallied two hits on the day.
Andrew Law led the Cougars with three hits in four at-bats. Brandon Relf and Michael Bowen each knocked in a run for BYU.
Jake Wortham worked the final four innings for the Cougars, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk.
The series finale is set for Saturday at 12:00 p.m. BYU won the opener 10-2 on Thursday.
