Box Score
PROVO, Utah --- The Brigham Young Cougars topped the Portland Pilots 10-3 in the series finale of a non-conference three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Larry H. Miller Field. Freshman designated hitter Beau Fraser led the Pilots by going 4-for-5 at the plate with one RBI.
BYU won the series opener on Thursday and improves to 3-5 on the season. Portland won Friday’s game 8-3 and slips to 3-3 this spring.
The Pilots had a handful of opportunities early in the game on Saturday but were unable to capitalize. The Cougars took advantage with three runs in the second inning and three more in the bottom of the fifth to claim a 6-0 lead. During the bottom of the second, Jonathan Cluff and Michael Bowen both had RBI doubles.
In the bottom of the fifth, Alex Wolfe did most of the damage with a two-run home run to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead.
Portland responded with three runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead in half. Freshman SS Kris Kauppila knocked in the first run with a grounder to third base. On the same play, sophomore Rocky Gale scored from second on an error by Steve Parker, BYU’s third baseman. Sophomore OF Craig Smith then brought home sophomore 3B Kevin Armijo with a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-3 game.
From there, the Cougars would score two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to seal the win.
Senior right-hander Matthew Lange (0-1) is saddled with the loss for Portland. Lange went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He struck out five and only walked one.
UP relievers Keeler Brynteson, Ed Wakefield and Brent Miller combined to allow five earned runs during 3.1 innings of work. Brynteson struck out two Cougars.
Adam Miller (1-0) picks up the win for BYU after holding the Pilots to three runs, one earned, in 5.2 innings. The Pilots were able to get 11 hits off of the BYU starter.
Brandon Michon finished the sixth inning for Miller and Jordan Muir worked the final three innings for the save. Muir allowed just one base runner, on a hit, while striking out two.
Sophomore 1B Chase Powell, junior OF Austin Pearce and junior catcher Rocky Gale each had two hits for Portland, which totaled 13 on the day.
Wolfe led BYU with three hits and two RBI’s. Bowen also knocked in a pair for the Cougars, who also had 13 hits as a team.
Portland next travels to Southern Utah for a three-game series early next week. The Pilots and Thunderbirds are scheduled to play a double header on Monday, which is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. (PT) in Cedar City, Utah. UP and SUU will then play the series finale on Tuesday, also scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
