PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland's Cody Hawken and Daniel Lopez both left the yard, Christian Peters was flawless in relief, and Connor Knutson earned his third save of the year as the Pilots opened a West Coast Conference series with a solid 4-3 win over the Brigham Young Cougars on a chilly Thursday night at Joe Etzel Field. Peters earns his first win of the season after striking out seven of the nine batters he faced.
 
Portland (12-19, 5-8 WCC) starter Camden Muller grinded through 5.0 innings of work, and the senior righty did well to limit BYU's (17-14, 6-7 WCC) opportunities. The Pilots gave Muller the lead with a pair of runs on consecutive sacrifice flies in the bottom of the third, which made it a 2-1 game.
 
The Cougars then surged in front when they scored two unearned runs on a Portland error in the top of the fourth. But Hawken immediately provided an answer when he hit a towering, solo home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the frame that tied the score 3-3.
 
Muller worked a scoreless top of the fifth inning before Peters took over to begin the sixth and immediately went to work. He didn't allow a hit or a walk, and he racked up a career-high in strikeouts in 3.0 innings.
 
Lopez then provided the offense when he led off the bottom of the sixth inning with deep home run to left-center field, giving the Pilots a lead they would hold onto. It's the fifth homer of the season for Lopez, which matches Hawken for the team-high.
 
Knutson came out of the bullpen in the top of the ninth, and he continued where Peters left off. He collected two strikeouts, including the final out of the game.
 
Muller's final line included just one earned run on six hits, and he fanned six as the three Pilot pitchers combined to strike out 15 Cougars. Peters improves to 1-0 on the year.
 
BYU starter Jordan Wood (2-3) takes the loss after surrendering four runs on seven hits and three walks. Reliever Rhett Parkinson worked an inning-and-a-third out of the pen.
 
The Pilots and Cougars are scheduled to play the second game of this three-game series Friday night at 6 p.m. However, weather may affect the final two games, so be sure to visit PortlandPilots.com for any schedule updates.