BYU beats UVU in Orem, Utah (Photo by BYU Athletics)
BYU and Utah Tech led the way this week!
Utah 17-15 (6-9 in the Big 12)
The opening game of the week for the Utes against Utah Tech down in St. George was canceled. They eventually headed south anyway for their series at Arizona State. Utah responded to their sweep last week against Kansas well in game one on Friday night. The Utes would defeat the Sun Devils, 10-4.
On Saturday, Utah and ASU battled in a high-scoring, tight ball game. Arizona State would come away the winner. The defeat was bitter for Utah, as they trailed 12-5 entering the top of the ninth, and rallied with an eight-run inning to take a 13-12 lead. Arizona State would get the walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth, 14-13. Utah still had a shot to take the series before heading back to Salt Lake City. It was a lower-scoring game than Saturday, but Arizona State still defeated Utah, 5-2. This week, the Utes will start an 11-game stand in the state of Utah. They’ll begin it with Texas Tech on Friday.
Utah Valley 15-20 (1-2 in the WAC)
UVU’s week got off to a rough start. They hosted cross-county rival BYU at UCCU Ballpark. BYU got the better of them, 10-5, and UVU immediately had to go on the road to play at Sacramento State. The schedule would get a little reshuffled, and UVU and SSU would play a doubleheader on Friday. Sacramento State would take the first game, 7-2. UVU would battle back, though, in the second matchup. UVU would get the win in seven innings, 11-1.
On Saturday, UVU struggled and lost to Sacramento State, 9-5. UVU dropped the series to Sacramento State 2-1. Utah Valley was right back in action on Monday, though. They were playing at the Air Force Falcons. Air Force bombarded UVU, winning 17-7. Tomorrow, UVU will play one more at Air Force, before they come back to Orem to welcome Utah Tech to town.
BYU 19-16 (8-7 in the Big 12)
BYU had a good game on Monday against UVU. The Cougars secured a 10-5 win over the Wolverines. They couldn’t revel in their win for long, though, as they hit the road, heading right back to Texas. This time they’d play at Houston in the Lone Star State. On Thursday, BYU started things off on the right foot in the Rocket City, beating Houston in the Battle of the Cougars, 3-2.
BYU would secure the series win on Friday night, behind a good game from star Ezra McNaughton. McNaughton and BYU would defeat Houston 6-2.
BYU would down Houston on Saturday for their first-ever Big 12 series sweep, 6-1.
Earlier today, they played one last game in the Lone Star State, this one at Lamar. BYU got their fifth straight win in a 4-0 victory. The Cougars have won six of their last seven games! BYU will be back home from Texas this week as they host Arizona State for three games in Provo, and a Monday game against Utah Tech as well.
Utah Tech 22-13 (2-1 in the WAC)
UT’s game against the Utes on Tuesday was canceled. Tech welcomed Azusa Pacific to St. George, Utah, on Friday. They didn’t welcome them quite as warmly as they would have liked, and Azusa Pacific came away with a game one upset, 11-8. The Trailblazers evened things on Saturday with a decisive 12-2 win, setting up the series-deciding game on Sunday.
Utah Tech went back and forth with Azusa Pacific on Sunday. They took a three-run lead into the ninth inning and held off a Pacific rally to win the game, 9-8. Tech has a full schedule this week. Tomorrow, they host UNLV, and on Wednesday, they host Washington State. They’ll then play a weekend series against in-state and in-conference rival Utah Valley up in Orem.
The Utah Four
- BYU 19-16 (8-7 in the Big 12)
- Utah Tech 22-13 (2-1 in the WAC)
- Utah 17-15 (6-9 in the Big 12)
- Utah Valley 15-20 (1-2 in the WAC)
Wally Joyner Player of the Week
This week, the standouts were the BYU pitchers. In five victories, they allowed only 10 runs and recorded 38 strikeouts. Coming into Monday, BYU’s pitching was 10th in the conference in batting average and 12th in the conference in earned run average (6.18 per game), allowing only 2.0 per game during a five-game winning streak.
