PROVO— Junior Chris Capper threw a complete game, leading BYU baseball to a 7-2 upset over league-leading Loyola Marymount Thursday at Larry H. Miller Park.
“Our confidence is starting to build and it makes us feel like we can compete with anybody,” BYU coach Vance Law said.
The complete game was BYU’s (13-11, 5-2) first of the season, as Capper struck out six and limited the Lions to three hits en route to his second victory of the season and gave the Cougars their first West Coast Conference win in Provo.
“[Chris] Capper’s record (2-4) doesn’t indicate how well he has pitched this year,” Law said.
After LMU took the lead in the second, BYU stormed back with a run in the third and two in the fourth, highlighted by Adam Law’s two-run triple to deep center field pushing the lead to 3-1.
The Lions (12-13, 3-1) cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth after LMU’s third-baseman Alex Guthrie scored on a fielder’s choice.
The Cougars responded with two runs a piece in the seventh and eighth innings. After Law scored on a single by senior Stephen Wells, BYU forced Colin Welmon off the mound. Relief pitcher Aaron Griffin did not fair better against the Cougars as senior Alex Wolfe hit a blistering line drive just over the top of the Lions’ third-baseman’s outstretched glove. Wolfe’s single plated freshman Tanner Chauncey from second to extend BYU’s lead, 5-2.
The wheels fell off for the Lions, as they sent their third pitcher to the mound in Sean McIntye with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. McIntye struggled with his control, walking two batters and hitting a third before being replaced by relief pitcher Kevin Glomb. Wes Guenther padded the Cougars’ lead with a two-run double to right field, pushing the score to 7-2.
Capper returned to the ninth, retiring the Lions in order to seal the victory with 102 pitches.
The teams will be back in action at Larry H. Miller Park Friday at 6 p.m. MDT in the second of the three-game series. Friday’s contest will be part of the Y game series for BYU athletes, coinciding with the Cougars’ softball game against Hawai`i.