PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball defeated Houston 4-2 at Miller Park on Friday night, propelled by three-runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
"It was a huge win for us because it wasn't pretty for a while but we kept fighting," said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. "Our bats weren't very good through the middle innings but credit our guys, they just kept playing. When Easton (Jones) hit the home run with one out in eigth I think everyone took a breath and we relaxed. It was a good college baseball game."
BYU (8-8, 2-3) had four runs on 10 hits, while Houston (12-5, 4-1) managed two runs on eight hits. BYU's starting pitcher, Bryce Robison, matched his season high with seven strikeouts over six innnigs, while surrendering just one earned run.
Player Highlights
- Easton Jones: 2-4, home run, one RBI.
- Collin Reuter: 2-4, double, two RBIs.
- Bryce Robison: 6 innings pitched, six hits, seven strikeouts.
- Mason Olson: 2.2 innings (W, 2-0), 1 ER, 4 K
After retiring Houston in order in its first at bat, BYU scored one run on two hits in the bottom of the first inning. Luke Anderson singled and Cooper Vest reached base after being hit by a pitch. Later, a two-out RBI single up the middle by Collin Reuter gave BYU a 1-0 lead after one.
Houston threatened in the third inning with runners on first and third and no outs, but Robinson struck out the next batter and then induced a double play to maintain BYU's 1-0 lead.
Houston scored its first run of the game in the top of the fifth, evening the score at 1-1 after recording two hits via two doubles in the inning.
Olson came on in relief of Robison for BYU in the top of the seventh, striking out two of the first three batters he faced in the inning to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, BYU regained the lead by scoring three runs on five hits, jump-started by a solo home run to left center from Easton Jones. A base hit from Kuhio Aloy kept BYU's offense going before Crew McChesney, who pinch-ran for Aloy, scored from first on an RBI double down the left field line by Reuter. A wild pitch advanced Reuter to third then Bryker Hurdsman reached via a walk. An RBI bunt single by Keoni Painter extended BYU's lead to 4-1 heading to the top of the ninth.
A one-out RBI single up the middle for Houston cut the deficit to 4-2 in the ninth. UH then loaded the bases with two outs but Stone Cushing came on in relief for BYU, striking out the Houston batter on three pitches to earn his fourth save of the season in the 4-2 victory.
BYU returns to action Saturday for the finale of the three-game Big 12 series with Houston. Saturday's game is set for 11:30 a.m. MDT. It will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the BYU Radio App and locally on BYU Radio 107.9 FM.