BYU Drops Game One Of Three Game Series To Baylor

PROVO, Utah — Despite home runs from Keoni Painter and Cooper Vest, BYU baseball fell to Baylor 9-2 on Thursday night at Miller Park.

BYU (14-16, 6-10) had two runs on seven hits, while Baylor (14-18, 6-7) managed nine runs on 14 hits. The Cougars had runners in scoring position in the bottom of the third, fourth, sixth and ninth innings but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities. 

Keoni Painter and Cooper Vest both recored solo shots for the Cougars two runs of the night. Painter, a redshirt freshman, recorded his first-career BYU home run over the right field wall, while Vest's blast to stright-away center was his seventh home run of the season. 

Player Highlights

• Keoni Painter: 1-3, home run, RBI

• Cooper Vest: 1-4, home run, RBI

• Kuhio Aloy: 1-3, hit, walk

The Bears got on the board first with an RBI groundout to second in the top of the first inning. The Cougars then tied the contest in their half of the frame won the solo home run from Painter.

BYU kept Baylor off the board in the top of the second with Ben Hansen recording a swinging strikeout that left runners on the corners.

Vest opened the top of the third with a solo home run to give BYU the 2-1 lead. It was Vest’s seventh home run and the 39th home run of the season for the Cougars.

The Bears answered with efficient offense in the third and sixth innings to record six runs on eight hits for a 7-2 lead. Two more Baylor runs in the top of the seventh finished off the scoring at 9-2. Despite getting runners on the corners in the top of the ninth, BYU was unable to bring them home and dropped the opening game of the series. 

Game two of the three-game Big 12 series with Baylor is set for Friday at 6 p.m. MDT. It will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the BYU Radio App and BYU Radio 107.9 FM locally.