The BYU baseball team finished its week in Texas with two more wins..

BYU (4-7) faced Baylor and Texas A&M earlier in the week, and the team finished the week with a three-game series against UT Arlington. The Cougars lost the first two games, but were able to pull out a win during the ninth inning of game three.

Game one was a devastating blow to the Cougars, both offensively and defensively. The Mavericks completely dominated the game, beating BYU 17-2. The Mavericks boasted two nationally recognized players, National Pitcher of the Week, Jason Mitchell, and Pre-Season All-American, outfielder Michael Choice. Mitchell struck out six batters and Choice had three runs.

“We hit bullets the first four innings, but everything we hit went right at them and everything they hit went through,” BYU coach Vance Law said in a press release. “We didn’t pitch or play well. This is not in line with the tradition we’ve tried to establish and not an indication of the team we think we can become.”

Although BYU was first to score in the first inning when outfielder Jonathan Cluff hit a double down the left field line that brought infielder Brandon Relf in, the Cougars didn’t have much offensive success after that. They didn’t score another run until the seventh inning. UT Arlington scored 12 of its runs during the fourth and fifth innings, and BYU just wasn’t able to come back from that drive.

In game two, the Cougars knew what to expect from their opponent, but the Mavericks still pulled out the win with four runs in the fourth inning, and one run in each of the next two innings. The Cougars first scored in the fifth inning with a home run to right field by catcher Wes Guenther and outfielder Sean McNaughton doubling to left center field and then coming home off of Relf’s single.

The last run of the game was by Guenther in the ninth inning after he walked.

BYU had three runs, nine hits, and two errors. UT Arlington had six runs, 13 hits and one error.

Game three was the last chance for BYU to defeat UT Arlington, and with a 11-10 win over The Mavericks, they accomplished that goal.

The lead went back and forth throughout the game with the win coming down to the ninth inning, where outfielder Stephen Wells hit a home run to right field that brought shortstop-third baseman Austin Hall home as well.

Although UT Arlington had 17 hits to BYU’s 12, the Mavericks weren’t able to hold on to their winning streak against BYU.

“I am proud of our effort in continuing to fight back, it is a step in the right direction,” Law said in a press release. “It would have been easy to fold it up after the eighth.”

BYU’s pitchers also brought the heat to the mound as Chunner Nyberg, Brandon Michon, David McKnight and Kevin Sloan all faced off against the Mavericks with the win going to Sloan as he retired UT Arlington in the ninth inning. The rookie Nyberg pitched sixth innings, and had five strikeouts during the game. Three of those strikeouts were during the fifth and sixth innings, which gave the Cougars some breathing room and ultimately the game.

“Nyberg threw the ball really well and gave us a chance to win,” Law said in a press release.