By Brianna Gardner
Sophomore Ranger Weins hit two home runs for the Cougars in BYU”s 19-4 victory over the Utah Utes May 9 in Salt Lake City.
This is game one of the three game series the schools will play this weekend.
The Cougars scored in every inning except for the second where the Utes had a triple play against the Cougars.
In the second inning, the Cougars had the bases loaded with no outs. Senior Lars Birkeland hit a line drive that was caught by the center fielder Matt Ciaramella.
Weins was then doubled up on second base for an out and Utah shortstop Brett Baldwin threw Rob Itri out at home.
Sophomore pitcher Jeff Mousser pitched six innings for the Cougars. Mousser gave up three runs in the first three innings but was able to hold the Utes to only one more run in the next three innings.
BYU Head Coach Vance Law said, “He had a tough time with his control, but after the fourth he started to settle in.”
The Utes scored their last run in the fourth inning.
In the sixth inning, after pitching well, Mousser was replaced with sophomore Sam Fernley.
Coach Law said, “After the sixth inning (Mousser) got up over a hundred pitches. I”m not the biggest guy on pitch count, but it seemed like a good time to come in with Fernley.”
Fernley, 20, was able to provide three innings of “shutout baseball”. He only gave up four hits, no walks, and struck out one batter for the Cougars.
Weins went 3-for-4 for the Cougars, had two home runs and three RBIs. Birkeland, Jackson, and Carson all had three hits a piece. Itri had three RBIs.
With the win, the Cougar”s record is improved to 22-25-1 on the season and 13-11 in Mountain West Conference play.
The win also improves BYU”s second place lead over the Utes to 1.5 games.
The loss drops Utah to 28-23 on the season and 12-13 in Mountain West Conference play.
The Cougars and Utes will face off again May 10 at noon and May 11 at noon at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City.
