The Cougars finally head back to Provo after a long few days on the road with split wins in Omaha, Neb.
The Cougars played a tremendous game on Monday against University of Nebraska-Omaha. The 19-9 win over UNO was in large part because of transfer Christian Mua and sophomores Tyler Westensee and Kelton Caldwell.
Mua belted the first homer for the Cougars this season late in the eighth inning. He was 3-for-5 on the day and helped even the Cougars overall record to 6-6.
The Mavericks narrowed the gap by coming back within four during the fourth inning when, Westensee came in to relieve starting pitcher David Parry. The Cougars scored six runs in the fifth inning to expand the lead to 14-4.
“I’m proud we didn’t overlook this team,” said BYU coach Vance Law in a press release. “Our guys didn’t get to the hotel until 3 this morning and we went to the ballpark at 11 with little rest and little to eat.”
Caldwell hit three of BYU’s 15 singles, along with teammates Stephen Wells and Wes Guenther, who notched the only Cougar doubles of the day. Caldwell’s first hit was an RBI single in the five-run first inning.
UNO struggled in the first inning as it walked the first two Cougars, setting up the five-run score.
“Earlier this season we had been on the other side like they were with these walks in the first inning,” Law said. “It’s nice to have one go in our favor. We continue to swing the bats well and Westensee pitched an outstanding game.”
The next day the Cougars faced off against Creighton (8-6), which turned out to be a pitching duel. The Cougars lost 2-0 bringing the team’s record to 6-7.
Creighton changed up pitchers six times throughout the game, striking out the Cougars eight times. The starting pitcher for the Cougars, Desmond Poulson, struck out six Blue Jays in the first seven innings.
“Desmond absolutely pitched great, its a shame he had to take a loss,” Law said. “We have not been able to put our offense, defense and pitching together all at the same time. It was tough for our hitters to get a feel for what they were doing because they changed pitchers so often.”
