The Cougars' baseball team had a tough time stepping to the plate against No. 19 San Diego, as the Toreros won every game in the series.
'San Diego is a very good team,' BYU coach Vance Law said. 'They had dominant pitching, were good offensively top to bottom and were aggressive on the bases. I don't know how they've lost 11 games.'
San Diego ended up winning game two 13-2. San Diego's AJ Robinson started off the game with a solo home run and San Diego scored a total of five runs in the first inning. Coach Law was hoping that Marc Oslund would perform in game two the same way he did at USF, but instead he threw some elevated pitches and saw his ERA raise from 3.24 to 4.34 after allowing seven runs in four innings. Tyler Westensee replaced Oslund in the fifth and was able to hold San Diego for one inning.
Game three ended with a score of 12-6 with San Diego winning. Adam Miller opened the game nicely with two strike outs, but San Diego scored three runs in the second inning. Mason Marshall was put into the game in the fourth inning and threw a nice looking curveball, but it wasn't enough to hold USD. In the seventh inning, Daniel Welch was put in and allowed four runs. BYU had a comeback in the eighth inning when third baseman Dillon Robinson had a great hit to center field which led to three RBIs. Jaycob Brugman was able to score two runs including an RBI from Brock Whitney and on Robinson's sac-fly. Unfortunately, the Cougars were not able to catch up. James Lengal closed the game allowing two runs.
'We had four runs against one of the top closers in the country,' Law said. 'I'm pleased with the guys that are continuing to try.'
Three BYU pitchers were suspended earlier in the week for violating team rules and their absence has definitely been noticed.
'Suspensions have hurt our pitching staff, ' Law said. 'Some (players) are in different roles than they've ever been. It's now time for them to step up.'
Coach Law repeated that baseball is such an unpredictable game and players will have good and bad days. With all of the injuries and suspensions, the Cougars are trying to keep their heads held high as they prepare for the rest of the season.
'The guys are mentally down, but we need to get back to work,' Law said. 'The only thing we can do is motivate them to be self-motivated.'
BYU will face Southern Utah on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Miller Fields.