The Cougars came through today at Whataburger Field in the first part of their double-header against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but fell short to the Islanders in the second game of the day.
BYU's 10-2 win gave the team the momentum it needed to break its 0-4 losing streak of the season. Part of the first win can be attributed to BYU pitcher Desmond Poulson, who threw eight innings on 106 pitches to pocket his 15th career victory.
'Desmond was fantastic today. He kept them off balance,' BYU coach Mike Littlewood said.
The Cougars' longest streak in their victory was during the fifth inning, where Eric Urry scored from second on a throwing error by the Islanders' right fielder and third baseman. Kelton Caldwell scored a single up the middle of the field which allowed Brock Whitney to cross home plate.
Freshman center fielder Brennon Lund went on to also hit a single up the middle, giving Hayden Nielsen the time he needed to score a run. Those runs, paired with Urry's score from Brock Whitney's single put the Cougars ahead over Corpus Christi 8-1.
'Other than the eight runs, we didn't do a whole lot before or after,' Littlewood said.
The Cougars were looking for a win after their rocky start to the season, which they used as a building block to getting better, according to Littlewood.
Though they fought hard in the night match, holding the Islanders off 1-0 for the first five innings, they could not come back after the Islanders' two-run sixth inning.
'We just couldn't push across runs when needed and it gave them the momentum. We need to play nine innings both offensively and defensively,' Littlewood said.
Littlewood was hopeful the team would improve for its next match tomorrow afternoon. He said they needed to apply more pressure and have better distribution.
The Kleberg Classic will continue tomorrow when BYU will face No. 19 TCU at 1 p.m. MST.