It was an unfortunate kind of loss that BYU didn’t expect: the winning run went to foe San Francisco in a walk-off RBI in the bottom of the ninth.
San Francisco’s Michael Eaton crossed home plate when his teammate Matt Sinatro hit a single after BYU had tied the game 7-all in the top of the ninth. The game ended with another Cougar defeat, 8-7.
“We scratched and clawed to get back into this game,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We have a lot of young guys that have to figure this out in a hurry. We have to get better production. Good players make plays when it counts and we didn’t do it today. We are too good to be 7-16.”
The Cougars waited until the third inning to start making a serious comeback–San Francisco led 4-0 at the end of the second inning. BYU batters Hayden Nielsen, Brennon Lund and Parker Starr hit three singles in a row, loading the bases for Eric Urry to walk an RBI. Kelton Caldwell later launched a double and Jarrett Jarvis hit an RBI double, helping the Cougars take the lead for the first time in the game, 5-4.
The Cougars’ lead was short-lived when the Dons came back in the fifth inning and scored three runs, putting the lead at 7-5.
Desmond Poulson, who was the starting pitcher for BYU, could not phase San Francisco’s batters.
“He (Poulson) had to rely on his fastball because he couldn’t locate his curve,” Littlewood said.
In the last frame of the night, the game was tied for the second time at 7 when Bryan Heward ran past home plate from second base on Brennon Lund’s single out to left field. San Francisco came back and scored the winning run from a walk-off RBI, ending the night 8-7.
The three-game series against the Dons will continue tomorrow at 3 p.m. PDT.
