The BYU Cougars’ luck wasn’t with them for the third and final game of the series on Saturday, when San Francisco came up victor over BYU, 5-2.
Cougar Kolton Mahoney, who provided key relief in Friday night’s game, started on the mound and led the team through the first inning with no hits. BYU’s strong start did not continue for the rest of the night. Those two runs were the only ones scored for the rest of the game.
“As good as we played yesterday, it’s a 180 turn today,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said last night. “We handed this game to them on a silver platter … every one of our mistakes led to runs.”
San Francisco scored its first few runs in the fourth frame, taking advantage of BYU’s mistakes. The Dons’ Bradley Zimmer hit two singles and had two steals, leading to two runs scored off the hits of his teammates.
“We started swinging at balls up around our shoulders. We were pressing for stuff out of the zone,” Littlewood said. “We did what we wanted to do pitching-wise, but we just didn’t make plays.”
Some Dons’ runs were prevented when BYU managed to strand them in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings. It was also in the eighth inning when the Cougars almost made a comeback. Eric Urry walked to first, and Brock Whitney singled with ease, but San Francisco brought in a new pitcher who threw out the next three batters in a row.
Perhaps the home field advantage will help BYU beat Utah again this Thursday, when the team faces off in the second of four Deseret First Duel games. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
