It was no 20-3 win like the first duel game a few weeks ago, but the Cougars still held off the Utes, beating them 4-3 in 11 innings.
BYU’s Brandon Kinser and Brock Whitney contributed good pitching and effective batting to the team’s win, which was Kinser’s second this season.
The relief pitcher struck out five Utes in the end of the game.
“I was begging to come in,” Kinser said. “I was the one who gave up the three runs when we played them in Provo and wanted a shutout. This takes a little tension off. Now we have the edge.”
From early on in the game, Whitney batted well in key moments. He started in the first inning with an RBI single and then hit a two-run double in the eighth. That double brought the score to three-all, and then Whitney scored the winning run in the eleventh when a teammate bunted the ball.
“A key play in the game was when Brock (Whitney) lets it roll foul in the ninth,” Littlewood said of Whitney’s eye when Cory Hunt struck out a runner on first. “That play goes unsung, but it was one of the bigger plays in the game.”
The game was tied 1-1 at the bottom of the first, but BYU catcher Bronsen Larsen caught Biss Larsen stealing third base. Then Kelton Caldwell struck out Kody Davis to end the inning.
The Utes pulled ahead 3-1 in the seventh and eighth innings, but then Whitney’s batting helped the Cougars come back for the win.
“It’s always good to beat Utah, but the bigger picture is getting our program going again,” Littlewood said. “We have been scuffing a bit, and this is one of those things that can get us over the hump and rolling a bit.”
The Cougars will head back to California this week for a three-game series with Saint Mary’s beginning this Thursday.
