It was a classic showdown of red versus blue, but this time it was a showdown of Cougars.
BYU showed up to Gesa Stadium in Washington (home of the single A Tri-City Dust Devils) and shut out the Washington State Cougars, the 3-0 win the first ever for the Cougars against the red.
BYU’s seniors looked very much alive, seniors Kelton Caldwell and Brock Whitney producing consecutive singles in the seventh inning and Caldwell scoring on CJ Latham’s one-out single to right field. A throwing error for Washington State’s outfielder allowed Whitney to score. BYU then scored one last time, sending Latham home after Parker Starr’s single to right field.
“I’m extremely proud of our coaching staff and players for the way they prepared for this game,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “We had a plan on the mound and a plan at the plate, and we executed both to perfection.”
The blue Cougars had a plan at the mound. But they did not know this plan was going to go so well.
Veteran pitchers Desmond Poulson and Kolton Mahoney both aided in keeping the red Cougars at bay and scoreless until the seventh inning, allowing for BYU to finally put some points up.
This win means a lot for BYU, who has been unable to beat Washington State at home in its last six meetings. Although there were some missed scoring opportunities for the blue Cougars, their shut-out win was good enough.
“It’s nice to get a quality win against a quality team on the road to start this long road trip,” Littlewood said.
The road trip ahead of BYU baseball is most definitely going to long; hopefully this win will boost the team through. BYU now heads to California to take on West Coast Conference leader Pepperdine in a three-game series. The games will begin on Thursday at 3 p.m.
