Jarrett Jarvis' walk-off home run in the 10th inning helped BYU defeat St. Mary's Monday night. The win propelled the Cougars to a No. 3 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Catcher Bronson Larsen catches a pitch against Portland. BYU beat LMU and secured a No. 3 seed in the WCC Tournament. (Elliott Miller)
St. Mary's hit three straight singles to start the game and had a 2-0 lead by the fifth inning. BYU struggled early on and didn't get a hit until Colton Shaver hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.
“I was just trying to stay relaxed and see a good pitch, and I got one, and I hit it well,” said Shaver, who now has 13 homers on the year. 'It was a fastball right down the middle. It didn’t feel very good off my bat, but the wind helped it carry.”
BYU head coach Mike Littlewood praised St. Mary's pitcher for throwing nearly five no-hit innings.
“Gonsolin was outstanding for St. Mary's; in fact, in the fifth I started to feel like he had no-hitter type stuff,” Littlewood said. “Colton's home run meant so much more than just getting us a run; it made us realize he wasn't un-hittable.'
The Cougars battled back after Shaver's homer and held a 3-2 lead heading into the ninth inning, but St. Mary's brought in the tying run to extend the game. Jarvis played the role of hero when he stepped up to the plate and hit the game-winning homer just over the left field fence to secure the third seed in the WCC Tournament.
The Cougars will now extend their California trip and practice Tuesday and Wednesday before a first-round game against Pepperdine on Thursday at 8 p.m. The game will be at Banner Island Ballpark and broadcast on ESPN 960 AM/BYU radio and streamed online by theW.tv.