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Feb 14 | 01:00 PM
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Peoria Sports Complex
16101 North 83rd Avenue Peoria AZ 85382
Ralph R. Zobell
| Posted: 14 Feb 2014 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
PEORIA, Ariz.—A six-run seventh inning Friday lifted Kansas to a 10-4 season-opening victory over BYU baseball at Peoria Stadium.
The wheels came unglued that inning as KU batted around three BYU pitchers, breaking a four-all deadlock in a game the Cougars twice led.
Jayhawk right fielder Connor McKay knocked a payoff pitch on full count over the left field fence for a pair of unearned runs to tie the score 4-4 in the fifth. McKay also laced a two-run, one-out double the same direction to start the scoring in the seventh.
“We gave up six outs in the fifth inning,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “You can’t do that against a good team of mature hitters, they are going to make you pay. “We didn’t get the job done. We had a couple of bad plays on defense and it got away from us, but those are the plays you need to make. We need to come out ready. We preach ‘play catch’ and today we didn’t play catch. It was a couple frustrating innings for us. We lost our mental edge in the fifth and seventh innings.”
BYU had leads of 1-0 and 3-2 in the first and fourth innings, but couldn’t rally another time, or quiet KU’s bats. The key to that first inning was Trace Hansen working a full count base on balls, fouling off three pitches after falling behind 2-1. With Hansen on second and one out, Kelton Caldwell grounded out up the middle, scoring Lund from third after he led off the inning with a first-pitch single.
JC Snyder snagged the first pitch bunt of Tommy Mirabelli and nipped him first for a sacrifice instead of having two Jayhawks on base. Then Desmond Poulson registered a called strike out to close the inning.
BYU designated hitter Bret Lopez drew a one-out walk and advanced to third where he was stranded after a two-base throwing error by eventual winning pitcher Wes Benjamin in the second.
Kansas took a 2-1 lead in the second when Kai Eldredge knocked a one-run double past Lund playing shallow centerfield. Eldredge scored on Joven Afenir’s bloop single to left field.
Transfer Dallen Reber got his first hit as a Cougar with a lead-off single in the fourth. Reber went to second on Benjamin’s balk and Jarrett Jarvis' full-count single to left field advanced him to third. Then Lopez belted southpaw Benjamin's first offering for a two-run gap double, giving BYU a 3-2 lead.
With two on and two out, Poulson threw seven pitches to Afenir before getting him to end the fifth flying out to Reber in left. Poulson pitched five innings, leaving the score tied 4-4, before BYU shuttled five more pitchers on the mound.
The Cougars, 0-1, and Jayhawks meet again in a Saturday doubleheader at the Mariner-Padre Peoria Stadium, starting at 11 a.m. MST.
Ralph R. Zobell
| Posted: 10 Feb 2014 | Updated: 8 Nov 2020
As Spring Training heats up, BYU’s baseball team plays Kansas this week to start a four-game series at one of those Cactus League sites in Peoria, Ariz.
The Cougars (32-21 in 2013) and Jayhawks (34-25 in 2013) open with a four-game series Feb. 14-17 at the Mariners/Padres Spring Training Peoria Sports Complex.
BYU was picked to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference after tying for second last season in its second year in the league and first under Coach Mike Littlewood. The Cougars return 17 lettermen and have 17 newcomers, including 10 transfers, five of whom are from Salt Lake Community College.The Cougars have been practicing indoors this year except for a pair of outdoor practices at St. George last weekend.
"We are chomping at the bit to get out from under the roof and get the season started," Littlewood said. "We have a little more depth than last year which will enable us to match up more effectively. There's also a better comfort level, and a better understanding among the players and coaches as to how we want to build a game and use our personnel."
Senior co-captain Desmond Poulson (7-2, 3.24) will get the starting nod on the mound for Friday’s opener at 1 p.m. MST. Poulson was recently named second team All-West Coast Conference by College Sports Madness on its preseason roundup. Fellow co-captain Brock Whitney was a first team preseason selection by College Sports Madness and by the WCC coaches. Sophomore Hayden Nielsen, another co-captain, was also a preseason first team selection by WCC coaches.
Recently returned missionaries Kolton Mahoney and Hayden Rogers are scheduled to be the starting pitchers in Saturday’s doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. MST. Mahoney, a sophomore, was 3-2 with a 2.42 earned run average in 2011 prior to his mission. Rogers, a southpaw from Mesa, Ariz., is a true freshman.
Junior Jeff Barker (6-3, 3.67), BYU’s number two starter last season behind Poulson, is scheduled to start the last of the four-game series on Monday at 11 a.m. MST.
BYU won the bookends of a three-game series last year against Kansas in Provo. Kansas is picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Conference by the league coaches.
After the series in Arizona, BYU travels to Corpus Christi, Texas, to play in the Kleberg Bank Classic against host Texas A & M Corpus Christi, nationally ranked TCU and Texas San Antonio, while travels to Port Charlotte,Fla., (Feb. 21-24) for the Snowbird Classic.
The Cougars (32-21 in 2013) and Jayhawks (34-25 in 2013) open with a four-game series Feb. 14-17 at the Mariners/Padres Spring Training Peoria Sports Complex.
BYU was picked to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference after tying for second last season in its second year in the league and first under Coach Mike Littlewood. The Cougars return 17 lettermen and have 17 newcomers, including 10 transfers, five of whom are from Salt Lake Community College.The Cougars have been practicing indoors this year except for a pair of outdoor practices at St. George last weekend.
"We are chomping at the bit to get out from under the roof and get the season started," Littlewood said. "We have a little more depth than last year which will enable us to match up more effectively. There's also a better comfort level, and a better understanding among the players and coaches as to how we want to build a game and use our personnel."
Senior co-captain Desmond Poulson (7-2, 3.24) will get the starting nod on the mound for Friday’s opener at 1 p.m. MST. Poulson was recently named second team All-West Coast Conference by College Sports Madness on its preseason roundup. Fellow co-captain Brock Whitney was a first team preseason selection by College Sports Madness and by the WCC coaches. Sophomore Hayden Nielsen, another co-captain, was also a preseason first team selection by WCC coaches.
Recently returned missionaries Kolton Mahoney and Hayden Rogers are scheduled to be the starting pitchers in Saturday’s doubleheader starting at 11 a.m. MST. Mahoney, a sophomore, was 3-2 with a 2.42 earned run average in 2011 prior to his mission. Rogers, a southpaw from Mesa, Ariz., is a true freshman.
Junior Jeff Barker (6-3, 3.67), BYU’s number two starter last season behind Poulson, is scheduled to start the last of the four-game series on Monday at 11 a.m. MST.
BYU won the bookends of a three-game series last year against Kansas in Provo. Kansas is picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Conference by the league coaches.
After the series in Arizona, BYU travels to Corpus Christi, Texas, to play in the Kleberg Bank Classic against host Texas A & M Corpus Christi, nationally ranked TCU and Texas San Antonio, while travels to Port Charlotte,Fla., (Feb. 21-24) for the Snowbird Classic.
NOTE: The audio stream of the BYU-Kansas games is not free.
For more information on the BYU-Kansas series, please download the multi-page game notes from the PDF below:
