PORTLAND, Oregon (April 2, 2016)—Sophomores Hayden Rogers and Colton Shaver made key contributions Saturday to help No. 24 BYU Baseball complete a road sweep over Portland with a 5-3 victory.

The Cougars, now 23-3 and first place at 7-2 in the West Coast Conference, fended off two challenges by Portland at the beginning and end of Saturday’s contest.

The Pilots, now 13-15 and 1-5, got a two-run homer in the ninth inning to make it uncomfortable for the Cougars with the tying run at the plate before junior right-hander Mason Marshall closed the door to secure the BYU victory.

“The difference in this game was Hayden's (Rogers) six strong innings and our execution on the defensive side,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said.

Rogers improved his record to 3-0 with six innings of relief pitching, striking out five and allowing just two hits. He added a back-pick at first base with two runners on in the fourth, just like starter Connor Williams had done in the second. Williams had to leave the game after two innings due to an allergic reaction.

Initially trailing 1-0, the Cougars took a 2-1 lead in the third when Shaver hit a two-run single with the bases loaded. Shaver also laid down a bunt to lead off the seventh, the fourth bunt single of the day for BYU.

BYU expanded its lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning with the bases loaded thanks to consecutive bunt singles from Brennon Lund and Hayden Nielsen. Brock Hale singled in the first run, then Shaver and Brennon Anderson hit sacrifice flies. Shaver's RBI was his third of the day as he along with Lund, Nielsen and Hale all batted 2-for-4.

“I'm so proud of our guys for coming out three days in a row and playing hard,” Littlewood said. “It's tough to sweep anyone, but doing it on the road and in league play is a huge accomplishment.”

The sweep over Portland was the fourth of the season for BYU, who previously shut out Saint Louis, Kansas and Niagara.

The Cougars get ready quickly for Monday afternoon’s hosting of Arizona at 2 p.m. MDT, starting a five-game home stand at Miller Park.

Week three of West Coast Conference action finds No. 24 BYU baseball still in a first-place tie and moving up the rankings as it has its first league road test at Portland.

The Cougars (20-3 and 4-2 WCC) have a three-game series at Portland (13-11, 1-2) on a new synthetic field Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. PDT and Saturday at 11 a.m. PDT.

“They (Portland) have a new coach and they have beaten a lot of good teams,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “They like to run. We're going to see a solid pitcher on Thursday go against (Mike) Rucker. It's league play on the road and it takes a special effort to win.”

Mike Rucker (5-0, 2.29) will start on the mound for BYU on Thursday. Maverik Buffo (4-1, 4.02) starts for BYU on Friday and Connor Williams (1-0, 3.68) is scheduled to start on Saturday.

“We need to have good quality starts every time from our pitching,” Littlewood said. “We have to win the series if we want to take first in this league. It will put us in a corner if we don't go up there and win the series.”

Not making the trip to Portland is touted freshman outfielder Kyle Dean. Dean has not played in the last seven games and will miss at least six weeks due to a stress reaction in his back, according to Littlewood. No surgery will be required.

“This is devastating news to us,” Littlewood said. “He (Dean) is a guy we need in our lineup. Fortunately, we have had a couple guys step up.”

BYU is tied with Saint Mary’s College in the WCC. The Portland series comes after BYU finished a 12-game home stand with a 10-2 record.

The Cougars are ranked No. 24 in both the USA Today/Coaches and Collegiate Baseball polls and moved up a spot to No. 26 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association poll.

This week’s games at Portland will be broadcast live on ESPN960 AM Radio and also carried live over BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143 on Thursday and Friday.

For more detailed information, see multi-page PDF below