PROVO, Utah – The BYU baseball team swept Portland after earning an 11-1 win in game three on Saturday at Miller Park.

"We were relentless one through nine," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "When we got pitches to hit we put a good swing on them. Week after week our pitching staff continues to get better and better. Every game we have a chance to win which is a nice feeling."

BYU vs. Portland Box Score

Game Summary

• BYU led 10-0 after four innings, including a six-run third inning off six hits
• The Cougars outscored Portland 24-3 in the series, allowing just one run each game to a Pilot team that came in to the series averaging seven runs per game and allowing just four
• BYU’s 15 hits were a season high and the most Portland has allowed in a game all season

Player Highlights

• Justin Sterner: W (4-2), 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB 5 K
• Jackson Cluff: 3-5, 2 R, 4 RBI
• Bryan Call: 2-3, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB

In the first inning, sophomore Jackson Cluff reached first base on an error by the Pilots (15-9, 1-5 WCC) as senior Brian Hsu advanced home for the first run of the game. Sophomore Mitch McIntyre singled to right field for an RBI to give the Cougars (17-5, 4-2 WCC) an early 2-0 advantage.

In the third inning the Cougars broke the game open further. With runners on second and third, Cluff hit an RBI-single before senior Brock Hale touched home plate on a wild pitch. Freshman Austin Deming followed with an RBI-double, then McIntyre hit a line drive down the middle to score Deming. After sophomore Danny Gelalich was hit by a pitch – his fifth in the last four games – Hsu hit a fair ball down the right field line to send the runners and extend BYU’s lead to 8-0.

In the fourth inning, base hits from Hale, Cluff, Deming and sophomore DJ McNew resulted in an additional two runs to bring the score to 10-0.

Sophomore Justin Sterner went five strong on the mound, allowing just one run and one hit while totaling five strikeouts. Sterner leads BYU with four wins, going to 4-2 on the season.

The Pilots scored their only run of the game in the fifth inning after a sacrifice fly sent the runner home from third.

Freshman Bryan Call doubled to center field and advanced to third on a fielding error in the bottom of the fifth before scoring on another Cluff single for the game's final run.

BYU's first six players in the lineup each recorded two hits or more to help total a season-high 15 hits in the game. Cluff finished with three hits and four RBIs while Call had two hits and three runs for the Cougars.

BYU returns to Larry H. Miller field to host Oregon on Tuesday, Mar. 26, at 6 p.m. MDT. Live coverage will be available on BYUtv Digital. The Cougars will then host Saint Mary's in a three-game series starting Thursday, Mar. 28.

PROVO, Utah - BYU baseball and Portland will compete in three games from March 21-23 in the second weekend of WCC play for both teams.

The Cougars and Pilots currently have the two highest win totals in the conference with BYU coming in at 14-5 and 1-2 in the WCC and Portland at 15-6, 1-2.

BYU vs. Portland Game Notes

The Pilots have a team ERA of 2.98, good for No. 22 in the country. Pitchers Chris Clements and Eli Morse each rank top-50 in the nation in strikeouts. At the plate, Portland is batting .261 but hits for distance, ranking third in the country in doubles and 14th in home runs. 

Cougar Right-hander Jordan Wood will get the start Thursday, entering the game with a 1.76 ERA in five starts over 30.2 innings. Only two pitchers in BYU history have an ERA under 2.00 with at least five starts in a single season - Jim Englehardt in 1967 (1.62 ERA, 13 starts) and Peter Kendrick in 1981 (1.28 ERA, 19 starts).

Right-hander Easton Walker is slated as the game two starter. A year ago he was serving a mission in Peru, now he’s one of just three pitchers in the country with a 0.00 ERA and will be starting his first game of the year and second of his career.

Game three starter Justin Sterner leads the team with 28 strikeouts in just 24.1 innings, a 10.36 strikeouts per nine inning average. The right-hander's three wins are tied for most on the team with relief pitcher Reid McLaughlin.

Senior first baseman Brian Hsu comes into the weekend ranked 32nd in the nation with a .415 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .493. Other notable streaks include senior catcher Noah Hill who has a hit in 14-straight games dating back to the second game of the season. Sophomore infielder Jackson Cluff and senior right fielder Brock Hale have both reached base safely in all 19 of BYU’s games this season.