SAN DIEGO, Calif. – BYU second baseman Andrew Pintar hit two homers and drove in four runs to help the Cougars complete a 6-4 extra-inning comeback win at Fowler Park on Thursday. The win extended the BYU winning streak to six games while snapping an eight-game winning streak for San Diego.

We played with a lot of confidence and calmness tonight,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “Throughout the game in the dugout it just felt like we were going to figure out a way to win. I’m real proud of the way the guys battled all night. We played with a lot of heart.”

The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 lead through three innings. After two quick strikeouts by Toreros pitcher Jake Miller in the top of the first, Andrew Pintar got ahold of a pitch and drove it over the left field fence for his fifth home run of the year to put the Cougars up early, 1-0.

BYU followed up a scoreless second inning with two more runs in the top of the third. With a man on first, Pintar drilled a ball into center field. Toreros centerfielder Paul Cunst made a diving attempt, but the ball bounced off the wall. Mitch McIntyre scored from first and Pintar made his way into third for a triple. The throw from centerfield short-hopped the cutoff man and got away, allowing PIntar enough time to advance home to give BYU a 3-0 lead.

San Diego answered in the bottom of the fourth as back-to-back hit batters loaded the bases with just one out. A pair of identical lined shots into left followed, each bringing in a run to make it a 3-2 game.

The Toreros tied the score at 3-3 with a long home run on the first pitch of the bottom half of the fifth.

San Diego took the lead 4-3 in the seventh with a shot in the gap in right center. McIntyre in center and Pintar at second executed a near-perfect relay to throw out the aggressive runner who was trying to stretch a double into a triple to end the inning.  

Cole Gambill led off the top of the ninth with a stand-up double. Bryan Call then drew a five-pitch walk to put the go-ahead run on first with no outs. Next up, Joshua Cowden fouled off a pair of bunt attempts while trying to advance the runners. With an 0-2 count he then singled up the middle to bring the tying run home and send the game into extra innings. 

Peyton Cole doubled down the first-base line to get things going for BYU in the top of 10th. Pintar then put an exclamation point on his big night with a two-run homer to put the Cougars up 6-4.

"We knew coming into the series that San Diego throws a lot of strikes, so we came looking to hit," said Pintar. "Our pitching really battled tonight and gave us a chance to win, and we got timely hits when we needed them. They are a very good team and it was a great team win for us."

A hit batter and single put runners on the corners for the Toreros in the bottom of the 10th with two down, but a slow roller to first base was handled by Cooper Vest to end the game. BYU closer Reid McLaughlin got the win to improve his record to 3-1 on the year. 

The Cougars hand San Diego its first loss of the season when taking a lead into the ninth inning. Coming in to the game the Toreros were 21-0 when leading through eight.

BYU will play game two of the three-game series against San Diego tomorrow, May 7, at 6 p.m. PDT at Fowler Park. The game will be broadcast on the WCC Network. Audio broadcasts will also be available on the BYU Sports Network: BYU Radio FM 107.9 FM, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

Player Highlights:

• Andrew Pintar: 3-5, 4RBI, 3R, 3B, 2HR
• Cole Gambill: 3-5, 1R, 2 2B
• Cooper McKeehan: 2.1 IP, 1H, 1R, 3K, 1BB

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball travels to Southern California this weekend for a three-game series with WCC foe San Diego at Fowler Park and Cunningham Field on May 6-8. 

Thursday and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, with the Saturday matchup at 1 p.m. PT. All three games will be streamed live on the WCC Network, with Torero broadcaster Jack Murray on play-by-play.

The games will also be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network—BYU Radio FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app—with Greg Wrubell and Tuckett Slade on the call.

BYU (17-23, 9-9 WCC) is riding a five-game winning streak headed into the game Thursday. The streak includes a victory over No. 26 ranked ASU (8-5) and a three-game sweep (12-0, 4-2, 4-3) of Saint Mary's in WCC action last week.

The Cougars also defeated Utah Valley 11-4 on Tuesday to sweep the season series over the Wolverines and win the UCCU Crosstown Clash.

San Diego (28-8, 14-4 WCC) enters the weekend series having won its last eight games, including back-to-back series sweeps of Santa Clara and Pepperdine in WCC action. The Toreros are currently tied with Gonzaga at 14-4 sitting atop the WCC standings, while the Cougars are alone in fifth place, five games back of the Bulldogs and Toreros.

BYU and San Diego have met 30 times in baseball, with the Toreros holding a 23-7 overall advantage in the series and a 10-3 record at home.

Due to the 2020 pandemic, the WCC foes last met during the 2019 regular season in San Diego on April 4-6. San Diego won the first two games 15-5 and 15-6, with BYU winning the final game 17-4. The Cougars would go on to finish the season 36-17 and win the WCC regular season title with a 18-9 record. 

Cougar outfielder Cole Gambill was named the UCU WCC Player of the Week on Monday for his performance last week. In 15 at bats over four games, Gambill had eight hits including three home runs, scored six runs, had six RBI and drew three walks. Gambill had a hits in all four games, with multiple hits in three of the four. He amassed 18 total bases, hit .533 and posted an on base percentage of .611.

Gambill came up big again over UVU on Tuesday going 2-4 with a walk, a double, three RBI and a run scored. He currently has a 10-game hitting streak that includes a .429 batting average, 15 hits, four home runs, 12 RBI, 10 runs and four walks.