STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific scored six unanswered runs to come from behind and defeat BYU baseball 6-3 at Klein Family Field on Thursday.

“We got out early and then went silent,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “Pacific has some guys that can hit, and they came up big for them tonight. We need to come back tomorrow ready to play with better energy.“

The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a home run to left center by reigning WCC Player of the Week Andrew Pintar. A single by Hayden Leatham to centerfield set up the two-run blast by Pintar.

BYU (19-25, 11-11 WCC) picked up another run in the top of the third, as a solo home run by Leatham stretched the lead to 3-0. Pacific answered in the bottom half of the inning with a run of its own to cut the Cougar lead to 3-1.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Pacific (15-28, 5-14 WCC) added three runs off a walk and three hits in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead, 4-3.

The Tigers tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth inning, taking advantage of a hit batter and an error combined with a two-out double by Thomas Gavello for a 6-3 advantage. All six Tiger runs in the game came with two outs.

Game two of the three-game series is set for May 14 at 6 p.m. PDT at Klein Family Field. The game will be broadcast on the WCC Network. The audio broadcasts will air on the BYU Sports Network: BYU Radio FM 107.9 FM, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app.

Photos by Samantha Toy | Pacific

STOCKTON, California — BYU baseball heads back to California this weekend for a three-game series with WCC foe Pacific at Klein Family Field on May 13-15.

Thursday and Friday games are scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, with the Saturday matchup at 12 p.m. PT. All three games will be streamed live on the WCC Network. The games will also be broadcast 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 (19-24, 11-10 WCC) has won seven of its last eight games headed into the Pacific series. The seven wins includes a victory over No. 26 ranked ASU (8-5), a three-game sweep (12-0, 4-2, 4-3) of Saint Mary's, a win over Utah Valley (11-4) in the UCC Crosstown Clash and a 2-1 series win over San Diego (6-4, 11-10, 12-13), who began the series in first place in the WCC.

Pacific (14-28, 4-14 WCC) enters the weekend series with BYU having won four if its last seven games, including a victory over No. 18 ranked Stanford (15-12), a victory over San Francisco (8-7) and a 2-1 series win over Santa Clara (11-7, 6-7, 11-3).

The Cougars are currently in fifth place in the WCC standings with a 11-10 record, while the Tigers are in 10th at 4-14.

BYU and Pacific have met 27 times in baseball, with the Cougars holding a 15-12 series advantage. BYU has played at Pacific 18 times with a record of 10-8. 

Due to the 2020 pandemic, the WCC foes last met during the 2019 regular season in Stockton on April 25-27. The Cougars swept the series 3-0 (11-7, 12-1, 5-0) and went on to finish the season at 36-17 and win the WCC regular season title with a 18-9 record. 

BYU infielder Andrew Pintar was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday for his performance in four road games last week. Pintar was also honored by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper as one of its National Players of the Week. 

In 21 at-bats over the four games, Pintar had 10 hits, including three home runs, a double and a triple. He drove in eight runs, scored seven times and drew two walks. Pintar also had at least two hits in every game, including three hits in each of the first two games of the three-game series at San Diego. He amassed 19 total bases, hit .476 with an OBP of .522 and a slugging percentage of .905.

Pintar’s hitting, combined with tough BYU pitching, proved to be the difference in the Cougars 6-4 win over the first-place Toreros on Thursday. In five plate appearances, he had two home runs, a triple, four RBI and scored three times.