PROVO, Utah – Red-hot San Francisco beat BYU’s baseball team 10-1 Thursday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

The Cougars (24-19, 10-9 West Coast Conference) avoided their first shutout of the season, as Adam Law’s home run to left field spoiled the Don’s (31-19, 15-7 WCC) blanking. The first-pitcher solo shot which led off the ninght, was Law’s second home run of his career.

“They had really good at bats and they made Desmond (Poulson) pay,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “I thought Chunner (Nyberg) did a nice job coming in, just keeping it somewhat respectable. This is where we need to have short memories and show up tomorrow, clear our minds of today and be ready to compete.”

Cougar starting pitcher Desmond Poulson (6-2) was roughed up for nine hits and six runs over four innings for the loss.

On an off night for the BYU offense, the Cougars hit into four double plays in the game while allowing San Francisco to record 15 hits, five of which went for extra bases.

In an attempt to spark the Cougars, Law made a spectacular diving stop at third base and threw a laser to first base for the final out in the opening inning of the game.

BYU had runners in scoring position at second and third with two outs, but a groundout ended the first inning.

San Francisco grabbed an early 6-0 lead off a three-run home run by Zachary Turner in the third inning and three runs in the fourth off a double and a single to center field.

BYU pitcher Chunner Nyberg relived starter Poulson in the fifth inning. Nyberg went 3 and 2/3 innings while giving up six hits and four runs.  

San Francisco scored its final two runs in the eighth before Daniel Welch relieved Nyberg with the score 10-0. Welch threw 1 and 1/3 innings of hitless ball to build a little momentum for game two.

“I told the guys that if we lose a game, you’re out of the playoffs,” Littlewood said. “In my mind, that’s what if feels like and I think that’s where we’re at. Every single game is a must win and I thought tonight was as well.”

If BYU can rebound and win the series against the Dons plus a sweep next week against Saint Mary’s, it would hold the tie-breaker for the conference playoff standings over USF and Pepperdine.

“We’ve shown we have character all year long and we’ll be ready to play tomorrow,” Littlewood said. “This is a good team; we need to put together a really good win tomorrow.”

Brock Whitney recorded an infield single in the ninth inning, extending his hitting streak to nine games.

Game two of the important three-game series is Thursday at 6 p.m. MDT. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and KOVO 960 AM.

A first-ever appearance in Provo for the University of San Francisco is among the highlights of this weekend’s opponent for BYU baseball.

The Dons, 30-19 overall and 14-7 in the West Coast Conference, come to Provo on the heels of a 4-3 upset at No. 19 Stanford and bring a six-game winning streak as the second place team in the league.  BYU, 24-18 and 10-8, stands in fourth place, looking to improve upon a 10-4 home field record as it seeks to secure one of the top four spots for the upcoming WCC tournament.

The Cougars, who have a No. 56 ranking in the latest RPI compared to USF’s No. 64, will start Desmond Poulson (6-1, 2.50) on Thursday’s 6 p.m., game against USF’s Abe Bobb (4-5, 4.16). On Friday Jeff Barker (4-3, 3.48) will oppose the Dons’ Haden Hinkle (8-1, 1.60) also at 6 p.m. And Saturday BYU’s Adam Miller (3-7, 5.12) faces Alex Balag (3-3, 3.29) at 1 p.m.

“We have exceeded everybody’s expectations but our own,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We kind of control our own destiny the next two weekends. If we don’t make the tournament, that positive feeling we have right now will turn negative real quick. I feel like we have a chance to win every night we go out.  Everybody has met or exceeded expectations and that is why we have a winning record and are in the hunt for a tournament bid.”

In addition to securing a tournament bid, BYU will honor former coaches Glen Tuckett and Gary Pullins on Saturday when their respective jerseys No. 20 and No. 1 are retired.

“It will be a special day with Coach Tuckett and Coach Pullins,” said Littlewood, who played for Pullins from 1985-88.  “I remember Coach Pullins' passion for life and the way he approached everything with a lot of energy. I like to think I have part of both of those guys in me. They are two great guys, two great examples.”

Friday and Saturday’s games will be televised live on BYUtv and all of the BYU-USF games will be broadcast live by KOVO Radio 960 AM and on the Internet through BYU Radio.

For more information, please see the PDF game notes below: