BYU baseball takes momentum of Texas series into midweek win over Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — BYU baseball took the momentum of a Big 12 road series win over Texas and turned it into a rivalry victory Tuesday night on the road.

Cooper Vest went 2-for-3 with a home run, and freshman Kuhio Aloy paced a four-run eighth inning on two outs to help the Cougars pull away for a 7-3 win over Utah at Smith's Ballpark.

"We're just trying to carry on our wins from Austin and keep going through this weekend, next weekend, and see how far we can go," Aloy said. "We're playing for each other, and picking one another up. Getting those big hits and big plays in big-time moments."

Boston Mabeus earned the win for BYU to improve to 2-0 on the year for the Cougars, who improved to 14-15 overall before this weekend's Big 12 series against Baylor beginning Thursday at Miller Park (6 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).

"We're making pitches when we need to, and we got a couple of big hits tonight. That's how the game goes," BYU coach Trent Pratt said. "We're trying to get a little better each day, and today I felt like we pitched it good, we got a couple of big hits at the end of the game, and they didn't get a big hit. That's how we lost the game at Texas: They got a big hit when it mattered. That's baseball.

"Hopefully we can keep staying the same, stay consistent, and have a good weekend."

Core Jackson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run for Utah (21-10, 7-5 Pac-12), and Tyler Quinn was 2-for-4 with an RBI in the Utes' second straight loss and just the third in eight games for the fifth-place team in the Pac-12.

But the Cougars (14-15, 6-9 Big 12) got up early and never let up, pounding out seven runs on eight hits with two errors.

BYU opened the scoring in the top of the second when Crew Robinson's sac fly to left plated Vest to take a 1-0 advantage.

"We had a plan against him, and Cooper did a good job of executing it tonight," Pratt said of the former Gatorade Utah Player of the Year from Dixie High.

But Utah equalized when Quinn's hopper to short center drove in Landon Frei from second in the bottom of the inning. But Payton Gubler forced out the rest of the side to end the inning.

Vest blasted a solo shot to the scoreboard in right field in the top of the fourth to lift BYU back in front, and took the lead into the sixth inning when Collin Reuter — who hit three home runs in the series finale Saturday against Texas — doubled the advantage with an RBI single through the right side.

But Jackson tied it up with a two-run shot that caromed off the left-field railing in the bottom of the seventh.

BYU wasn't done, though.

Aloy split the infield with a two-out, bases-loaded single through the gap that scored Easton Jones and Keoni Painter in the eighth moments after Painter reached on an error. Robinson drove in Vest from second before Chipper Beck scored on an error to push the Cougars' lead to 7-3.

"We don't give up," said Aloy, a freshman from Hawaii who introduced himself to college baseball with a towering two-run home run against Ohio State in the MLB Desert Invitational. "If we're down, we're always finding a way."

Cutter Clawson closed out the win, pitching the final two innings with a strikeout and five force outs over the final six batters to seal the win.

Utah returns to conference play Friday with the first of a three-game series at Arizona State. First pitch from Phoenix is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MDT.

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