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STANFORD, Calif. — BYU’s baseball season stayed alive Friday — even with a complication from the team bus.
Tanner Chauncey went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and a run scored, and Hayden Rogers pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and just one earned run to lead BYU to a 6-1 win over Sacramento State in an elimination game in the Stanford Regional.
Before the game, Chauncey said the BYU team bus broke down with a flat tire on the way to Sunken Diamond Stadium at Stanford University. So the Cougars grabbed their equipment and piled into a caravan of vans to complete the rest of the trip.
"It was kind of like we were in junior college or a high school tournament," Chauncey said with a laugh. "But we might have to do it again tomorrow; it was good luck."
Thanks to Chauncey's hitting, there will be a tomorrow.
.@BYUBaseball knocked off Sacramento State 6-1 in @NCAACWS elimination game. How did they do it? @tchauncey12 has an idea: pic.twitter.com/IwsFJ4wgWI
— Sean Walker (@DSeanKSL) June 3, 2017
James Outman had an RBI double in the bottom of the first to give the Hornets the early advantage, 1-0. But Rogers and relief pitcher Mason Marshall held Sacramento State off the board for the remaining eight innings.
Hornets freshman starter Parker Brahms retired the first six Cougars he faced that included three strikeouts, and didn’t allow a hit until back-to-back hits that included Brennon Anderson’s RBI double in the top of the third.
BYU (38-21) took a 2-1 lead on Daniel Schneemann’s sacrifice fly that scored Brian Hsu from third in the third that gave the Cougars their first lead of the double-elimination regional. After a sac fly that scored Brian Hsu from third, Chauncey ripped an RBI base hit up the middle to cap BYU's three-run third with a 3-1 lead over the Sacramento State, the designated home team.
“Our whole lineup is mature, we’re veterans, and we know that no matter what, if we give it our best, good things are going to happen," Chauncey said. "We just had the mindset that there’s nothing to lose; we just needed to play our best, and good things are going to happen.”
OK, so this might've had a bit more to do with @BYUBaseball's win. pic.twitter.com/0ixZkXan0g
— Sean Walker (@DSeanKSL) June 3, 2017
Chauncey added a run in the seventh with a double down the left-field line to score Schneemann and Brennon Anderson and give the Cougars a 6-1 advantage. Marshall allowed just one hit with two strikeouts in the final 2 2/3 innings to complete the victory.
The Cougars will face Stanford, which lost to Cal State Fullerton on Friday, in an elimination game at 2 p.m. MDT Saturday. The winner will advance to the regional championship Saturday night.
