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PROVO — It took a few extra innings, but Utah baseball snapped the nine-game winning streak of No. 18 BYU.
Alex Isola scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 13th inning, and Utah held on for a 7-6 win over rival BYU in a midweek rivalry game Tuesday night at Larry H. Miller Park.
"Talk about inches; the winning run got on with a swing bunt," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "If he swings over the top of it, it hops past. But that's baseball.
"We had a lot of hard-contact outs in the first three innings, and the hitters did a good job."
Hunter Simmons and Chandler Anderson each had three hits to lead the Utes (21-21), and DaShawn Keirsey added a pair of hits for Utah.
Brennon Anderson and Keaton Kringlen each had three hits and two RBI to lead BYU (29-15), which retained possession of the Deseret Duel trophy based on run differential. The Cougars took an 11-6 win at Utah in March, and have won nine of the past 10 series in the rivalry.
"The loss doesn't meant anything in our series; we don't think about streaks a whole lot," Littlewood said. "This team's mentality is great. We're strong mentally, and we'll forget about this tomorrow.
"Utah is always an important game, but any time we play a league game, it is more important than anything."
Utah loaded the bases in the top of the 13th, and Josh Rose drove a high sacrifice fly to right field that scored Isola from third base and gave the Utes their first lead of the game since the fourth inning.
Utah jumped out to a 5-2 lead via Chandler Anderson’s home run and a three-run second. BYU took the lead back on Brock Hale’s two-run homer that cleared the left-field fence and bounced into the street, giving the Cougars a 6-5 lead midway through regulation.
Utah tied the game at 6-6 when BYU reliever Keaton Cenatiempo beaned Anderson with the bases loaded, and the two sides went into extra innings.
Utah threatened to end it in regulation, when Ellis Kelly turned his single into a spot on second base with a wild pitch as Cenatiempo struggled with his command in the eighth.
But Mason Marshall relieved his fellow senior, induced three-straight grounders up the middle, and the Cougars got out of the inning without any damage en route to the extra-innings thriller.
Softball, too
McKenna Bull pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits and one run with nine strikeouts, to help No. 20 BYU softball to a 4-1 win over in-state rival Utah State in the Cougars’ final home game of the regular season.
Libby Sugg hit a two-run single to left field in the first inning to give the Cougars (42-10) all the scoring they would need, and the 601st win of head coach Gordon Eakin’s career.
Up next
BYU will host Portland in a three-game series Thursday through Saturday in the Cougars’ final West Coast Conference home series of the season.
Utah will host Southern California on Saturday through Monday in Pac 12 play before ending the regular season May 26-28 against Arizona State in Salt Lake City.
