Just like 'all year,' BYU baseball had another comeback Tuesday night

PROVO — Listening to BYU coach Trent Pratt, there was no sulk or sorrow with the BYU baseball team two days after dropping a three-game road series to rival Utah.

Truthfully, the head coach admits, these Cougars have never quit — nor were they about to Tuesday night against a 24-win crosstown rival.

Ryder Robinson went 3-for-5 with three doubles and an RBI, and BYU used a four-run fifth to pull past the Wolverines 9-3 in front of 2,339 fans Tuesday night at Larry H. Miller Park.

"There were losses, but I didn't think we played terribly (at Utah)," Pratt said. "We had a couple of bad innings, but overall, I liked how we played at Utah.

"But these guys have responded all year. They've taken everything seriously. It's always just about moving to the next game. We can't do anything about the past, and this team has done a real good job of responding all year from tough losses."

Jake Porter scattered two hits over three innings and one strikeout to earn his first win for BYU (18-16), which hosts No. 22 Arizona beginning Thursday at Miller Park.

Maybe it won't make up for a series loss to the Utes, admits Porter, who prepped at Northridge High, but it doesn't hurt, either.

"I think we just needed a win bad," he said. "It makes the vibe in the dugout a lot better, the vibe in the clubhouse is a lot better. Overall, it's more fun.

"It was tough losing to Utah; none of us like them, and they don't like us," he added. "It stung a little extra — so it was good to get a win against a team we know in a crosstown rivalry. There's always an extra edge when we play (Utah Valley), so it was good to get a win."

Dominic Longo II went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and an RBI to lead Utah Valley (24-12), which matched BYU in stranding nine runners.

Seven different BYU pitchers held the Wolverines to six hits, while BYU centerfielder Crew McChesney went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI.

As if echoing their coach's points, the BatCats needed to bounce back early, too.

The Wolverines scored first when Tate Gambill lost Nate Bach's pop fly to left-field in the sun, and Landon Frei hustled from first to score in the bottom of the second.

But Gambill made up for the fielding miscue with an RBI single scoring Cooper Vest an inning later — and the bats came alive in the fifth.

That's when the Cougars plated four, including RBI singles by Vest and Bryker Hurdsman, a fielder's choice by Gambill that led to another, and an RBI double by Robinson to extend the hosts' lead to 5-1 that they would never give up.

"This team loves each other, and plays hard for each other," said Pratt, whose team has won 16 of its last 18 meetings with the Wolverines. "No one was mad at Tate over that play; he didn't try to lose the ball in the sun. But people had his back, and they do a good job of complimenting each other.

"When someone needs to be told what's not right, they tell them. When they need to be patted on the butt, they do that, too. Overall, this is a fun team to coach and be around; they play hard for each other, and even in tough losses, they don't point a finger. … They believe they can win, and that's a good thing."

First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. MDT.

Utah Valley returns home for the first time in nine games to host Tarleton State in a WAC series. First pitch Thursday is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. MDT at UCCU Ballpark.

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