PROVO, Utah – Tanner Chauncey singled to left field in the 10th inning to drive in the winning run for BYU in a 6-5 series-clinching victory over San Francisco Friday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th with nobody out before Chauncey singled over the left fielder’s head to put BYU (20-19, 10-7) above .500 for the first time this season. 

A day after getting up big on San Francisco (22-22, 14-6) early, the Cougars came back from two different three-run deficits to earn the win.

“This was just a great, great ballgame,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “For the fans who stayed here, they got a treat."

Mason Marshall (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings in the ninth and 10th for the win. Marshall relieved Brandon Kinser who pitched eight innings and struck out seven batters pitching four innings on both ends of the hour and 23 minute rain delay in the fourth inning.

“He was better coming back out,” Littlewood said. “We just had him down in the indoor tunnels throwing about every 15-20 minutes. He’s just such a gamer.” 

Chauncey finished 3-for-5 with his lone RBI winning the game. Bronson Larsen went 3-for-4, scored two runs and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Brennon Lund used a 10th inning bunt single to extend his hit streak to 19 games. Eric Urry and Dillon Robinson each drove in two runs on two hits for the Cougars.

BYU’s big inning came with three runs in the third inning. Hayden Nielsen reached on an infield single and Robinson homered to right center field to make it a 4-3 game. Larsen singled and stole a base before Urry singled him in to tie the game at 4.

The Cougars scored their first run in the second inning as a Parker Starr doubled that bounced in between a retreating second baseman and an incoming right fielder bounced by both. Larsen scored from second to make it 3-1.

The Dons struck first for three runs in the first inning after two were out. A Dominic Miroglio double scored two runs and McCullough singled up the middle for a 3-0 advantage before BYU had hit. San Francisco added their fourth run on a Miroglio single past the shortstop in the third inning.

After the rain delay, the Cougars put the first run on the scoreboard in the seventh inning. Chauncey reached on an infield single and made it to second off an error on the second baseman. The disputed out at second base led to San Francisco head coach Nino Giarratano being ejected. After a strikeout and a fly out to left which advanced Chauncey to third, Urry singled past the third baseman to score BYU’s fifth run of the game. 

The Dons scored in the top of the eighth to tie the game on another run driven in by Miroglio, which sent the game to extras.

The final game of the series takes place at noon MDT on Saturday April 25. The game will be streamed on TheW.tv and can be heard on KOVO 960 AM. BYU's Michael Rucker (4-1, 3.23) and San Francisco's Christian Cecilio (5-1, 1.82) will start on the mound.

After a week off for finals, BYU’s baseball team returns to action in a big way this week when it hosts Utah on Tuesday and a three-game series with San Francisco.

“This week off for finals gives our guys a chance to heal some minor injuries and mentally prepare for the final month of conference play and our push for the conference tournament,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We have a chance on Tuesday to even up the series against Utah, and it's no secret how big that game is to all of us.”

The Cougars, 17-19 overall and 8-7 in the West Coast Conference, host Utah (13-22) on Tuesday at 6 p.m., in a game televised live by BYUtv. Starting on the mound for BYU will be Brady Corless (1-4, 5.59) as the Cougars hope to rebound from last month’s 9-3 loss to the Utes in a rain-shortened six-inning game in Salt Lake City.

Tuesday’s contest is pivotal in the three-game Deseret Duel series which BYU baseball has won six of seven times since its inception.

On Thursday and Friday the Cougars return to league play against league-leading USF (22-19, 14-4) with Kolton Mahoney (3-4, 4.53) and Brandon Kinser (4-2, 3.55) scheduled to be their starting pitchers in games starting at 6 p.m. BYUtv will also televise both of those games live. Saturday’s contest has been changed from 1 p.m. to now start at noon between the Cougars and Dons will be streamed live on theW.tv.

“Every game from here on out is a big game for us and none are bigger than the weekend series with San Francisco,” Littlewood said. “USF has played very well in conference and if we want to make the conference tournament we need to win the series against them.”

Brennon Lund leads BYU with a current 16-game hitting streak. Teammates Eric Urry has a 10-game streak, Bronson Larsen has a nine-game streak and Tanner Chauncey has an eight-game streak.

Following the USF series, BYU plays the next week at Utah Valley University and University of the Pacific.

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