STOCKTON, California (April 8, 2017)—Portside pitcher Hayden Rogers and BYU baseball took advantage of Pacific errors to earn a 5-2 win on Saturday to complete a three-game sweep.

The Cougars (17-12 overall and 7-2 in the West Coast Conference) pounced on the errors made by the Tigers (12-17 and 2-10) to the tune of four unearned runs.

Meanwhile, Rogers (now 3-1) rallied from the mound each time he was needed and relied on the defense of his teammates.  

“It’s so nice to have Hayden as our day three starter,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “Today he didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled like crazy for six innings and left with the lead. Keaton (Cenatiempo) did a great job getting the final three outs.”

Cenatiempo earned his team-leading fourth save, slamming the door on the Tigers in the final three innings, retiring the side in order in the seventh and eighth innings.

“My control was better than last week so I was able to pound both sides of the plate,” Rogers said.

Tanner Chauncey got BYU’s first hit of the day in the fourth inning with a single that scored Brennon Anderson. Anderson had drawn a base on balls and advanced to third from a failed pickoff attempt at first.

Chauncey’s single extended his hitting streak to a team-leading eight games, but was one of only six hits, all singles garnered by the Cougars.

The Tigers tied BYU in the fourth, and then the Cougars plated three runs in the sixth inning. In that frame, back-to-back singles by Noah Hill and Anderson led off the Cougar lineup. Chauncey bunted to advance his teammates, but ended up safe at first on an overthrow and the trio later accounted for BYU’s three runs that inning.

Casey Jacobsen got BYU’s fourth single in the seventh and advanced on Hill’s second single of the afternoon prior to Chauncey’s walk, then scored on a wild pitch for the fifth run.

“It was a tough day offensively, but we strung a couple hits together, executed the short game, and put pressure on them the entire game,” Littlewood said.

BYU plays on Tuesday at Utah Valley at 6 p.m., and then hosts Pepperdine in a three-game series starting on Thursday in a return to league action.

After a solid week against its league leader and two Pac-12 teams, BYU baseball is on the road to play at the University of the Pacific starting Thursday.

The Cougars (14-12 overall and 4-2 in West Coast Conference) have a three-game series at Pacific (12-15, 2-7).

“Pacific is playing well right now, and they are particularly tough at home,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “We have been playing solid baseball of late and will need to keep that up in order to have success in Stockton.”

BYU’s pitching rotation remains the same as it has in recent weeks with Maverik Buffo (3-3, 5.95), Brady Corless (3-0, 4.03) and Hayden Rogers (2-1, 2.23). The three games are at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. PDT, respectively on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All three games will be broadcast live by Brent Norton on ESPN 960 AM radio and streamed on the internet through BYU Radio and on Sirius XM 143.

The Cougars will be without their top hitter in Brock Hale who is batting .398, but injured his knee last Saturday and is out for an indefinite period of time. 

The next leading hitter out of the regular lineup is fellow outfielder Keaton Kringlen with a .358 average.  Kringlen was recently named national Player of the Week by three organizations (Collegiate Baseball, National Baseball Writers Association and College Sports Madness) along with being Rawlings WCC Player of the Week for his spectacular performances against Utah and Saint Mary’s College.

Catcher Bronson Larsen has been replacing Hale in the outfield as Kringlen shifts from left to right field. Larsen and Kringlen lead the team with five home runs apiece.

Following BYU’s action in California, it returns to play at Utah Valley University this Tuesday, then hosts Pepperdine.

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