Freshman delivers the walk-off winner as BYU snaps 21-year drought in victory over Utah

The moment never seems too big for BYU freshman designated hitter Kuhio Aloy, whose walk-off single gave BYU a 5-4 victory over Utah at Miller Park Tuesday night.

“I was looking to do something big for the team,” Aloy said following his late-game heroics. “All it needs is one run and it came in (the) last at-bat. … I guess I hit the ball in the right spot.”

It wasn’t the first time Aloy and the Cougars got the best of the Utes this season, earning a four-run victory in Salt Lake City earlier this month. The go-ahead RBI in that game came in the eighth inning, again off the bat of Aloy.

So what is it that keeps the BYU freshman unphased in those big moments?

“I like to take it all in,” he said. “Tonight was a very big one. (I was) struggling at the plate at first but putting it all behind me and kind of find a way to come up big for the team to get our first comeback win. (It) feels really good.”

For BYU coach Trent Pratt, the feeling was relief before he began praising Aloy.

“I just think that the moment’s not too big for him; he doesn’t get caught up in it,” Pratt said of the freshman standout. “He gets excited and he wants it in those big spots. And so I think that’s pretty unique as a freshman. … He’s expecting to get a hit right there, you can kind of see it in his eyes.”

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Since the initial contest between the pair of rivals two weeks ago, Utah had won five of seven games while BYU had been slumping, going 1-6 during the same span.

Those recent trends didn’t matter Tuesday night in Provo as the Cougars got back on track, posting their first season sweep of Utah since 2003.

The feeling was much different than the last time the two schools played at Miller Park, a year ago, when they combined for 43 runs and 34 hits in a Utah victory by 15.

Tuesday was much more competitive. BYU got on the board first, scoring a run in both the first and second innings. The Cougars scored both runs on Utes’ miscues. The first came via a balk and the second a wild pitch.

The game’s first RBI was recorded in the top of the fourth when Utah senior right fielder TJ Clarkson blasted the ball over the center field wall. The visitors wound up cycling through their batting order, bringing four Utes across home plate in the inning — one more than the entire first contest between the pair of rivals in early April.

Utah would remain scoreless the rest of the way, ultimately stranding 11 runners on base.

“The guys aren’t going to quit. We’ve battled back a bunch (in other games) and just come up a run or two short a lot. So to finally get over the hump was really good for these guys.”

—  BYU baseball coach Trent Pratt

BYU added to its tally in the fifth, scoring another run on a wild pitch to cut into Utah’s lead. As the Cougars inched closer, their play in the field proved to be just enough to keep them within striking distance.

“It was a team effort,” Pratt said. “One through nine, everyone that came in, the guys on the bench everyone … did a really good job.”

BYU tied the game at four in the bottom of the eighth with its first earned run coming on a double from junior shortstop Brock Watkins that drove in junior right fielder Cooper Vest from first base. One inning later, with the bases loaded and two outs, it was Aloy’s moment to shine and he took full advantage of it.

“The guys aren’t going to quit,” Pratt said of the way his team fought. “We’ve battled back a bunch (in other games) and just come up a run or two short a lot. So to finally get over the hump was really good for these guys.”

Tuesday was the final scheduled contest that BYU and Utah will play as non-conference opponents before the Utes join the Cougars in the Big 12 next season.

Both schools will resume conference play later this week. BYU travels to Stillwater to face No. 19 Oklahoma State on Thursday while Utah returns home for a series with UCLA beginning Friday.