BYU didn’t even need a full nine innings to advance in the Big 12 baseball tournament.
The Cougar bats exploded in Tuesday night’s first-round matchup against Texas Tech, earning a convincing 18-8 victory over the Red Raiders at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
Upon achieving its 10-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, BYU was automatically awarded the win due to the conference’s mercy rule.
Additionally, BYU’s five home runs tied the Big 12 record for the most ever slugged in a conference tournament game.
Trent Pratt’s squad tallied 20 hits in all, with six different Cougars recording multi-hit nights.
Third baseman Easton Jones and catcher Ridge Erickson hit two home runs apiece, with Jones’ second round-tripper ending the ballgame by clinching the 10-run advantage.
Ezra McNaughton added a longball as part of a three-hit outing, Ryder Robinson’s four knocks included a double and triple, and Luke Anderson had two singles, a double and a walk.
Six BYU players drove in multiple runs — Jones led the way with five, Robinson and Erickson each plated three, and McNaughton, Bryker Hurdsman and Keoni Painter all combined for six RBI.
A five-run third inning put Texas Tech ahead 5-1, only for the Cougars to score six unanswered runs across the next two frames to reclaim the lead.
When the Red Raiders clawed back to knot the score at eight, BYU promptly responded with a seven-run sixth and three more runs in the seventh to shut the door on Texas Tech.
Austin Park was BYU’s winning pitcher, tossing 1 2/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts.
The Cougars, who have now won a Big 12 tournament game for the second straight season, will face No. 8-seeded Baylor on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. MDT in the second round. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.