PROVO, Utah – In what was a wild game that saw both teams combine for 43 runs and 34 hits, the Utah baseball team defeated BYU by a 29-14 score on Tuesday night at Miller Park. The 29 runs were a Pac-12 era program record and three from tying the Utes' all-time top mark. Both the Utah run total and combined scoring of the teams reset Miller Park facility records (the ballpark opened in 2001).
TJ Clarkson scored six runs and walked five times, both tying single-game records at Utah.
Jayden Kiernan was 4-for-6 with his first career grand slam, finishing with seven RBI.
Davis Cop also drove in seven runs, five of which came via his two homers. All told, the Utes had nine extra base hits (five HR, three doubles and a triple) and drew 13 walks on the night.
Seven Utes had multi-hit performances, with Kiernan and
Bruer Webster (4-for-7) leading the way.
Karson Bodily was 3-for-6 including a triple.
Matt Flaharty clubbed his first home run as a Ute to lead off the sixth inning as well.
Bransen Kuehl was the winning pitcher for the Utes, working 1.2 innings of relief. Five different pitchers saw game action for Utah, capped off by a three-inning, seven-strikeout outing by
Blake Whiting. It was the most strikeouts for Whiting in his two seasons at Utah.
A crazy start to the contest saw Utah held without a hit until the fourth inning, but nevertheless lead 6-1 after two innings of play. The opening frame saw Utah net three runs on three walks, two hit batsmen and a BYU error. Then in the second, the Utes jumped on another miscue in the field to push three more across the plate.
The clubs traded crooked numbers in the middle frames with BYU putting up six in the home half of the fourth before Utah countered with eight of its own in the fifth inning. Seven hits went to the Utes in the fifth inning, capped off by Cop's three-run homer to straightaway center, into the trees beyond the 402-foot marker and giving Utah a 14-7 lead at the time.
Flaharty sparked a four-run sixth for the Utes leading off with his first career home run, with the visitors carrying an 18-7 lead into the bottom of the inning. But the Cougars' bats came right back with a five-spot to get within 18-12.
Webster reached on a one-out bunt single in the seventh, then after walks to
Kai Roberts and Clarkson, Kiernan drilled the 0-1 pitch the other way as it snuck over the right field wall for the grand slam.
Cameron Gurney would later score on a wild pitch for a 23-12 lead at seventh inning stretch.
Clarkson hit a three-run long ball over the right field videoboard in the eighth, then three batters later Cop went yard with his second shot of the night and a 28-14 score.
Landon Frei added one final run in the ninth inning, scoring on a wild pitch.
Utah now turns its focus to a crucial three-game Pac-12 Conference series at Arizona, beginning Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m. MDT (6 p.m. Arizona Time).
Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).