OREM, Utah – Connor Hall and Spencer Olsen both belted out home runs for Utah Valley on the night, but it wasn't enough as BYU went on to claim a 12-5 victory over UVU in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Tuesday evening at UCCU Ballpark.
 
The Wolverines fall to 6-14 on the season with a midweek setback, while the Cougars improve to 11-7 with the win. The contest marked the first of two season meetings between the neighboring foes, as UVU will later return the favor and head to Provo on Tuesday, April 26.
 
"Tonight, was a great atmosphere and we're grateful to have the community out here supporting us in the UCCU Crosstown Clash," head UVU coach Eddie Smith said. "I was pleased to see some nice performances from some guys out of bullpen for us, but we'll be looking for a few more guys to step for us in our next game. Obviously, there's some opportunities there and we're looking forward to having a few more of our guys get out there and seize those moments and build and grow their roles."
 
The Cougars took advantage of a first inning defensive miscue by the Wolverines to take an early 2-0 lead. BYU then added two more runs in the second on a two-run homer from Alex Sardina to extend Brigham Young's early advantage to 4-0.
 
Carson Brown then did a nice job in relief for the Wolverines, as he surrendered just two runs while striking out five over 3.1 innings. He also struck out the side in his final inning of work in the fourth.
 
BYU then added two runs in the fifth to extend its lead to 6-0. Cole Gambill had the big hit in the frame with a solo shot to right.
 
With two outs and nobody on in the last of the fifth, the Wolverines got back-to-back extra-base hits from Kayler Yates and Copper Hansen to get on the board and make it 6-1. Yates started the rally with a double to left center and Hansen drove him home with a triple to centerfield. 
 
Utah Valley then added a run in the sixth to make it 6-2. Cole Jordan and Trey Cutchen started the frame by each getting hit by a pitch and following a passed ball, Jordan came in to score on an RBI groundout to the right side off the bat of Garrett Broussard. 
 
With BYU holding to a 12-2 lead in the last of the seventh, UVU then got a two-out single from Hansen followed by a two-run homer to deep left center from Hall to make it a 12-4 score. UVU then added another run in the ninth when the redshirt freshman Olsen belted out a solo home run to the opposite field in his first collegiate at-bat to pull the score to 12-5. BYU's Reid McLaughlin would respond, however, by retiring the next two batters he faced to end the ballgame.
 
Hansen led UVU offensively in the game by going 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored, while Hall and Olsen each added home runs. Sardina paced the Cougars by going 2-for-5 with home run, four RBIs and two runs scored.
 
BYU starter Bryce Robison (4-0) was credited with the win after tossing two innings of shutout baseball, while UVU Cameron Scudder was tagged with the loss in his first start in a UVU uniform to fall to 0-1 after surrendering two unearned runs. The Wolverines also had a couple of nice relief outings from Luke McCollough and Yates in the late innings, as the two combined to toss a 2.1 innings of shutout baseball, while Brown also pitched well for UVU in the early stages of the game in which he gave up just two runs over 3.1 innings while striking out a game-high five batters.
 
The Wolverines will return to the road this weekend for a four-game non-conference series at former WAC foe CSU Bakersfield. The series will run Friday to Sunday at Hardt Field in Bakersfield. UVU will then face the University of Utah in Salt Lake City next Tuesday, March 29, before hosting Sacramento State for a three-game league series April 1-3.