BYU baseball defeated No. 14 ranked Kansas 5-4 in an 11-inning game at Miller Park, according to a May 16 announcement. Shortstop Ryder Robinson secured the win with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, concluding BYU’s regular season.
The victory matters for BYU as it ends their regular season on a positive note and provides momentum heading into the upcoming Big 12 Baseball Championship.
Robinson’s home run traveled 374 feet and was his fourth hit of the game. The junior from American Fork, Utah also doubled and drove in two runs. “Ryder is one of the best defenders in the country and he’s really tough at the plate. He showed that again tonight,” said BYU baseball head coach Trent Pratt. “Hats off to our pitching staff today. Cayson (Bell), Ashton (Johnson) and Dan (Brousseau) came in and really battled. To hold the Big 12 champions to just four runs and give us a chance to win was impressive.”
BYU finished with more hits than Kansas, recording fifteen compared to ten by their opponent, while stranding one less runner on base. The Cougars had three doubles and homered twice during the contest.
Kansas took an early lead by scoring two runs in the first inning followed by another run on a solo home run in the second inning for a three-run advantage over BYU. The Cougars responded with Robinson bringing home Luke Anderson on a single in the third inning before tying up the game later through key plays by Tu’alau Wolfgramm and Matt Hansen.
After trading leads late into regulation, Kansas tied it up again in the ninth inning which sent both teams into extra innings until Robinson’s decisive homer ended it for BYU.
Looking ahead, BYU will travel to Surprise, Arizona for the Big 12 Baseball Championship presented by Allstate from May 19-23. They are scheduled to face Texas Tech as their opening opponent.
