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Senior right-hander Brandon Kinser stymied the LMU offense on Friday night, allowing just two runs (one earned) on eight hits and one walk over 8.1 innings to guide the Cougars (17-17, 8-6 WCC) to a 4-2 win and a series victory over LMU (20-15, 8-6 WCC) at Page Stadium. With the solid outing, Kinser improved to 4-2 on the season.

Trailing 4-1 headed to the bottom of the ninth, LMU managed to make things interesting, scoring once on a pinch-hit RBI-double from Jamey Smart, but the Lions stranded the tying runs in scoring position as Michael Rucker entered the game and retired the only two batters he faced, including striking out Austin Miller for the final out, to convert his fifth save of the year. LMU stranded eight runners on base in the loss.

LMU junior Trevor Megill got the start and took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings of work. The right-hander pitched well overall, striking out five in the game. Outside of Smart's RBI-double in the ninth, LMU scored its only other run on a groundout from David Edwards in the sixth. Edwards, who finished 1-for-4 with a double, came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in a 3-0 game that favored BYU, but he hit a slow grounder to second that resulted in only one run. Kinser worked out of the jam one pitch later, inducing a ground ball off the bat of Tanner Donnels to second to end the inning.

A trio of Cougar hitters collected two hits in the victory, including Colton Shaver who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and an RBI. Including the pair from Shaver, BYU collected five doubles on Friday night.

LMU will look to salvage the series tomorrow with the final game at 2 p.m.