Box Score March 24, 2017 Box Score
LMU's offense came alive for nine runs on 15 hits, including back-to-back homers from Phil Caulfield and Niko Decolati in the sixth inning, as the Lions (12-10, 3-2 WCC) earned a 9-5 victory over BYU (10-10, 1-1 WCC) on Friday night from Page Stadium. The win evened a three-game West Coast Conference series.
The Lions managed to put together two very productive frames, scoring four times in the second inning before posting three in the sixth behind the homers.
Caulfield finished the game 3-for-3 with two runs scored, the homer and four RBI. The round-tripper was the first of Caulfield's career, while Decolati's blast was his second of the season.
The back-to-back homers were the first for the Lions since Alex Guthrie and Colton Plaia connected for consecutive homers against UC Riverside in the seventh inning on May 22, 2012.
In addition to Caulfield, four other Lions finished with multiple hits, including Decolati (2-for-5), Steven Chavez (3-for-5), Brandon Shearer (2-for-5) and Jimmy Hill (2-for-4). Freshman Nick Sogard made the most of his one hit on the night, poking a two-RBI single in the second inning to finish 1-for-2 with two runs scored and the two driven in.
The offensive support was enough for LMU starter Brenton Arriaga, as the lefty dealt 6.1 innings and allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season. Arriaga's ERA now sits at 2.11 for the season.
After Braydon Salzman tossed two-thirds of a scoreless frame, Harrison Simon threw the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit and a walk while striking out two to earn his first save of the year.
Lefty Bo Burrup got the start and took the loss for BYU, allowing five runs on 10 hits and a walk over 4.0 innings. Four Cougar hitters finished with multiple hits, including Colton Shaver who went 2-for-4 with his third homer of the year and two RBI.
LMU will look to stay unblemished in weekend series this year, and secure its first series win over BYU in program history, when it sends right-hander Cory Abbott to the mound at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
