LOS ANGELES – Dylan Dennis homered for the first time this season, Diego Barrera fired 7.2 strong innings and the LMU baseball team opened West Coast Conference play with a 12-2 victory over the visiting BYU Cougars on Thursday night in Page Stadium.
Barrera continued his string of strong starts, decreasing his ERA to 1.41 on the season in five starts. He earned his second victory by allowing only four hits, one earned run and striking out eight. Barrera has not allowed more than one earned run in a single start this season and has gone four consecutive starts of at least six innings.
The Lion bats exploded for 17 hits in the conference opener.
Diego Baqueiro went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Khadim Diaw continued his strong play since being moved to the top of the lineup, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.
The Lions got things started early. In the bottom of the first, Diaw lined a single into right field to open the game. He would advance to second on a wild pitch and come around to score on the first of Baqueiro's two doubles.
LMU would add on in the fourth inning. Connor Blough led off the inning with a triple to right center and would come around to score on a sacrifice fly from Devan Ornelas. Cole Roberts would reach after getting hit by a pitch, advance to third on a
Benny Casillas single and score when Diaw scorched a ball that could not be handled by the third baseman.
Baqueiro opened the fifth with a high looping fly ball to left field that the fielder overran, resulting in his second double. Blough followed with an RBI double down the right field line. Ornelas would shoot a ball into left field in the ensuing at bat scoring Blough but was caught trying to advance to second base. Dennis followed up with a solo blast to left center to close the scoring in the fifth.
The Cougars changed pitchers in the sixth inning to try to slow the offense down, but it backfired when the defense could not convert a few outs.
Diaw and Sam Biller both reached on infield errors before Jared Thomas singled to left to load the bases. Baqueiro followed up by lacing a single through the left side of the infield for his third hit of the day. Blough would follow with a sacrifice fly to add another run and give the Lions an eight run advantage.
The Cougars would finally get to Barrera in the eighth inning with a solo homer. After a pair of batters reached base, head coach Nathan Choate made the long walk from the dugout to ask for a reliever.
Cole Chimenti came in, threw one pitch and got a foul fly out to end the top of the eighth.
Four runs would come across in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead. Diaw led off with his third hit of the afternoon. Biller walked on a full count to advance Diaw to second. Baqueiro would single to left to load the bases.
Grant Weiss came on to pinch hit and shot a double down the left field line to add on two more runs. Ornelas followed with an RBI single through the left side before Dennis singled in a run for the Lions twelfth tally of the evening.
Cole Clark came on to pitch the ninth and allowed one run and struck out one. With two outs, Cooper Vest came up and hit a ball into the right center-field gap. Ornelas came sprinting on and laid out to record the final out of the game.
The twelve runs mark the Lions highest run tally this season.
LMU and BYU will meet two more times, with Friday's matchup beginning at 6:05 p.m. (PT) and Saturday's contest beginning at 1:05 p.m.
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