PROVO, Utah (Interstat) — In a wild, high-scoring affair that stretched from afternoon into evening, the California Baptist Lancers outslugged the BYU Cougars 11-7 on Saturday at Larry H. Miller Field to complete a three-game series sweep.

The Lancers, who have now won five straight, improved to 14-3 overall. BYU fell to 6-8 after its fourth consecutive loss.

The most important part of the game came in the middle innings, where a potent California Baptist offense built an insurmountable lead and a trio of relievers slammed the door on a BYU rally. The Lancers broke open a 3-3 tie with a five-run fifth inning, capitalizing on erratic BYU pitching. The frame featured three walks, two wild pitches that allowed runs to score and a two-run single up the middle by Chris Ramirez.

BYU answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the deficit to 11-7 on a three-run homer to right-center by Bryker Hurdsman. The blast was the exclamation point on a stellar day for the Cougars’ right fielder, who went 4 for 5 with three RBIs.

That rally, however, was emphatically halted by California Baptist reliever Zachary Yates. Entering with two on and one out in the fifth, Yates struck out the next two batters to end the threat. He then dominated over the next two innings, retiring all six batters he faced, four via strikeout, over 2 2/3 hitless and scoreless frames. His six-strikeout performance was the pivotal pitching effort, stifling BYU’s momentum after the Hurdsman homer and preserving the lead.

Yates was followed by equally effective relief work from Cameron Teper, who pitched two perfect innings with two strikeouts to close out the game.

California Baptist’s offense was relentless, racking up 14 hits. Bryce McFeely provided the early power with a three-run homer in the third inning, finishing with two hits and three RBIs. Designated hitter Cole Hansen drove in two runs on a 3-for-5 day, including an RBI double in the eighth. Ramirez added two hits and two RBIs.

For BYU, which tallied 13 hits, Hurdsman led the way. Luke Anderson drove in three runs on a first-inning triple. Cougars reliever Brayden Marx provided a bright spot, tossing three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts. Austin Park also added a perfect ninth inning in relief.

The game defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected an 8-5 California Baptist victory, while its ELO system gave BYU a slight 51.3% probability to win. Instead, the Lancers continued their offensive surge, having now scored 38 runs in the series.

California Baptist next travels to face Loyola Marymount on Tuesday. BYU will look to regroup when it hosts Utah Tech on Tuesday.