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Stockton, Calif. • That BYU baseball offense that was ranked in the top five nationally in several categories finally showed up at the West Coast Conference tournament.

The Cougars scored seven runs via four home runs and defeated Saint Mary's 8-4 in an elimination game Friday afternoon. The win moved BYU into Friday's late elimination game against either Loyola Marymount or Gonzaga.

Loyola Marymount held BYU to three hits in a 3-2 victory over the Cougars late Thursday to push BYU into the one-loss bracket.

Friday afternoon, catcher Bronson Larsen hit a pair of two-run homers to get the Cougars rolling and Nate Favero and Brock Hale also homered for BYU. Hale's two-run shot to left-center plated Keaton Kringlen to give the Cougars a 7-2 lead.

Saint Mary's struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning off BYU starter Hayden Rogers, but the junior left-hander did not allow another run before giving way to reliever Keaton Cenatiempo in the seventh inning.

The Gaels stranded three base runners in the seventh against Cenatiempo, then mounted a rally in the eighth when Joey Fiske hit a two-run double.

After Tanner Chauncey drove in Brennon Anderson in the top of the ninth, Riley Gates closed the door on the Gaels in the ninth to get the save. The Cougars improved to 4-0 against Saint Mary's this season.

Prior to Thursday's loss, BYU ranked fifth in the country in team batting average (.325) and fifth in scoring at 8.5 runs per game.

Friday's late game featuring BYU and the loser of the Gonzaga-Loyola Marymount game was scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. MDT.

Utah 2, Arizona State 0 • Jayson Rose pitched eight shutout innings, and the Utes blanked the visiting Sun Devils to open a three-game series.

Rose (8-3) allowed three hits and four walks while striking out six. Dylan Drachler entered in the ninth and earned his fifth save of the season.

Utah (25-24, 13-15 Pac-12) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an unearned run after DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. reached base on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Dallas Carroll.

Zack Moeller made it 2-0 in the second inning with his fourth homer of the year.

Track and field

NCAA West Prelims • In Austin, Texas, several athletes representing universities in Utah qualified for next month's NCAA Championships.

Three advanced in the men's 400-meter hurdles quarterfinals: Utah State's AJ Boully (ninth, 50.68 seconds), BYU's Korey Smith (10th, 50.69) and BYU's Max Scheible (11th, 50.77).

Three more qualified in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and all three were from BYU: Daniel Carney (fifth, 8:50.96), Jacob Heslington (eighth, 8:52.09) and Mitchell Briggs (11th, 8:55.72).

Utah State's Clay Lambourne (1:47.09) qualified third in the men's 800.

BYU's Shea Collinsworth (2:05.09) qualified seventh in the women's 800.

BYU's Tatenda Tsumba (10.16) qualified ninth in the men's 100.

In the women's 3,000 steeplechase, Utah's Grayson Murphy (10:04.35) qualified second, Weber State's Ellie Child (10:15.25) qualified ninth and BYU's Kristi Rush (10:18.39) 11th.

Also qualifying for BYU were Zachary Stetler in the shot put (59-81/2) and Andrea Stapleton in the women's high jump (5-101/2).

The prelims continue Saturday.