PROVO, Utah – The Milwaukee baseball team fought to the end, but came up a hit short of completing a comeback in falling to Brigham Young, 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Larry Miller Field.
 
The Panthers (6-6) quickly brought the tying run to the plate with no outs just three batters into the ninth inning against the Cougars (11-3). After scoring once to make it 5-3, Milwaukee could get no closer, stranding the potential tying run at second base to end the contest.
 
"Our bullpen did a nice job today giving us an opportunity, but we just couldn't come up with that big hit there in the end," head coach Scott Doffek said. "We certainly have some things to clean up, but I know these guys will work."
 
The offense hit a lot of baseballs hard, but ended the afternoon with five hits. Devin Rybacki had a pair, while Mitchell Buban, Trevor Schwecke and Colin Kreiter all recorded one.
 
"Unfortunately, the ball didn't bounce our way today," Doffek said. "We barreled a bunch of balls in that game that just wouldn't fall in. On the other hand, I give their hitters credit all weekend. They really did a nice job in the box."
 
After BYU starter Justin Sterner (3-1) allowed just two baserunners through the first five innings, the Panthers went to work down 5-0.
 
Rybacki and Buban singled with one out and were chased home by a triple to right center off the bat of Schwecke to make it 5-2.
 
In the ninth inning, walks to Kreiter and Tyler Bordner got things going quickly. The rally slowed with back-to-back outs, but two more walks forced in a run and left the bases loaded with two outs. Following a pitching change, the BYU closer was able to secure the final out for the victory.
 
Four MKE relievers combined to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard the final 3.2 innings. Matt Vanek struck out three in 1.2 scoreless frames, while Patrick Tomfohrde and Jake Sommers each pitched a scoreless inning, adding a strikeout.
 
Just one more game is on tap before Horizon League play opens up, with the Panthers heading to Indiana to take on Purdue Tuesday. Then, it's off to Ohio for the weekend to start conference action with a series at Wright State. First pitch Tuesday is set for 3 p.m.