SPOKANE, Wash. — BYU baseball opened a three-game series with Gonzaga with a 5-1 loss at Patterson Complex in Spokane on Thursday night. 

With the win, the Zags improve to 10-13 (5-1 WCC) on the year while the Cougars fall to 8-16 (2-5). 

“Owen Wild is a good pitcher, and his fastball was really good tonight,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “We had some chances offensively but just couldn't come up with the timely hit to spark some momentum.”

Game Summary
  •  BYU scored one run on five hits, while GU scored five runs on eight hits
  •  Zags starter Owen Wild went seven complete innings scattering four hits and one run
  •  BYU right fielder Ryan Sepede had a solo home run in the sixth

Player Highlights
  •  Ryan Sepede: 1-3, HR, RBI, BB
  •  Parker Goff: 1-3, BB
  •  Peyton Cole: 2.2 IP, 1 K, 0 Runs

Gonzaga got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the first inning off a walk, a hit by pitch and two singles for a 1-0 lead. 

BYU threatened in the top of the fifth with a walk by Jacob Wilk and a single to left by Parker Goff. A sacrifice bunt by Easton Jones moved both Cougar runners into scoring position, but Zags starter Wild got a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat. 

After four scoreless innings, the Cougars tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the sixth on a two-out home run over the leftfield wall by Ryan Sepede, his fifth homer of the season. 

The Zags retook the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth with four runs on five hits for a 5-1 lead and the eventual win. The Cougars had a chance in the eighth inning but stranded two runners. 

Wild (2-3) got the win for GU, while Mason Olson (1-2) took the loss for BYU. 

The Cougars and Zags will face-off in game two of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. PDT at Patterson Complex in Spokane. 

The game will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App and simulcast on 107.9 in the northern Utah market. The voice of the Cougars, Greg Wrubell, will have the call. 

PROVO, Utah — BYU continues West Coast Conference play with a three-game series at Gonzaga on March 30-31 and April 1, at Patterson Complex in Spokane, Washington. First pitch for all three games is scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT.

BROADCAST PLANS. The three games will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App with the voice of the Cougars, Greg Wrubell, on the call. The Thursday and Friday games will also be simulcast on 107.9 FM in the northern Utah market, 

COUGARS-ZAGS HISTORY. Thursday will be the 62nd meeting between BYU and Gonzaga. The Cougars are 27-34 all-time versus the Bulldogs and 15-21 since joining the WCC in 2011-12. The first meeting between the two schools was a three-game series played at BYU on March 4-5, 1971, with the Cougars winning two of the three games. The Zags took two of three games from the Cougars at Miller Park in 2022 with BYU winning game one, 11-2 and Gonzaga taking games two and three 6-3 and 9-4. 

BYU REVIEW. The Cougars enter the weekend series in Spokane with an 8-15 record, 2-4 in the WCC. BYU played four games last week, going 2-2. After defeating UVU, 15-7, on Tuesday, March 21, the Cougars dropped the first two games of a three-game series with Saint Mary's on Thursday (11-8) and Saturday (6-4) but bounced back to win the second game of the doubleheader (4-3) on Saturday afternoon. On Tuesday of this week, UVU scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to come from behind and defeat BYU (9-8) at UCCU Ballpark.

COUGARS ON THE HILL. Junior left-hander Mason Olson (1-1, 3.98 ERA) is scheduled to start on Thursday for BYU, while junior righty Bryce Robison (2-1, 4.83 ERA) will start Friday. The Cougars' starter on Saturday will be right-hander Ben Hansen (0-0, 3.60 ERA). 

AT THE PLATE. Offensively the Cougars are led by Austin Deming, Ryan Sepede and Cooper Vest. Deming is a returning first-team All-WCC performer who leads the team in multiple offensive categories including average (.377), RBI (27), hits (29), HRs (7) and 2B (11). Sepede is second on the team in average (.329), hits (26) and OBP (4.26). Vest leads the team in triples (2) and is second in slugging (.688) and home runs (5). 

Three Cougars were selected to the All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team, including Cole Gambill, Ozzie Pratt and pitcher Jack Sterner.

GONZAGA RECAP. The Zags are 9-13 (5-1 WCC) in 2023, with a home record of 5-1. Gonzaga, who won the 2022 WCC regular season baseball title, was projected to repeat in the 2023 WCC Baseball Preseason Poll, as voted by the league coaches.

ZAGS PROJECTED STARTERS. Junior righthander Owen Wild (1-3, 5.45 ERA) will start on Thursday for the Zags, with junior righty Jacob Rutherford (2-0, 5.50 ERA) slated to start on Friday. Saturday’s starter for GU has yet to be determined. 

SCOUTING GU. Four Zags were named to the 2023 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team, including Cade McGee, Savier Pinales and Grayson Sterling, as well as pitcher Wild. Brian Kalmer is hitting .380 on the season with a team-high nine home runs. In conference play, GU is batting .344 and is averaging eight runs on 12.3 hits during its 3-0 home sweep of San Francisco and 2-1 series win on the road at Pepperdine. 

UP NEXT. Following the weekend series with Gonzaga, the Cougars travel to Pullman for a Monday, April 3, noon game at Washington State.