BYU drops game one of WCC series with Gonzaga

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.