PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball scored eight runs on nine hits in its home finale to defeat Grand Canyon, 8-7, on Tuesday at Miller Park. The win avenged a 6-2 loss on Feb. 19 and handed the Lopes just their second loss in the last 13 games.
The Cougars drilled four home runs, tying a season-high from an 8-2 win at Miami on May 4. Luke Anderson tallied two homers of his own, becoming the first Cougar to record multiple home runs in a single game since Collin Reuter in a 7-5 win at Texas on April 6.
Pitcher Stone Cushing closed the game, recording his 10th save of the year to become just the 10th pitcher in the nation to record double digit saves this season. The performance also put the junior ahead of Drew Zimmerman to stand alone at fifth all-time for BYU career saves.
BYU improved to 20-29 (6-21 Big 12) on the year and 7-1 in non-conference home contests, while the loss dropped the Lopes to 32-20. Grand Canyon registered seven hits and two home runs.
Player Highlights
- Luke Anderson: 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI
- Cooper Vest: 1-5, 2 runs, 1 HR, RBI
- Collin Reuter: 1-4, HR, RBI
- Parker Goff: 1-3, 2 runs
- Ryker Schow: 2-3, RBI
The first inning saw plenty of action as GCU got on the board first with a leadoff home run. BYU countered as Crew McChesney walked and Anderson homered to center field to go up 2-1. With the bases loaded, Crew Robinson advanced after an error at second base, pushing Ryker Schow to third as Parker Goff and Cooper Vest both crossed the plate and extended the early lead to 4-1.
The Lopes racked up three runs in the second inning on a 3-RBI home run. The game-tying sequence began with a walk and then a GCU batter being hit by a pitch to place runners on first and second.
In the bottom of the fourth, Vest nailed a solo blast to center field to put the Cougars ahead again at 5-4.
After a brief fifth inning with no hits between both teams, a pair of solo moonshots from Anderson and Reuter flew to left field to extend the advantage to 7-4 at the end of the sixth.
GCU cut it to 7-6 in the top of the seventh, steadily advancing runners before Anderson corralled the ball at second, quickly firing it over to Reuter at first and recording the out to prevent the third base runner from scoring. BYU recorded two hits on its turn at bat with a pair of doubles from Goff and Schow as Goff crossed the plate.
In the top of the eighth, the Lopes hit a sacrifice fly to score the third baseman before pitcher Boston Mabeus prevented more scoring with a strikeout. Cushing then wrapped things up in the ninth with two strikeouts and a flyout as BYU held on for the 8-7 win.
Up Next
The Cougars will travel to Manhattan, Kansas for a season-concluding series with Kansas State at Tointon Family Stadium. Game one will be on Thursday, May 16 at 5 p.m. MDT and will be broadcast live on the BYU Radio App, BYUradio.org and 107.9 FM in the local market with the Voice of the Cougars, Greg Wrubell, on play-by-play. The game will also be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.