MESA, Ariz. (Feb. 19) — Grand Canyon baseball combined for five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to come from behind and defeat BYU, 6-2, in the final game of the MLB Deseret Invitational at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
The Cougars scored two runs on five hits, while GCU scored six runs on seven hits.
“I thought Candon Dahle did a great job in his first start,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “Unfortunately, we had chances to score early and didn’t take advantage of some opportunities. We need to get back to the basics and execute better.”
Player Highlights
- Kuhio Aloy: 1-2, Run
- Bryker Hurdsman: 2-4, RBI
Game Summary
BYU (1-2) scored first in the top of the second inning on a walk, a hit batter and two hits. Kuhio Aloy led off with a walk and was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chipper Beck. Luke Anderson singled to right field and Robinson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Easton Jones then flied out to deep center field to score Aloy and Bryker Hurdsmen singled to left to score Anderson for a 2-0 lead.
Grand Canyon (3-0) got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run by pinch hitter Blake Avila to cut the Cougar lead to 2-1.
The Antelopes took the lead in the bottom of the seventh with three runs on two walks, a single and an error for a 4-2 lead. Grand Canyon tacked on two runs in the eighth for the 6-2 win.
BYU finished the MLB Desert Invitational at 1-2, with an opening day win over USC. The Cougars travel to California for a Wednesday, Feb. 21, game with Cal (2-1), before facing UC Davis (2-1) in a three-game series at Dobbins Stadium in Davis, California, Feb. 22-24.