PHOENIX — Clinging to a 10-9 lead with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, BYU second baseman Luke Anderson and first baseman Cooper Vest combined for a game-sealing double play as the Cougars defeated Grand Canyon on Monday afternoon at Brazell Field.
A Bryker Hurdsman grand slam powered BYU to an 8-0 lead after a six-run top of the third. The Lopes quickly responded with six runs of their own in the bottom of the third and refused to go away as they held the Cougars scoreless over the final four innings and came back within a run.
While the BYU bats cooled late, Crew McChesney and the Cougar defense rose to the occasion with critical run-robbing plays late. McChesney made a leaping grab at the top of the centerfield wall in the bottom of the seventh and a diving snag in no-man’s-land in the eighth, robbing GCU of several runs.
“When you win, you have to celebrate it but there’s a lot we can learn from today too,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “We have to be able to come in from the bullpen and throw strikes. To come out of a close game like this with a win gives us some confidence going into this weekend.”
The Cougars registered 10 runs on 12 hits with one error and six left on base. Hurdsman and Anderson combined for 8 RBI while eight of nine BYU batters recorded a hit. The Lopes scored their nine runs on 11 hits, while the Cougar defense stranded nine GCU runners on the day.
BYU Highlights
Luke Anderson: 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR
Bryker Hurdsman: 1-5, R, 4 RBI, HR
Crew McChesney: 2-5, 2B
Cooper Vest: 2-5, R, RBI, 2B
Ryder Robinson: 1-3, 2 R, 2B
Game Summary
BYU opened on top 2-0 with Robinson earning a walk on the second at bat of the game and Anderson sending him home with a two-run homer to left.
After a scoreless second inning, the Cougars and Lopes combined for 12 runs on five hits in an offensive outburst in the third inning.
Chipper Beck began the hitting for BYU in the top of the third with a single to left and walked home after three straight Cougars reached on walks. Vest then came to the plate and scored Keoni Painter with a single to right before Hurdsman plated four on a grand slam to left center for an 8-0 BYU lead.
GCU answered with six runs of its own in the bottom of the third. The Lopes got runners aboard with a pair of hit batters and a walk, then made the most of it with a two-RBI single, sacrifice fly and three-run homer to get back in the game at 8-6.
BYU increased its lead with a run in the top of the fourth and fifth innings. Painter led off the fourth with a bunt single then moved to third on a Robinson double. Anderson singled to score Painter from third and put runners on the corners, but a double play stranded the runners and limited the Cougars to a run in the inning.
Brock Watkins singled up the middle to leadoff the top of the fifth and advanced to third with a McChesney double to left center. Ridge Erickson plated Watkins moments later with a sacrifice fly to put BYU up 10-6.
The Lopes used a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth to cut BYU’s lead to 10-7 then added two more with three singles and a walk in the bottom of the eighth.
With its lead trimmed to 10-9 in the final third of the game, BYU’s defense made key plays to cling to the lead and seal the win. McChesney robbed GCU of what appeared to be a two-RBI homer in the bottom of the seventh with a leaping grab at the top of the centerfield wall. The sure-handed centerfielder took away what could have been the go-ahead runs with a diving snag in no-man’s-land to end the eighth.
In the bottom of the ninth, it was the Cougar infield that made the game-sealing play. With one out and bases loaded, Anderson snagged a line drive at second and lasered it to Vest at first base for a double play to end the game.
UP NEXT
After five straight road games, BYU will return home for a three-game Big 12 series with Kansas State May 1-3 at Miller Park. Thursday and Friday games are set for 6:30 p.m. MDT, while Saturday's first pitch is 1:30 p.m. Each game can be found on ESPN+ and BYU Radio.