LONG BEACH, California — Capped by Cooper Jones’ three-run home run in the ninth inning, BYU baseball rallied to score six runs in its final four at bats to defeat Washington State, 6-4, at Blair Field on Thursday.
“Kudos to Cooper and the guys in front of him who got on base and gave us a chance to win,” said BYU head baseball coach Trent Pratt. “We weren’t great in the early innings, but the guys hung in there and kept fighting. I’m so proud of Cooper. When we called his number, he was ready. As a coach, you can’t ask for more than that.”
Meanwhile, reliever Ashton Johnson was once again brilliant on the mound, holding WSU scoreless over the final five innings while scattering five hits and striking out three for the win. The senior lefty is now 2-0 on the year and has surrendered just one run in 15 innings of work.
“I can’t say enough about AJ (Johnson),” said Pratt. “He’s just been so consistent. Every time we put him out there, we know exactly what we’re going to get. He’s going to compete and give you a chance to win. When he kept putting zeros on the scoreboard it gave our offense hope that we could come back and win.”
BYU scored six runs on eight hits to improve to 5-4 on the year, while WSU (3-5) had nine hits in the loss.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Cooper Jones: 1-1, 3RBI, HR
• Ezra McNaughton: 2-5, RBI
• Ridge Erickson: 1-2, Run, 2HBP
• Easton Jones: 1-3, Run, BB
• Ashton Johnson: 4.2 innings, Win, 5H, no runs, 3Ks
SUMMARY
After three and a half scoreless innings to begin the game, Washington State got on the board first in the bottom half of the fourth on back-to-back walks, followed by a double into the right-field gap for a 2-0 lead. WSU picked up two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth with two singles and a triple to push the WSU advantage to 4-0.
BYU finally got on the board in the top of the sixth to cut into the Wazzu lead, 4-1. Erickson, who had singled to start the inning and advanced to third on a throwing error, scored on a Keoni Painter sacrifice fly to center field.
After a scoreless seventh inning, BYU, struck again with two more runs on three singles. Erickson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Easton Jones singled to left field. Two outs later, McNaughton singled to right field to score Jones. Ryder Robinson then singled to center to drive in Painter and pull within a run at 4-3.
With two down in the ninth inning, Erickson kept BYU’s hopes alive when he was hit by a pitch. Easton Jones then drew a walk to set up the heroics by his younger brother, Cooper, who drove an 0-2 fast ball over the left-field fence for the 6-4 lead. Johnson then faced four batters in the ninth, getting three flyouts to seal the BYU victory.
UP NEXT
BYU will face Washington State again on Friday at Blair Field at 1:05 p.m. PT. BYU will then face Long Beach on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1:05 p.m. PT., to complete the four-game weekend series.
BROADCAST PLANS
Both games will be broadcast live on BYUradio.org and the BYU Radio app with the two games versus WSU being simulcast on 107.9 FM in Utah County. Matt Baiamonte will have the radio play-by-play call live from Bohl Diamond.