The BYU baseball offense came alive in the final game of the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament against UC San Diego on Saturday night in a 9-7 win.
The Cougars immediately got three runs on the board in the first inning, and added another five in the seventh. They scored their final run in the ninth inning.
Ezra McNaughton had another impressive game, going 2 for 5 at the plate and picking up two RBIs.
Starter Wayland Crane pitched four innings, giving up two earned runs. However, Nate Gray picked up the win, also pitching four innings but giving up no runs.
The win didn’t come without some drama. UC San Diego got the bulk of their runs from bullpen pitcher Tyler Ball, who gave up five runs in the first ⅓ of the bottom of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Tritons loaded the bases with no outs, and scored three runs while Ball was on the mound. These runs came from a throwing error by Easton Jones, a walk, a double and a hit by pitch.
Luke Sterner then replaced Ball and the Tritons scored two more runs. Both of those runs were also charged to Ball. In what was a seemingly comfortable 9-2 lead, the Cougars almost lost the game in the bottom of the ninth, but Sterner came in and picked up the save, and the Cougars survived.
In an already dramatic start to the season, the Cougars will continue their 11-game road trip next week in Southern California.