BYU baseball secured a 9-7 victory over UC San Diego on Saturday evening at Triton Ballpark in La Jolla, California, closing out their participation in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament. The Cougars improved their record to 3-3, while UCSD fell to 2-3.
The Cougars scored nine runs on nine hits and left six runners stranded. In contrast, the Tritons managed seven runs on four hits and left five runners on base.
BYU started strong with three runs in the first inning. Luke Anderson and Ezra McNaughton opened with consecutive singles, setting up an early lead. With two outs, Ryder Robinson walked to load the bases, followed by Matt Hansen being hit by a pitch for an RBI. Ridge Erickson then singled to right field, bringing home two more runs.
UC San Diego responded in the fifth inning with two runs after a walk and two hits reduced BYU’s lead to 3-2.
In the seventh inning, BYU extended its advantage by scoring five runs. Easton Jones and Keoni Painter each singled before Anderson walked to load the bases. McNaughton delivered a single down the left-field line that brought in Jones and Painter. Later in the inning, Crew McChesney tripled down the right-field line for two RBIs and later scored on a wild pitch, pushing BYU’s lead to 8-2.
Robinson added an insurance run for BYU with a solo home run in the ninth inning. UCSD rallied late with five runs in their final at-bat but ultimately fell short as BYU held on for the win.
Wayland Crane started for BYU and pitched four innings, allowing one hit and two runs while striking out four batters. Nate Gray came on in relief for another four shutout innings with four strikeouts to earn the win. Luke Sterner closed out the game by recording the final two outs for his first save of the season.
BYU will have Sunday off before facing UC Riverside at Riverside Sports Complex on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. PT (2 p.m. MT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, as well as on BYUradio.org, through the BYUradio app, and locally in Utah County on 107.9 FM. Matt Baiamonte will provide radio play-by-play coverage from Riverside.
