BYU vs. Gonzaga game 3 box score

PROVO, Utah – Gonzaga rallied late to spoil Blake Inouye’s solid outing and an opportunity for a BYU sweep Saturday in a 4-3 decision at Larry H. Miller Field.

"When two good teams play, you win or lose with a play here or there," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We saw some good things this week."

The Bulldogs (12-10, 3-3 West Coast Conference) used a single and a Cougar error en route to loading the bases in the eighth with a 1-1 tie. A single, two walks and a hits batsman plated three Zags and BYU (12-10, 2-4 WCC) was unable to come back.

Inouye started for the Cougars and allowed just four hits and one earned run in six innings of work.

"Blake (Inouye) gave us exactly what we needed," Littlewood said. "He showed us that he can definitely be a starter for us."

BYU scored first by getting Mitch McIntyre over and in after he reached on an error in the third. Gonzaga squared it up at 1-1 with a pair of hits in the sixth.

The Cougars responded to the Bulldogs’ eighth-inning rally by putting up a pair of runs in the bottom half. Jarrett Perns led off the inning with a double and Keaton Kringlen and Brian Hsu singled. However, BYU stranded runners on the corners with a 6-3-6 double play groundout.

On Tuesday, the Cougars play at UVU in the second leg of the UCCU Crosstown Clash (BYU won the first game 9-3 in Provo). Then, they play a three-game weekend series at Pepperdine.

BYU vs. Utah, Gonzaga Game Notes

Both BYU and Utah’s baseball teams look to salve wounds from last week as they play on Tuesday in the first of four meetings this season.

The Cougars bring a 9-9 record into the Deseret First Duel against the Utes who are 2-16.  Tuesday’s game is at 6 p.m. MDT and will be televised live on BYUtv as well as broadcast live over ESPN 960 AM and on BYU Radio-Sirius XM 143.

“We need to be even keel and stay the course,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said.  “The process has proven pretty fruitful over the last five years, so we need to persevere through this.”

Lefthander Bo Burrup (1-0, 14.14) will start for the Cougars against Utah. BYU has won the Duel the past six years and nine of the last 10 times it has been contested in this format. BYU leads the series with the Utes, 244-116-2, with Utah defeating the Cougars in the last meeting, 7-6, in 13 innings in Provo.

That non-league game precedes BYU hosting another fellow defending West Coast Conference tri-champion on Thursday when the Cougars meet Gonzaga in a nationally televised game on ESPNU at 6 p.m. That game with the Bulldogs begins a three-game series and ends an 11-game home stand.

Jordan Wood (1-1, 3.98) will start on the mound for BYU in Thursday's game, followed by Hayden Rogers (2-2, 5.16) on Friday and Blake Inouye (1-2, 7.71) on Saturday.

Gonzaga brings a 2-1 league record into Thursday’s game, which is a rematch of an ESPNU telecast last season in which the Bulldogs won 6-2 in Spokane. The announcers for the ESPNU telecast are Roxy Bernstein and Wes Clements who also called last season’s game. Friday’s game at 6 p.m., and Saturday’s game at 1 p.m., will both be televised live by BYUtv.

BYU is 0-3 in the WCC after being swept last week in Provo by league co-leader Loyola Marymount.