SURPRISE, Ariz. – An explosive eighth inning and strong defense gave BYU baseball a 7-1 opening day win over Gonzaga at Surprise Stadium.

The West Coast Conference rivals got an early look at each other, facing off in the non-conference game due to a scheduling quirk at the neutral site Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic; the two teams will also play a three-game series at Spokane in May.

Box Score

"Tonight was exactly what I was hoping for – we got veteran leadership and our new guys all stepped up and did a great job," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "Justin Sterner was lights out for us which was exactly the start we needed to kick off the season. Reid McLaughlin did exactly what he was supposed to do out of the pen and on the offensive side we executed pretty well and Hayden Leatham stepped up big for us."

Game Summary

• With the game tied, BYU batted through the order and scored six runs in the eighth inning behind four singles, a double and two walks
• Justin Sterner threw 49 strikes out of 62 pitches to hold down the Zags into the seventh
• Reid McLaughlin and Jarod Lessar closed out the game on the mound, allowing just one hit between them in the final 2.2 innings

Player Highlights

• Hayden Leatham: 1-3, HR, SF, 2 RBI
• Justin Sterner: 6.1 IP, 7 K, 4 H, ER
• Reid McLaughlin W (1-0), 1.2 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 0 ER

BYU starter Justin Sterner and Gonzaga starter Mac Lardner battled through the game’s first six innings with neither pitcher allowing a run to score. However, the Cougars pushed Lardner’s pitch count to close to the century mark, forcing the Bulldogs to go their pen to start the seventh inning.

Cougar outfielder Hayden Leatham, playing in his first game for BYU after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho, immediately took advantage, blasting the first pitch of the inning straight away over the centerfield fence for a home run.

The Bulldogs struck back in the bottom of the inning, knocking Sterner out of the game with two singles, then getting an RBI-single to tie things back up.

But the Cougars answered in the ensuing eighth, starting with a leadoff single by senior Abraham Valdez. Freshman Andrew Pintar, who had a bunt single in his first at bat earlier in the game, followed with a double, and sophomore Zack Peterson singled to left to score Valdez.

After a four-ball walk to junior Danny Gelalich, freshman Brock Watkins drew a full-count walk to score another run. Leatham followed with a sac fly for the third run of the inning.

A wild pitch moved the runners over, then junior Mitch McIntyre was intentionally walked to load the bases. Gelalich scored on the next at bat tagging up on a foul out by sophomore Austin Deming. Junior Bryan Call finished the scoring barrage with a single to right field to bring in Watkins and McIntyre.

In all, the Cougars’ six through nine hitters in the lineup totaled six of BYU’s eight hits on the night and nine batters each getting either at least one run or a hit.

Sophomore preseason All-American Reid McLaughlin came on in relief in the seventh, throwing 1.2 innings of scoreless ball to earn the win. Senior Jarod Lessar finished off the game, retiring the side in the ninth to seal the BYU victory.

BYU will next play two against New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 15, with game one at 10 a.m. MT and game two at 3 p.m. MT.

PROVO, Utah – BYU baseball will begin its 2020 season at the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic this week in Surprise, Arizona.

The Cougars will play four games in four days, starting with a contest on Friday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. MT against West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga in a non-conference affair. The Bulldogs were BYU’s final opponent last season, with the Zags winning 3-1 in the WCC Tournament. The two teams have split their last 10 games in a back-and-forth rivalry of two of the conference’s top teams.

On Saturday, Feb. 15, BYU will play two games against New Mexico with game one starting at 10 a.m. MT and game two at 3 p.m. MT. A former Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference foe, New Mexico faced BYU every year but one from 1987 to 2011 until the Cougars joined the WCC. These will be the first games between the two schools since that time. The Lobos have won seven of the last 10 in the series.

Finally, the Cougars will go up against No. 25 Oregon State on Monday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. MT. Ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll after reaching the NCAA Tournament last season, the Beavers are on an eight-game winning streak against BYU dating back to the Cougars’ last victory in 1991. This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2009.

Games one, two and four will stream live on FloSports (subscription required) and over the air on the BYU Cougars app and ESPN 960. Game three will stream for free on BYU baseball's Facebook page and the BYU Cougars app. See the BYU baseball schedule page for complete details and links.

BYU is led by head coach Mike Littlewood, the 2019 WCC Coach of the Year who is now in his eighth season with a record of 215-160 (.573). Littlewood led BYU to a 36-17 record last season and the Cougars' third WCC title in the last four seasons.

The Cougars return a core of a pitching staff and have added talented newcomers to a group that finished 22nd in the nation last year with a 3.65 ERA, the program's lowest mark since 1982. Starting game one for BYU will be junior right hander Justin Sterner (8-4 record, 2.95 ERA in 2019) with game two going to freshman left hander Cy Nielson out of Spanish Fork, Utah. Junior right hander Easton Walker (8-3, 2.59) will start game three and senior right hander Jarod Lessar (3-2, 4.44) will start game four.

In the field, All-WCC junior Mitch McIntyre returns to the outfield after hitting .291 with 14 doubles, seven home runs and 30 walks in 2019. Fellow junior outfielder Danny Gelalich returns after batting .328 last year. In the infield, senior Abraham Valdez is set to start at catcher while a combination of underclassmen will play around the bases.