PROVO, Utah — No. 19 Gonzaga Baseball fell in its West Coast Conference series opener with BYU at Larry H. Miller Park Thursday evening by a score 11-2, with a late surge from the Cougars (12-7) putting the game out of reach late.

The Zags' first WCC loss drops GU to 14-6 and 31 in conference play, with a chance to knot the series up tomorrow.

Shea Kramer (1 run) and Enzo Apodaca led an eight-hit night for GU with two apiece, with Grayson Sterling and Stephen Lund (1 hit) supplying both RBI.

RHP Gabriel Hughes gave the Bulldogs a solid six frames on the mound, striking out seven while being tagged for four earned runs on five hits. Gonzaga cut the Cougars' lead to 4-2 in the top of the seventh before BYU responded with seven unanswered in innings seven and eight to break the game open late.

Liam McCallum entered the game for his Zags debut on the mound, striking out BYU's Alex Sardina in his first collegiate at-bat and then inducing a grounder to end the eighth.

Series at a Glance

With the loss, Gonzaga is 25-21 against BYU all-time and 16-14 in conference games against the Cougars since they joined the WCC in 2012, but are 10-11 in matchups in Provo — of which this weekend series will be the last as BYU moves to the Big 12 Conference. The Bulldogs swept the Cougars in Spokane last spring.

Up Next / Follow the Game

The Zags have a chance to tie the series at one-all tomorrow at 5 p.m., with RHP Owen Wild () set to get the start on the mound against BYU RHP Janzen Keisel (2-1, 21.2 IP, 27, 4.57 ERA).