PROVO, Utah – Gonzaga baseball's late rally came up just short in the series opener at BYU Thursday. After the Zags tied the score at two in the top of the sixth, BYU's Luke Anderson homered in the bottom half of the frame to propel the Cougars to the home opening win, 3-2.
 
Gonzaga (1-7) was hitless entering the sixth before back-to-back singles from Sam Stem and Donovan Ratfield led off the inning. Stem would later come home on an RBI groundout from Max Coupe before Josh Hankins knotted the score with a hard-hit single to left.
 
BYU (3-5) took an early 2-0 lead in the first after collecting three hits and taking advantage of a Bulldog error. Gonzaga starter Michael Cunneely (L, 0-1) settled in after the first, sitting down a streak of 13 straight Cougar hitters before surrendering the home run to Anderson in the sixth.
 
Kai Francis and Erik Hoffberg were the lone Zags out of the bullpen, combining for three scoreless innings and giving up just two hits while striking out five and walking two. BYU reliever Mason Olson was credited with the win after entering in the sixth and pitching three scoreless innings. Stone Cushing picked up his first save of the season for the Cougars, recording a pair of strikeouts to seal the series-opening win.
 
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Gonzaga and BYU will square off in game two on Friday. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.