College baseball: Troy Johnston, Slade Heggen lead Gonzaga past Washington State

Troy Johnston hit a two-run home run, Slade Heggen singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and Gonzaga defeated Washington State 8-5 Tuesday in nonconference play at Patterson Baseball Complex.

Johnston’s blast in the third staked the Bulldogs (20-17) to a 5-2 lead. The Cougars rallied to tie the game with a three-run fifth, thanks to a home run from Andres Alvarez, an RBI single from Collin Montez and a run-scoring double by Brody Barnum.

Heggen restored Gonzaga’s lead in the sixth when he singled in Josh Bristyan off Connor Barison (0-1). Heggen later scored on a wild pitch, and Nick Nyquist added a sacrifice fly in the seventh for the final margin.

Bristyan’s two-RBI double opened the scoring in the second. Bristyan, Heggen and Johnson finished with two RBIs apiece to lead GU. Johnston also scored twice.

Gonzaga evened the season series with WSU after the Cougars won 12-10 on April 2. The teams will meet for a third time on May 6 in Spokane.

Daniel Naughton (1-1) worked two innings in relief of starter Justin Blatner, giving up one run while earning the win.

Alvarez drove in two and scored one to lead WSU.

Both teams return to conference play on Friday. Gonzaga hosts a series against San Francisco and Washington State travels to play Oregon State.