College baseball: Nick Nyquist’s homer helps Gonzaga beat Utah

Nick Nyquist hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning, and Gonzaga defeated Utah 5-3 Tuesday in a nonconference game in Salt Lake City.

Nyquist’s blast, his third of the season, came with two outs and put the Bulldogs (6-8) up 4-2. The Zags stretched the lead to 5-2 on Brett Harris’ sacrifice fly in the seventh.

The Utes (6-6) pulled closer on Zack Moeller’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Utah loaded the bases in the eighth and ninth but came up empty each time.

Alek Jacob recorded four outs to pick up his fourth save of the season.

Ernie Yake picked up three hits for Gonzaga, including a triple in the first, when he later scored on Guthrie Morrison’s sacrifice fly.

Chase Fernlund’s solo homer briefly gave Utah the lead in the fifth.

The Bulldogs begin West Coast Conference play Thursday at BYU.

UNLV 17, Washington State 3: Max Smith homered and drove in four runs as the Rebels (10-7) routed the Cougars (6-9) in Las Vegas.

Smith’s three-run blast came in the first and put UNLV up 4-0. After scoring two in the fourth, the Rebels added seven in the fifth, including two-run singles by Jacob Godman and Bryson Stott. Chase Hanson capped the Rebels’ outburst with a three-run homer in the sixth.

Dillon Plew homered for WSU, and Andres Alvarez went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI.

The Cougars wrap up the two-game set Wednesday at UNLV.