BYU baseball shuts out Arizona State for 1st conference tournament win since 2017

PROVO — BYU baseball's first postseason since 2022 will last at least another day.

Crew McChesney drove in the go-ahead run early, and Justis Reiser and Ashton Johnson combined on a six-hit shutout with two strikeouts to help the 12th-seeded Cougars win its first conference tournament game since 2017 with a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded Arizona State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Arlington, Texas.

Four Sun Devils pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts, including seven from relief pitcher Jonah Giblin on a team that led the Big 12 in batting average (.320), slugging percentage (.533), hits (619), runs (477) and doubles (141) in ranking among the top offensive teams in the country.

But two pitchers with a combined ERA of 3.72 held Arizona State below two runs — and scoreless — for the first time all season.

"I don't think a shutout was on anyone's bingo card against that team," said Pratt, who spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at ASU before finishing his collegiate career at Auburn. "But I knew if we're just on the strike zone, we'll have a chance to be in any game we play in. We gave up one free base, and that was in the ninth."

One year after missing the conference tournament in the Cougars' first season in the Big 12, Trent Pratt's BatCats won a conference tournament game for the first time since an 8-4 win over Saint Mary's in the second game of the West Coast Conference Tournament on May 26, 2017 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California.

"That was our goal the first of the year: get to the tournament, and just keep building off that," Pratt told KSL.com before Wednesday's game. "I'm happy for the players who have been here, for the seniors to get a chance to play in the postseason. And I'm most happy for our players and what they did. We're out there helping them, but they've got to go do it. It's all about the players, and I'm happy and excited for them."

BYU struck first early through McChesney's RBI double in the top of the second. The sophomore from Lone Peak High who led BYU in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage as a freshman ripped a double to right center that scored Keoni Painter for the first run of the tournament in the debut game at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers.

"This is what you dream of," said BYU outfielder Bryker Hurdsman, who went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. "All growing up, this is what you dream of. I think everyone came in excited to be on the field. It's amazing to have an opportunity to play in a Big League ballpark like this."

Tate Gambill doubled the advantage in the fifth, when Hurdsman walked with the bases loaded to stretch the advantage to 2-0 as Reiser held the Sun Devils to three hits in four innings.

Johnson improved to 5-1 on the hill after scattering three hits with one strikeout in a season-high five innings for the Cougars (29-26).

"Justis gave us a great start; we couldn't ask for more than four zeroes," the left-handed pitcher from Holladay by way of the College of Southern Idaho told BYU Radio. "I got the call to go in, and I was just going to go in and do my thing, do what I've done all year.

Matt King went 2-for-3 to lead Arizona State (35-23), getting on base via a hit-by-pitch to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. But Johnson induced three consecutive pop flies to seal the shutout victory against the top offensive team in the Big 12.

The Cougars will face fourth-seeded Arizona in the single-elimination Big 12 tournament quarterfinals Thursday at 8 a.m. MDT (ESPN+, BYU Radio). The Wildcats (36-18) went 18-12 in Big 12 play, including a 2-1 mark at BYU that included a a 12-5 loss Thursday and a pair of wins by a combined three runs April 18-19.

"It's one more day," Pratt said, "and another Thursday we get to play. Every day is a Thursday for us."

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