MALIBU, Calif. — A ninth-inning rally fell short for No. 26 BYU baseball, falling victim to a grand slam Saturday afternoon in a 4-3 loss to Pepperdine.

Starter Riley Gates had a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead going into the sixth inning.  The slam by the Waves’ Brad Anderson gave Pepperdine (22-20, 12-9) control until it nearly got away in the ninth inning.

"We gave everything we had today," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "Riley (Gates) and Mason (Marshall) did a great job on the mound, but Pepperdine was better today."

BYU’s rally was stopped short in the ninth with two runners left on base.  The Cougars scored a pair of runs with two outs. In that frame, Keaton Kringlen was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on Daniel Schneemann’s double and scored on Bronson Larsen’s single.  Schneemann then scored on Brennon Anderson’s single.

The Cougars (31-13, 13-8 West Coast Conference) dropped from first place in the league, but still control their own destiny as they hope to qualify for the four-team WCC tourney.

BYU took the initial 1-0 lead in the first inning on Saturday at Pepperdine, loading the bases after Tanner Chauncey and Eric Urry extended their hitting streaks to 10 and eight games, respectively.  Colton Shaver’s sac-fly scored Hayden Nielsen for that run.

The Cougars are next in action on Tuesday in a game postponed from two weeks ago at Utah Valley. The BYU-UVU game will be broadcast live on the Internet by BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143.

Tanner Chauncey of No. 26 BYU was named the Rawlings West Coast Conference Player of the Week today for his performance last week against Gonzaga.

Chauncey raised his batting average from .358 to .388. The junior designated hitter from Las Vegas hit his first home run of the season, and second as a collegian, with a solo shot in the sixth inning of BYU's 11-2 victory over Gonzaga .

In BYU's 5-4 comeback victory over Gonzaga on Saturday he had four consecutive singles, including knocking in BYU's first run of the game in the ninth inning. He also scored BYU's third run of the ninth inning.

“Tanner showed tremendous resiliency this week just battling with us,” BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. “He was a mainstay in our lineup and got us a big hit in the ninth inning of the third game against Gonzaga. We followed his lead this week.”

Cameron Neff of Saint Mary's College was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week. BYU’s Mike Rucker (9-0) was also nominated for that award.

The Cougars host Utah Valley University on Tuesday night at Larry H. Miller Field, with Hayden Rogers (4-1) starting on the mound for BYU. BYU marketing will be giving away 1,000 T-shirts as a promotional during that game.

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