BEAUMONT, Texas – In its first shutout of the season, the BYU baseball team defeated Lamar 4-0 on Saturday, taking two of three from the Cardinals on the weekend.

“I couldn’t be happier about our pitching staff performance this weekend,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “Justin, Blake and Zimm were lights out today. As a team we did a nice job finishing the series the right way. We came out today ready to play after a short turnaround.”

BYU vs. Lamar Box Score

Game Summary

• Justin Sterner earned the win and combined with Blake Inouye and Drew Zimmerman for the shutout, allowing a combined four hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts
• BYU scored one run in the second inning, two in the fourth and one in the eighth
• The Cougars drew a season-high 10 walks, two of which resulted in runs scored

Player Highlights

• Justin Sterner: W (2-1), 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K
• Blake Inouye: 3.0 IP, 0 ER, H, 0 BB, 3 K
• Abraham Valdez: 1-4, 2B, BB, 2 RBI

Justin Sterner earned the win, going 6.0 innings with a career-high seven strikeouts and just three hits. The sophomore right-hander now has 19 Ks through 15 innings this season.

Junior catcher Abraham Valdez and freshman second baseman Zack Peterson started the first games of their BYU careers on Saturday and both made an impact. With runners on first and third in the second inning, Peterson hit a deep ball to center field, enabling Jackson Cluff to score from third for the game’s initial run.

After Keaton Kringlen and Austin Deming hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning, Peterson advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt. Valdez then followed up with a double off the wall in left center, scoring the runners to make it 3-0.

Blake Inouye came in for Sterner in the seventh, eventually going two innings with one hit and three strikeouts for the Cougars.

BYU (7-3) added a fourth and final run in the eighth after Jaren Hall reached home from third on a ground out by Brock Hale.

Drew Zimmerman finished off the Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth, coaxing three groundouts to end the game.

Kringlen and Deming each had two hits and a run scored for BYU while Valdez finished with a double, two RBIs and a walk.

BYU will host Utah Valley in the Cougars’ home opener on Tuesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. MT. The game will be aired live on TheW.tv and ESPN 960.

PROVO, Utah - The BYU baseball team goes on the road for the third-straight week to play a three-game series against the Lamar Cardinals starting Thursday, February 28.

All three games will have a live video feed via the Lamar Athletics Facebook page and can be heard live on BYU Radio and ESPN 960 via radio, web browser or app.

BYU vs. Lamar Game Notes

The Cougars (5-2) are 1-1 all-time against Lamar (4-4) but haven’t played the Cardinals since two matchups in the 1979 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars lost to Lamar, 3-2, before defeating the Cardinals, 7-4, later in the regional.

BYU is most recently coming off three wins at the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ohio State and Oral Roberts.

Catcher Noah Hill leads the team at the plate, hitting .435 with 10 hits. Preseason All-WCC outfielder Brock Hale is hitting .333 with nine hits, eight runs, four RBIs and four walks while second baseman Jackson Cluff is also hitting .333 with nine hits, 10 RBIs, six runs and three walks.

On the mound, BYU will start senior right-hander Jordan Wood (1-0, 3.92 ERA) on Thursday. Junior right-hander Jarod Lessar (1-0, 3.18) will go Friday and sophomore right-hander Justin Sterner (1-1, 2.60) is slated to start on Saturday.

The BYU bullpen has been stellar this season, allowing zero runs in six of the Cougars’ seven contests. Outside of the game against Cal, BYU’s bullpen has recorded no runs and 24 strikeouts with just 10 hits and six walks for a 3-1 record and a save in 25.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Easton Walker has allowed no runs and just one hit in 9.0 innings in relief.