PROVO, Utah – Sophomore Easton Walker had a solid night on the mound as BYU baseball beat Pepperdine 4-2 on Friday at Miller Field.

“They put the pressure on us all night long,” BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. “But we also did the same thing to them. Easton was great; he settled in and did a really nice job of giving us seven innings.”

BYU vs. Pepperdine Box Score

Game Summary

• After two outs and down 2-0, the Cougars scored four runs in the third inning
• Jackson Cluff stole home off of a successful double steal with Austin Deming stealing second
• Easton Walker pitched a career-high 7.1 innings and tied his career best in strikeouts with five in the win

Player Highlights

• Brian Hsu: 2-4, R
• Austin Deming: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI
• Easton Walker: W (4-0), 7.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Pepperdine (16-14, 7-7 WCC) took a 2-0 lead over BYU (24-8, 10-4 WCC) off a pair of sacrifice flies in the top of the third inning.

With two outs in the bottom of the third frame, Brock Hale brought Brian Hsu home from second base with a single up the middle to score the Cougars’ first run. With bases loaded, Austin Deming scored Noah Hill and Hale and advanced Jackson Cluff to third off a single to left field. Deming and Cluff then executed a successful double steal with Cluff coming home for the fourth run of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Walker, who came into the game leading the nation with a 0.49 ERA, went a career-long 7.1 innings pitched while also throwing five strikeouts to tie his career best.

Drew Zimmerman relieved Walker in the top of the eighth to close out the game for BYU. With the tying run on second base in the top of the ninth, Zimmerman struck out back-to-back batters to earn the save, his fourth of the season.

The Cougars will look to complete the sweep against the Waves on Saturday, April 13, at 1 p.m. MDT. The game can be viewed live on BYUtv while audio broadcasts will be available on BYU Radio and ESPN 960.

PROVO, Utah - BYU baseball and Pepperdine will go head-to-head in a pivotal WCC series this weekend, April 11-13, at Miller Park.

The Cougars come into the series second in the league standings at 8-4, one game behind league leader LMU at 9-3. The Waves are tied for fourth just one game back of BYU at 7-5. Five of the conference’s 10 teams are currently within at least two games of the LMU for the league lead.

BYU vs. Pepperdine Game Notes

For the fourth-straight week, the Cougar rotation will consist of Jordan Wood (4-1, 3.99), Easton Walker (3-0, 0.49) and Justin Sterner (6-2, 2.41). 

Walker leads the nation with a 0.49 ERA in 36.2 innings, giving up his first earned runs of the season last Friday against San Diego. Walker is also ninth in the country with a 0.76 WHIP and 31st with just 5.40 hits allowed per nine innings.

This past week, sophomore infielder Jackson Cluff was named a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and WCC Player of the Week on Monday for his performances at Utah and San Diego. Cluff batted .538 on the week, totaling seven hits, seven runs, 10 RBIs and seven walks with two doubles and a grand slam. In game three against USD, Cluff went 4-for-4 with nine RBIs and a triple short of a cycle, including the grand slam.

Cluff’s National Player of the Week award comes a week after senior outfielder Brock Hale won the same award, marking the first time in program history two players have earned national honors in the same year.

Thursday's game will begin at 6 p.m. MT and will air on BYUtv's digital platforms. Friday's game will also start at 6 p.m. MT and will be shown on TheW.tv while Saturday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. MT and will be shown on BYUtv and BYUtv digital platforms. All games will also air on BYU Radio and ESPN 960.

Game 1
Thursday, April 11
6 p.m. MT
Miller Field
BYUtv Digital, BYU Radio, ESPN 960
$1 Drinks and Flavor Bar

Game 2
Friday, April 12
6 p.m. MT
Miller Field
TheW.tv, BYU Radio, ESPN 960
Sandlot Night, Fireworks, Free S'mores, $1 Ice Cream

Game 3
Saturday, April 13
1 p.m. MT
Miller Field
BYUtv, BYU Radio, ESPN 960
Family Day, Free entry for Rex Lee Run participants