PROVO, Utah — After winning the first two games and the series, BYU baseball dropped its final game of the series against Pepperdine 7-0 on Saturday at Miller Field.
"Pepperdine came out ready to play today," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "We were ready to play but came out a little bit passive and didn't have a whole lot of killer instinct today."
Game Summary
- BYU won its third conference series of the year but fell in the Cougars' first shutout of the season
- The Cougars hit into double plays in four-consecutive innings
- Mitch McIntyre had BYU's only extra-base hit and pitched two scoreless innings
Player Highlights
- Mitch McIntyre: 2-2, 2B, HBP; 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 K
- Brian Hsu: 1-3, BB
The Waves got on the board in the second inning with three hits resulting in three runs. Another double in the fourth put Pepperdine up 4-0.
The Cougars put runners on every inning but the ninth but couldn't string the offense together. In innings three through six, BYU hit into a double play each inning to help Pepperdine pitcher Jonathan Pendergast, who threw a complete game.
BYU starting pitcher Justin Sterner went four innings, retiring with five strikeouts on the day and taking the loss to go to 6-3 on the season.
Now with a record of 24-9 and 10-5 in West Coast Conference play, the Cougars are currently a game back of LMU for first place in the league standings.
BYU travels to Washington for a three-game series next week against the Huskies starting at 6 p.m PDT on Thursday, Apr. 18. The series will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network as well as 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.
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