AUSTIN, Texas — BYU baseball fell to No. 19 Texas, 3-1, in the series opener at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Wednesday night.

The game featured a pitcher’s duel between Cougar right-handed starter Easton Walker and a committee of Longhorns. The BYU senior from Pleasant Grove, Utah, went seven and a third innings, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out four.

“Easton was outstanding tonight,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “He really competed and gave us a chance to win.”

The Longhorns scored first, homering on the first pitch of the third inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Cougars tied it up in the top of the eighth with a homer of their own, a solo shot by Austin Deming. 

Texas (1-3) then scored two runs on a single through the right side to take the lead back in the top half of the eighth, 3-1. The two-out single hit drove in what proved to be the winning runs as BYU (2-3) went down in order in the ninth.

“Overall, I’m real proud of the guys and the way they competed tonight,” said Littlewood “It came down to Texas got a key hit when they needed it, and we couldn’t seem to string enough hits together.”

Game Notes

• Walker retired the side in order in back-to-back innings to open the game
• He again retired the side in three-straight innings—fifth, sixth and seventh, including an eight-pitch seventh inning
• Over 7.1 innings Walker faced 25 batters, inducing 10 groundouts, eight fly-ball outs and four strikeouts
• Austin Deming got BYU’s first hit of the game, a leadoff double in the sixth inning
• The Cougars finished with three hits, two by Austin Deming and one by Brock Watkins

Player Highlights

• Easton Walker: 7.1 IP, 4 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 1 ER
• Austin Deming: 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

BYU will be back in action at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 1 p.m. CST, to face the Longhorns in game two of their four-game series. The game will be broadcast live on the ESPN Longhorn Network, as well as the BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio FM 107.7, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. 

AUSTIN, Texas – After splitting the opening series of the 2021 season 2-2 at Texas State, BYU baseball heads north 32 miles up I-35 to take on the University of Texas in a four game series scheduled for Feb. 24-27. The series includes games on Wednesday (7 pm CT), Thursday (6:30 pm), Friday (6:30 pm) and Saturday (3 pm CT). 

All four games will be broadcast live on the ESPN Longhorn Network as well as the BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio FM 107.7, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. 

The Cougars return 26 players from 2020, including six position starters and at least three other players with significant starts in the pandemic-shortened season. Taking the hill for BYU in game one Wednesday is senior right-hander Easton Walker, who pitched three and a third innings of relief in the season opener at Texas State last Saturday. 

The Longhorns are coming off three loss—Mississippi State (ranked No. 7), Arkansas (No. 8) and Ole Miss (No. 6)—at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Texas hasn’t started 0-3 since 2006, a season in which they went on to win the Big 12 Championship. 

The Longhorns hold a 3-0 advantage over the Cougars in the all-time series and are 2-0 at home. The first meeting between the two schools was in 1968 and the most recent in 1981. 
 
BYU Cougars (2-2, 0-0 WCC)
Head Coach: Mike Littlewood
Alma Mater: BYU
Division I Career Record: 224-171 (.567) 9th season
Record at BYU: Same
 
Texas (0-3, 0-0 Big 12)
Head Coach: David Pierce
Alma Mater: Houston
Division I Career Record: 319-186 (.632) 10th season
Record at Texas: 122-77 (.613) 5th season

Cougars
2020 Record: 26/10 
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/0 
Fielders Returning/Lost: 14/5 
Pitchers Returning/Lost: 12/5 
Newcomers/True Freshmen: 10/5 
2019 Record: 36-17 
2019 WCC Record: 19-8 
2019 WCC Finish: 1st 
 
Longhorns
2020 Record: 14-3 
Returning/Lost: 22/5 
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/2 
Fielders Returning/Lost: 8/1 
Pitchers Returning/Lost: 14/4 
Newcomers/True Freshman: 14/10 
2019 Record: 27-27 
2019 Big 12 Record: 7-16 
2019 Big 12 Finish: 9th 

Contact: Duff Tittle | 801-372-4401