MALIBU, Calif. —A 5-0 Cougar lead evaporated Friday as Pepperdine got a five-run rally in the eighth to defeat BYU baseball, 9-5.

For the second day in a row, second baseman Joe Sever accounted for the game-winning RBI as Pepperdine (27-19, 11-6 West Coast Conference) pulled within a game of league-leading San Diego.  Sever’s two-run, two-out single broke a 5-5 deadlock.

The Cougars (19-23, 7-10) took a 4-0 lead in the third and extending it to 5-0 in the fourth with catcher Wes Guenther getting RBI singles in those innings.  Designated hitter Alex Wolfe’s two-run single was a key hit in the fourth when BYU scored all of its runs with two outs.

Cougar starter Marc Oslund maintained the lead through seven innings with a 5-4 margin when he exited the game.  Reliever James Lengal started the eighth frame and appeared on his way to a save with two outs until controversial two-out call at third base opened the door for five unearned runs.

The Waves and Cougars conclude the three-game series on Saturday afternoon.

Tuesday night’s BYU game in Provo against Southern Utah is likely the last baseball contest between the two schools.

SUU (15-28) is dropping baseball after this season as it readies to enter the Big Sky Conference.  BYU (18-21) leads the series with the Thunderbirds, 146-32.  The Cougars won the last outing in 2009 vs. SUU, 8-3. The BYU-SUU series began in 1961 in Provo when BYU won five straight.

BYU will start junior college transfer Matt Milke (0-1, 9.37) on the mound against SUU’s Matt Nelson (1-3, 8.46).

Tuesday’s game at 6 p.m., is the last regularly scheduled non-conference game of the season for BYU, and is televised live by BYUtv.

Following the T-Bird tilt, BYU starts a dozen consecutive league games beginning with this Thursday’s three-game series at Pepperdine.