Walker Pitches Strong in 4-2 Win

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.