SEATTLE – A gem by Cougar pitcher Justin Sterner helped BYU baseball roll to a 4-0 shutout victory over Washington at Husky Ballpark on Saturday.

“Justin really set the tone for us today and the hitters came out ready to play," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "This was a great series win for our program."

BYU vs. Washington Box Score

Game Summary

• Justin Sterner tied a career high with seven strikeouts in 7.1 innings, allowing no runs and no walks with just two hits
• The win gave BYU the series, the Cougars’ seventh series win in nine played this year
• BYU scored three runs in the sixth off an RBI-double by Brock Hale, a hit by pitch drawn by Mitch McIntyre and a walk by Abraham Valdez, the latter two with the bases loaded

Player Highlights

• Brock Hale: 3-5, 2 2B, R, RBI
• Mitch McIntyre: 1-1, 2B, R, RBI, BB, 2 HBP
• Justin Sterner: W (7-3), 7.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K

Coming off a 7-3 victory in game two, BYU (26-10) battled with the Huskies (17-17) through five scoreless innings. The Cougars broke through in the sixth with Brian Hsu leading off with a bunt single, the advancing to second on a sac bunt. Brock Hale doubled to score Hsu, then Jackson Cluff and Keaton Kringlen walked to load the bases.

Mitch McIntyre was hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count to score BYU’s second run; Abraham Valdez followed with a walk to bring in Cluff and give the Cougars the 3-0 advantage.

Sterner earned his seventh win of the year, allowing just one hit through six innings. He left the game in the seventh, finishing with a career-high-tying seven strikeouts with no runs and no walks allowed.

BYU added its final run in the eighth when the Husky center fielder committed an error on a ball hit by Casey Jacobsen that enabled McIntyre to come around from second.

Reid McLaughlin came in with two on and no outs in the ninth, retiring three successive Washington batters to collect his third save of the year.

BYU will get back into West Coast Conference play with a three-game series at Pacific starting Thursday, April 25, at 6 p.m. PT. All three games air on TheW.tv, BYU Radio and ESPN 960 AM.

PROVO, Utah - Midway through West Coast Conference play, BYU baseball will travel to Seattle to play a non-conference series against the Washington Huskies.

BYU vs. Washington Game Notes

While not affecting the league standings where the Cougars are currently one game behind LMU, the three-game series could provide a boost to BYU's RPI and potential at-large NCAA Tournament hopes, if needed. Currently sitting at an RPI of 40 with a 24-9 record, wins on the road against the Huskies—who come into the series at 16-15 with an RPI of 61—would strengthen BYU's résumé even more going into the final stretch of the season.

The Cougars lead the all-time series, 21-13-1, but have not played the Huskies since 2011. BYU is looking to add to its four wins over three Power 5 teams this year, having already defeated Northwestern (twice), Ohio State and Oregon.

On the mound, BYU will start senior Jordan Wood (4-1, 4.53), sophomore Easton Walker (4-0, 0.82) and sophomore Justin Sterner (6-3, 3.00) this weekend. Wood is looking for the 16th win of his career on Thursday against Washington's Jordan Jones (2-4, 5.37) who most recently allowed just three earned runs in 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts but took a loss at No. 5 Stanford.

Walker, BYU's Friday starter, is second in the nation with a 0.82 ERA in 44 innings pitched. Walker went the first 34 innings of the year without an earned run before allowing two in each of his last two outings. He'll be opposite the Huskies' Josh Burgmann (3-2, 2.62) who won his first three decisions before losing the last two at Arizona and at Stanford.

Sterner will start Saturday, coming in tied for 20th in the nation with six wins; only two underclassmen in the country have more. Washington's starter will be a game-time decision.

In the Cougar bullpen, Reid McLaughlin has the top ERA of any freshman in the country, currently sitting at 1.54. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native is 5-0 with two saves this year in 15 relief appearances.

BYU senior right fielder Brock Hale comes into the series with the ninth-best slugging percentage (.605) among active Division I players; he’s also 10th with a .460 on-base percentage and 16th with a .358 batting average.

Sophomore shortstop Jackson Cluff is 35th in the nation averaging 1.21 RBIs per game; he leads the team with 40 RBIs, 37 runs, 12 doubles and an on-base percentage of .484. Senior infielder Brian Hsu leads BYU with a .383 batting average and is 42nd in the country averaging 1.53 hits per game.

Games one and two will begin at 6 p.m. PT with game three starting at 1 p.m. PT. All three games can be seen live via online streaming at gohuskies.com or can be heard on BYU Radio and ESPN 960.