Ninth-inning rally falls short in 4-3 loss at Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. — A ninth-inning rally fell short for No. 26 BYU baseball, falling victim to a grand slam Saturday afternoon in a 4-3 loss to Pepperdine.

Starter Riley Gates had a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead going into the sixth inning.  The slam by the Waves’ Brad Anderson gave Pepperdine (22-20, 12-9) control until it nearly got away in the ninth inning.

"We gave everything we had today," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "Riley (Gates) and Mason (Marshall) did a great job on the mound, but Pepperdine was better today."

BYU’s rally was stopped short in the ninth with two runners left on base.  The Cougars scored a pair of runs with two outs. In that frame, Keaton Kringlen was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on Daniel Schneemann’s double and scored on Bronson Larsen’s single.  Schneemann then scored on Brennon Anderson’s single.

The Cougars (31-13, 13-8 West Coast Conference) dropped from first place in the league, but still control their own destiny as they hope to qualify for the four-team WCC tourney.

BYU took the initial 1-0 lead in the first inning on Saturday at Pepperdine, loading the bases after Tanner Chauncey and Eric Urry extended their hitting streaks to 10 and eight games, respectively.  Colton Shaver’s sac-fly scored Hayden Nielsen for that run.

The Cougars are next in action on Tuesday in a game postponed from two weeks ago at Utah Valley. The BYU-UVU game will be broadcast live on the Internet by BYU Radio and Sirius Satellite 143.