Cougars defeat No. 19 Texas 5-4 in series finale

AUSTIN, Texas — The BYU bats came alive for five runs in the fifth inning of game four at No. 19 Texas, propelling the Cougars to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday.

“It was a great team win,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “The guys showed a lot of toughness and resiliency tonight. We pitched really well, strung a few hits together and played great defense.”

Down 4-0, with one out in the bottom of the fifth, the Cougars strung together four consecutive singles by Andrew Pintar, Mitch McIntyre, Austin Deming and Josh Cowden to cut the deficit to 4-1. With the bases loaded, Cole Gambill was hit by the next pitch to drive in run two of the inning. Senior Freddy Achecar’s deep flyball down the leftfield line scored a tagging Deming from third to cut the Texas lead to 4-3 with two outs.

Gambill and Cowden both advanced a base on a wild pitch and Brock Watkins then delivered a two-out, two-run RBI single to give BYU a 5-4 advantage.  

Junior pitcher Reid McLaughlin entered the game in the sixth to face the bottom half of the Texas lineup. Over the next three innings, the righthander faced the minimum nine batters, striking out two and holding the Longhorns scoreless.

Headed to the bottom of the ninth inning still nursing a 5-4 lead, Littlewood turned to starting centerfielder McIntyre to take the mound and close out the game. After surrendering a leadoff double to open the ninth, the senior lefty retired the next three Longhorns in order to preserve the BYU win.

The Cougars leave the state of Texas with a 3-5 season record having played eight games in eight days at Texas State (2-2) and No. 19 Texas (1-3).

Player Highlights

• Watkins: 1-4, 2 RBI
• McIntyre: 2-4, 1 run, 1 IP, 0.00 ERA
• McLaughlin: 3.0 IP, 2 K, 0.00 ERA

The Cougars hit the road again next week for a three-game series with Oregon State in Corvallis, March 4-6. All three games will be broadcast live on the BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. Game one is scheduled for Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m. CST.

BYU vs. Texas Final Box Score