SAN MARCOS, Texas — A sacrifice fly by Austin Deming in the top of the 10th inning that scored Andrew Pintar from third — combined with clutch pitching from Mitch McIntyre — gave BYU a 7-6 win over Texas State in the final game of the four-game series Tuesday.

“Tonight was a total team win,” said BYU head coach Mike Littlewood. “We picked each other up, got a few key hits, played solid defense and Mitch did an incredible job finishing the game when we needed him most.”

McIntyre, the Cougars’ starting centerfielder, took the mound with the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh with runners on the corners and one out. The sophomore lefty struck out pinch hitter Cade Manning on five pitches for the second out, and got centerfielder Isaiah Ortega-Jones to pop up to second base to end the inning.

Over the next three innings McIntyre retired the side in order, striking out two, while not allowing a single Bobcat to reach base. Over the course of three and two-third innings he retired 11 straight batters to get the win.

“I’m real proud of our guys this series for playing hard every inning,” said Littlewood. “Mitch was outstanding tonight and I thought Luke Sterner gave us two very solid and important innings on the mound in his college debut.”

The win gives BYU a 2-2 split in the four-game series at Texas State. The Cougars won games two (9-4) and four (7-6), while the Bobcats took games one (5-4) and three (11-6).

Up next for the Cougars is a four-game series versus Texas in Austin, Feb. 24-27. All four games will be broadcast live on ESPN’s Longhorn Network and the BYU Radio Network on BYU Radio FM 107.7, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. Game one is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. CST.

Pepperdine sweeps No. 12 women’s volleyball

MALIBU, Calif. – The Cougars lost their irst match of the 2020-21 season, falling to Pepperdine in straight sets (20-25, 16-25, 19-25) on Tuesday at the Firestone Fieldhouse.

Freshman outside hitter Erin Livingston led the team with 10 kills on a .333 clip and sophomore outside hitter Abbey Dayton matched her career high of 10 digs. Junior setter Tayler Hifo totaled a career-high 14 assists while sophomore setter Whitney Bower finished with 13.

BYU (7-1, 6-1 WCC) entered the match hitting .329, the seventh-best percentage in the NCAA Division I. Pepperdine (7-0, 7-0) held the Cougars to a season-worst .178 hitting percentage while outblocking BYU 7-4.

BYU and Pepperdine will play the second half of the two-match series on Wednesday, Feb. 24. First serve at the Firestone Fieldhouse is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on the WCC Network.

Women’s golf ties for fifth

SEAL BEACH, Calif. – BYU women’s golf earned its best finish of the season with a tie for fifth after a final round of 295 at The Gold Rush on Tuesday.

“It feels good to finish strong,” said head coach Carrie Roberts. “I’m glad we came out and played much better today.”

While difficult conditions and inconsistency plagued BYU in Monday’s opening 36 holes, Tuesday’s final 18-holes saw the Cougars improve 21 shots over its second-round score to finish the tournament with a total of 309-316-295–920.

No. 21 USC won The Gold Rush Tournament with a three-round total of 864, for its third-consecutive title of the spring. The Trojans were led by individual winner Allisen Corpuz, who shot 6-under 66 in the final round and 206 for the tournament. Rounding out the top five teams were UNLV and Cal Poly at 898, Fresno State at 899, followed by Sacrament State and BYU at 920.

BYU finished 18 shots ahead of WCC-foe Santa Clara, and were one of just four teams to score under 300 in the final round.

The Cougars also posted three top-20 individual finishers. Allysha Mae Mateo led BYU on Tuesday with a team-best, third-round score of 2-under 70. Her three-round total of 223 was good for ninth place and Mateo’s fifth top-10 finish of the season as well as the 10th of her career.

“Allysha Mae played really well today,” said Roberts. “She understands and was in real control of herself and her game.”

Joining Mateo in the top 20 was Kerstin Fotu who shot 228 to finish T16 and Cythia Tu who finished at 229 to tie for 20th.

Next up for the Cougars is the Julie Inkster Invitational on March 8-9, hosted by San Jose State and San Francisco at the The Meadow Club in Fairfax, California.