PROVO, Utah – In his first start of the season and only the second of his career, sophomore Easton Walker threw a no-hitter through five innings as BYU baseball took the win 3-1 over Portland on Friday night at Larry H. Miller Field.

"We knew this was going to be a low scoring game just because of the two guys going on the mound," BYU head coach Mike Littlewood said. "I tip my hat to our guys. We really fought tonight."

BYU vs. Portland Game 2

Game Summary

• Easton Walker earned his second win of the year, striking out a career-high five batters. Reid McLaughlin and Drew Zimmerman helped close the final three innings, with Zimmerman earning the save
• BYU scored two runs in the fourth inning and added one in the bottom of the eighth
• BYU has now won six-straight at home over Portland dating back to 2015

Player Highlights

• Easton Walker: W (2-1), 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K  
• Mitch McIntrye: 2-4, 2 RBI  
• Danny Gelalich: 1-1, BB, HBP

Walker came into the game having pitched 19.2 innings without allowing an earned run this season in nine relief appearances. Starting for the first time since 2016, the sophomore struck out five batters in six innings while keeping his 0.00 ERA intact.

After three scoreless innings, the Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The momentum started as sophomore Jackson Cluff doubled to the warning track in left field to get BYU in scoring position. A single from freshman Austin Deming to center field advanced Cluff to third before sophomore Mitch McIntyre singled up the middle to send Cluff home.

BYU tacked on another run as senior Noah Hill also singled up the middle, driving in Deming to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage.

Portland cut the Cougars lead in half in the top of the seventh. On their only hit of the night, the Pilots' Cody Hawken singled up the middle and made it home on a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1.

The Cougars went up by two runs again in the bottom of the eighth. After Deming drew a walk, freshman Hobbs Nyberg subbed in as a pinch runner. Nyberg stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. McIntyre tallied his second RBI of the game, singling up the middle and sending Nyberg home to increase the Cougars lead to 3-1.

Drew Zimmerman went three-up, three-down in the top of the ninth to earn his third save of the year as the Cougars took the win 3-1. 

BYU finishes out its series against the Pilots on Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m. MT at Miller Park. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv while live streaming on BYUtv Digital. Live radio coverage will be available on BYU Radio and ESPN 960 with live stats on the schedule page.

PROVO, Utah - BYU baseball and Portland will compete in three games from March 21-23 in the second weekend of WCC play for both teams.

The Cougars and Pilots currently have the two highest win totals in the conference with BYU coming in at 14-5 and 1-2 in the WCC and Portland at 15-6, 1-2.

BYU vs. Portland Game Notes

The Pilots have a team ERA of 2.98, good for No. 22 in the country. Pitchers Chris Clements and Eli Morse each rank top-50 in the nation in strikeouts. At the plate, Portland is batting .261 but hits for distance, ranking third in the country in doubles and 14th in home runs. 

Cougar Right-hander Jordan Wood will get the start Thursday, entering the game with a 1.76 ERA in five starts over 30.2 innings. Only two pitchers in BYU history have an ERA under 2.00 with at least five starts in a single season - Jim Englehardt in 1967 (1.62 ERA, 13 starts) and Peter Kendrick in 1981 (1.28 ERA, 19 starts).

Right-hander Easton Walker is slated as the game two starter. A year ago he was serving a mission in Peru, now he’s one of just three pitchers in the country with a 0.00 ERA and will be starting his first game of the year and second of his career.

Game three starter Justin Sterner leads the team with 28 strikeouts in just 24.1 innings, a 10.36 strikeouts per nine inning average. The right-hander's three wins are tied for most on the team with relief pitcher Reid McLaughlin.

Senior first baseman Brian Hsu comes into the weekend ranked 32nd in the nation with a .415 batting average and has an on-base percentage of .493. Other notable streaks include senior catcher Noah Hill who has a hit in 14-straight games dating back to the second game of the season. Sophomore infielder Jackson Cluff and senior right fielder Brock Hale have both reached base safely in all 19 of BYU’s games this season.