MALIBU, Calif.—With two out, bases loaded and a full count in the 11th inning, Pepperdine’s Joe Sever was hit by a pitch Thursday to defeat BYU baseball, 4-3.

Pepperdine (26-19, 10-6 West Coast Conference) handed BYU freshman reliever Mason Marshall his first loss of the season. Marshall (1-1), who has nine saves, took the mound to start the ninth inning with the game tied 3-3.

The Cougars (19-22, 7-9) battled from behind as starter Desmond Poulson threw 132 pitches to keep BYU alive after surrendering its 1-0 lead in the two-run fourth inning.

The Waves extended that lead to 3-1 in the fifth before BYU battled back scoring, one run in the seventh and tying the game at 3-all in the eighth.

“We had a couple of opportunities early in the second inning that we didn’t take advantage of,” said BYU coach Vance Law.  “Our hits were spread out. We just didn’t get one big hit, which would have been nice to give us a cushion in the eleventh.

“This was a really a good college baseball game. He (Marshall) has been lights out. I’m proud of way Desmond (Poulson) threw, he continues to get better each outing.”

Cougar first baseman Brock Whitney went 3-for-4, scoring two runs and hitting one of BYU’s four doubles in the game.

BYU had won all three of its extra-inning games this season, while Pepperdine is now 4-2 in extra-inning contests this year.

The two teams continue the series with game two on Friday afternoon at Pepperdine at 3 p.m. PT.

Tuesday night’s BYU game in Provo against Southern Utah is likely the last baseball contest between the two schools.

SUU (15-28) is dropping baseball after this season as it readies to enter the Big Sky Conference.  BYU (18-21) leads the series with the Thunderbirds, 146-32.  The Cougars won the last outing in 2009 vs. SUU, 8-3. The BYU-SUU series began in 1961 in Provo when BYU won five straight.

BYU will start junior college transfer Matt Milke (0-1, 9.37) on the mound against SUU’s Matt Nelson (1-3, 8.46).

Tuesday’s game at 6 p.m., is the last regularly scheduled non-conference game of the season for BYU, and is televised live by BYUtv.

Following the T-Bird tilt, BYU starts a dozen consecutive league games beginning with this Thursday’s three-game series at Pepperdine.