PROVO -- BYU softball defeated the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames 8-7 and the Bulls of the University of Buffalo 4-1 Thursday at the Speedline Invitational in Clearwater, Fla.
With junior Brooke Boyce on the mound, the Cougars took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against UIC. The Flames grabbed the lead scoring two runs in the second, but BYU would not trail for long, as senior Lauren Watson-Perry cranked her league-leading seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth. BYU scored four runs in the inning taking a 5-2 lead.
UIC battled back in the fifth inning, loading the bases on Boyce and the Cougars. Junior Summer Tobias came in to relieve Boyce promptly striking out the first batter she faced. However, the following batter hit a grand slam and by the end of the inning, BYU found themselves in a 7-5 hole after allowing five runs.
Junior Ashlyn Russell hit a solo home run in the fifth inning bring the Cougars within one run. In the sixth inning the cougars were facing two out and a runner on second with Russell at the plate. She came through again hitting a two-run home run giving BYU the 8-7 advantage and the win.
BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said the team really came through when it mattered most.
"The kids beared down, got focused and did what it took to win this game," Eakin said.
In the late game the score was tied 1-1 in third inning when BYU began working the bases as senior Ariel Capra and sophomore Ranae Clarke coming up big with timely hits that allowed runners to score. Tobias started the game on the mound and held off the Bulls from making any sort of run to claiming the 4-1 victory for the Cougars.
"Our bats came to life again today, but not the way I know this team is capable of," Eakin said. "We're not playing our best ball right now, but it's nice to get these victories when we know we can get even better."
With the two home runs by Russell and one by Watson-Perry, they are now tied at seven for the most home runs in the Mountain West Conference.
With the wins, BYU goes to 13-1 on the season facing the University of Massachusetts Friday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
Illinois-Chicago vs BYU
Mar 10, 2005 at Clearwater, Fla. (EC Moore Complex)
Illinois-Chicago 7
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
ASTIAZARAN lf 4 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 0
DIXON rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
ROBINSON 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3
SHEPARD cf 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1
HERNANDEZ 3b 3 1 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
JACOBY c 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0
ROGERS c 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
BRENNAN 1b 4 2 2 1 0 0 6 1 2
STUDZINSKI dh 4 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
CATHEY ss 4 1 2 4 0 0 3 1 0
McINTYRE p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
LOVATO p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals...... 34 7 12 7 1 4 18 10 8
BYU 8
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
WATSON-PERRY, Lauren c 4 1 2 3 0 0 5 1 2
WHITELEY, Jennifer cf 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0
PARAMORE, Paige rf 4 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0
LE'I, Ianeta 1b 4 0 2 1 0 0 8 3 1
CAPRA, Ariel pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RUSSELL, Ashlyn 3b 4 2 2 3 0 1 1 2 3
URINCHO, Daniella lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
JONES, Milli pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NORTON, Jodi ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 0
DODDS, Debbie 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 2 0
CHAMBERLAIN, Krystle dh 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
BOYCE, Brooke p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOBIAS, Summer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals...... 33 8 14 8 0 4 21 13 7
Score by Innings R H E
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Illinois-Chicago.... 020 050 0 - 7 12 3
BYU................. 100 412 X - 8 14 2
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E - SHEPARD; HERNANDEZ; CATHEY; RUSSELL; NORTON. LOB - UIC 8; BY 7. 2B -
ASTIAZARAN; WHITELEY. HR - CATHEY; WATSON-PERRY; RUSSELL 2. SH - DIXON. SB -
WHITELEY. CS - PARAMORE.
Illinois-Chicago IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
McINTYRE 3.2 9 5 4 0 4 21 21
LOVATO 2.1 5 3 3 0 0 12 12
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
BOYCE, Brooke 4.0 10 6 4 1 2 23 25
TOBIAS, Summer 3.0 2 1 1 0 2 11 11
Win - TOBIAS. Loss - LOVATO. Save - None.
WP - McINTYRE 2.
Buffalo vs BYU
Mar 10, 2005 at Clearwater, Fla. (EC Moore Complex)
Buffalo 1
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
HANSEN 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0
GREENE rf 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RUSSELL cf 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
SCHNEIDER c 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0
KOR 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
HIBNER dh 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
PACE 1b 2 0 0 0 1 1 8 1 1
CAFAZZO lf 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
PICCIANO ss 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 5 0
GUGGER p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals...... 24 1 1 0 1 8 18 11 3
BYU 4
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
WATSON-PERRY, Lauren rf 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
WHITELEY, Jennifer cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
PARAMORE, Paige c 3 0 0 1 0 0 8 0 0
LE'I, Ianeta 1b 1 0 0 0 2 0 6 1 2
JONES, Milli pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RUSSELL, Ashlyn 3b 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 2
CLARKE, Ranae dh 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NORTON, Jodi ss 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
CHAMBERLAIN, Kryst pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DODDS, Debbie 2b 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 0
CAPRA, Ariel lf 2 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 0
TOBIAS, Summer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
ANDERSON, Niki p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals...... 23 4 7 3 5 2 21 8 7
Score by Innings R H E
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Buffalo............. 001 000 0 - 1 1 1
BYU................. 001 021 X - 4 7 2
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E - HANSEN; LE'I; RUSSELL. DP - UB 2. LOB - UB 3; BY 7. 2B - WATSON-PERRY;
CAPRA. SH - RUSSELL.
Buffalo IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
GUGGER 6.0 7 4 3 5 2 23 29
BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
TOBIAS, Summer 6.0 0 1 0 1 6 20 21
ANDERSON, Niki 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 4 4
Win - TOBIAS. Loss - GUGGER. Save - None.