PROVO -- The BYU softball team (40-17, 15-3) claimed the Mountain West Conference championship with a pair of wins against UNLV (35-27, 10-8) Thursday night. The Cougars beat the Rebels 11-3 and 5-4.
The sweep also marks the third consecutive 40-win season for BYU head coach Gordon Eakin's squad. Eakin said he was proud of what his team has accomplished.
"I'm very proud of our team for not just winning one game but both games tonight," Eakin said. "We could have had a let down after the first win and winning the conference title, but they didn't. This is a great team, and we got our 40th win."
BYU used sound fundamentals to get on the board in the first. After a hard-hit single up the middle by Cortney Nix-Clark, senior Jennifer Whiteley advanced her teammate into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Emi Snow put runners at the corners for Andrea Ramirez with an infield single that Rebel shortstop Jaci Hull had to stretch to corral in.
Ramirez hit a line drive up the middle to score Nix-Clark, while Snow slid safely into third to beat the throw. Dani Urincho-Snow took the bat next and hit a two-RBI liner down the left field line just over the head of UNLV third baseman Brittany Meade. After one inning, the Cougars were ahead 3-0.
A three-run third inning for the Rebels made it a tie-game heading into the fourth. BYU rallied to take the lead in the fourth inning behind an RBI-single up the middle from Whiteley and an RBI-single by Snow. Two fielding errors allowed Whiteley and Snow to cross home, and RBI-singles from Angeline Quiocho and Monica Gonzales gave the Cougars a 10-3 lead after four innings of play.
Hoch scored the game-ending run in the sixth off of a Quiocho single.
In the second game, Quiocho found herself at the plate in the bottom of the second with runners in scoring position. The Mountain West Conference Player of the Week hit a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing in Ramirez for the 1-0 lead.
The Rebels would take their first lead of the night on a Hull two-run homer to centerfield in the third. BYU tied it up at 2-all in the bottom of the order with a Snow RBI-single. Later in the game, Nix-Clark drove in Quiocho for a 3-2 Cougar lead.
Norton hammered her MWC-leading 23rd home run of the year in the fifth inning giving BYU a two-run advantage. The Cougars took a 5-2 lead on another Quiocho sacrifice fly that scored Ramirez once again. UNLV junior Rosa Ordaz hit an RBI-double in the sixth driving home Stacey Burgos, and Brittany Freight drove in Alyssia De La Torre in the seventh for the 5-4 final.
Junior Christina Gwyn picked up both wins, striking out a total of 14 batters on the night.
BYU finishes the season with two final home games against San Diego State on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m. (MST).
UNLV at Brigham Young Univer
May 10, 2007 at Provo, Utah (Gail Miller Field)
UNLV 3 (35-26,10-7)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HULL ss.................. 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 3
Kelli Fangonilo 2b....... 2 1 1 0 0 1 3 1 0
Brittany Bolinger lf..... 3 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
FEARN 1b................. 0 1 0 0 3 0 6 1 0
NEWMAN pr............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bri Bernardi c........... 2 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 2
Rosa Ordaz dp............ 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1
MEADE 3b................. 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0
DE LA TORRE rf........... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Brittany Freight cf/pr... 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
NAKAMURA ph............. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Christie Robinson p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BREGANTE p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Totals................... 21 3 5 3 4 9 17 8 7
Brigham Young Univer 11 (39-17,14-3)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Cortney Nix-Clark c...... 3 1 1 0 0 0 7 3 2
Jennifer Whiteley lf..... 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Jodi Norton ss........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Emi Snow rf.............. 4 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
Andrea Ramirez dp........ 3 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Daniela Urincho 1b....... 4 1 1 2 0 0 6 0 0
Tracee Hoch 2b........... 4 2 1 1 0 1 2 1 4
Angeline Quiocho 3b...... 4 1 3 2 0 0 2 2 0
Monica Gonzales cf....... 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Christie Zinanti p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Christina Gwyn p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 31 11 13 11 2 2 18 7 7
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------
UNLV................ 003 000 - 3 5 4
Brigham Young Univer 300 701 - 11 13 2
---------------------------------------
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - HULL; FANGONILO 2; BREGANTE; NIX-CLARK; QUIOCHO. DP - UNLV 1; BYU
Cougars 1. LOB - UNLV 7; BYU Cougars 7. 2B - ORDAZ; SNOW; QUIOCHO. HBP - DE
LA TORRE. SH - FANGONILO; BERNARDI; NIX-CLARK; WHITELEY. SB - FANGONILO;
BOLINGER.
UNLV IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christie Robinson... 3.1 9 7 4 0 1 20 21
BREGANTE............ 2.1 4 4 1 2 1 11 14
Brigham Young Univer IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christie Zinanti.... 2.1 4 3 3 3 2 9 15
Christina Gwyn...... 3.2 1 0 0 1 7 12 13
Win - GWYN (15-8). Loss - ROBINSON (12-10). Save - None.
HBP - by ZINANTI (DE LA TORRE).
Umpires - HP: Bob Marcialis 1B: Terry Balser 3B: Clair McBride
Start: 6:00 pm Time: 2:25 Attendance: 472
Game: BY_LV3
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
---------------------------------------
UNLV................ 003 000 - 3 5 4
Brigham Young Univer 300 701 - 11 13 2
---------------------------------------
UNLV starters: 21/ss HULL; 4/2b FANGONILO; 18/lf BOLINGER; 37/1b FEARN; 11/c
BERNARDI; 5/dp ORDAZ; 6/3b MEADE; 30/rf DE LA TORRE; 8/cf FREIGHT; 17/p
ROBINSON;
Brigham Young Univer starters: 10/c NIX-CLARK; 3/lf WHITELEY; 8/ss NORTON;
18/rf SNOW; 31/dp RAMIREZ; 22/1b URINCHO; 4/2b HOCH; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 24/cf
GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
UNLV 1st - HULL walked. FANGONILO out at first c to 2b, SAC, bunt; HULL
advanced to second. BOLINGER struck out swinging. FEARN walked. BERNARDI
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 1st - NIX-CLARK singled. WHITELEY grounded out to
p, SAC, bunt; NIX-CLARK advanced to second. NORTON popped up to 2b. SNOW
singled; NIX-CLARK advanced to third. RAMIREZ singled, advanced to second, RBI;
SNOW advanced to third; NIX-CLARK scored. URINCHO singled, 2 RBI; RAMIREZ
scored; SNOW scored. HOCH reached on a fielder's choice; URINCHO out at second
ss to 2b. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - ORDAZ grounded out to p. MEADE grounded out to 3b. DE LA
TORRE hit by pitch. FREIGHT singled; DE LA TORRE advanced to second. HULL
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 2nd - BREGANTE to p for ROBINSON. QUIOCHO singled.
GONZALES popped into double play p to 1b; QUIOCHO out on the play. NIX-CLARK
flied out to cf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - FANGONILO singled. FANGONILO stole second, advanced to third
on an error by c. BOLINGER singled, RBI; FANGONILO scored. BOLINGER stole
second. FEARN walked. BERNARDI grounded out to 3b unassisted, SAC; FEARN
advanced to second; BOLINGER advanced to third. ORDAZ doubled, 2 RBI; FEARN
scored; BOLINGER scored. GWYN to p for ZINANTI. MEADE struck out looking. DE LA
TORRE struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 3rd - WHITELEY reached on an error by p. NORTON
popped up to c. SNOW doubled; WHITELEY advanced to third. RAMIREZ walked.
URINCHO reached on a fielder's choice; RAMIREZ advanced to second; SNOW
advanced to third; WHITELEY out at home 1b to c. HOCH struck out swinging. 0
runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
UNLV 4th - FREIGHT struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. HULL flied
out to lf. FANGONILO struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 4th - QUIOCHO reached on an error by 2b. GONZALES
singled, bunt; QUIOCHO advanced to second. NIX-CLARK grounded out to 3b, SAC,
bunt; GONZALES advanced to second; QUIOCHO advanced to third. WHITELEY singled,
RBI; GONZALES advanced to third; QUIOCHO scored, unearned. NORTON walked;
WHITELEY advanced to second. ROBINSON to p for BREGANTE. SNOW singled, RBI;
NORTON advanced to second; WHITELEY advanced to third; GONZALES scored. RAMIREZ
reached on an error by 2b, RBI; SNOW advanced to second; NORTON advanced to
third; WHITELEY scored, unearned. URINCHO reached on a fielder's choice;
RAMIREZ advanced to second; SNOW advanced to third; NORTON out at home ss to c.
HOCH reached on an error by ss, RBI; URINCHO advanced to second; RAMIREZ
advanced to third; SNOW scored, unearned. QUIOCHO singled, RBI; HOCH advanced
to second; URINCHO advanced to third; RAMIREZ scored, unearned. GONZALES
singled, 2 RBI; QUIOCHO advanced to second; HOCH scored, unearned; URINCHO
scored, unearned. NIX-CLARK grounded out to 1b unassisted. 7 runs, 5 hits, 3
errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 5th - BOLINGER struck out swinging. FEARN walked. BERNARDI singled;
FEARN advanced to second. NEWMAN pinch ran for FEARN. ORDAZ hit into double
play 3b to 1b; NEWMAN out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 5th - FEARN to 1b for NEWMAN. WHITELEY grounded out
to 2b. NORTON struck out looking. SNOW popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
UNLV 6th - MEADE struck out swinging. DE LA TORRE reached on an error by
3b. NAKAMURA pinch hit for FREIGHT. NAKAMURA reached on a fielder's choice; DE
LA TORRE out at second 2b unassisted. FREIGHT pinch ran for NAKAMURA. HULL
struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 6th - FREIGHT to cf. RAMIREZ grounded out to 3b.
URINCHO popped up to ss. HOCH singled. QUIOCHO doubled, RBI; HOCH scored. 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB
UNLV at Brigham Young Univer
May 10, 2007 at Provo, UT (Gail Miller Field)
UNLV 4 (35-27,10-8)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HULL ss.................. 4 1 1 2 0 1 0 2 1
Kelli Fangonilo 2b....... 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 0
Caitlyn Paus ph/2b...... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Brittany Bolinger lf..... 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
FEARN 1b................. 3 0 1 0 0 2 7 1 0
Stacey Burgos pr........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rosa Ordaz dp............ 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Bri Bernardi c........... 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2
Laura Briones c......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
MEADE 3b................. 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
NEWMAN pr............... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DE LA TORRE rf........... 3 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
Brittany Freight cf...... 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Heather Slettvet p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
BREGANTE p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 29 4 7 4 0 7 18 9 4
Brigham Young Univer 5 (40-17,15-3)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Cortney Nix-Clark c...... 4 1 2 1 0 0 6 1 0
Jennifer Whiteley lf..... 3 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 2
Jodi Norton ss/dp........ 4 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
Emi Snow rf/cf........... 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1
Andrea Ramirez dp/ss..... 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 1
Daniela Urincho 1b....... 2 0 1 0 1 1 6 0 0
Tracee Hoch 2b........... 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0
Angeline Quiocho 3b...... 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 5 0
Monica Gonzales cf....... 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Stephanie Platt rf...... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Christina Gwyn p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Totals................... 25 5 11 5 2 4 21 11 8
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
UNLV................ 002 001 1 - 4 7 1
Brigham Young Univer 011 120 X - 5 11 1
-----------------------------------------
E - BOLINGER; RAMIREZ. LOB - UNLV 4; BYU Cougars 8. 2B - ORDAZ; RAMIREZ. HR
- HULL; NORTON. HBP - HOCH. SH - HOCH. SF - QUIOCHO 2. SB - NEWMAN.
UNLV IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Heather Slettvet.... 4.1 10 5 5 1 2 21 25
BREGANTE............ 1.2 1 0 0 1 2 4 6
Brigham Young Univer IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christina Gwyn...... 7.0 7 4 4 0 7 29 29
Win - GWYN (16-8). Loss - SLETTVET (9-11). Save - None.
WP - GWYN 3. HBP - by SLETTVET (HOCH).
Umpires - HP: Terry Balser 1B: Clair McBride 3B: Bob Marcialis
Start: 8:45 Time: 2:10 Attendance: 522
Game: BY_LV4
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings R H E
-----------------------------------------
UNLV................ 002 001 1 - 4 7 1
Brigham Young Univer 011 120 X - 5 11 1
-----------------------------------------
UNLV starters: 21/ss HULL; 4/2b FANGONILO; 18/lf BOLINGER; 37/1b FEARN; 5/dp
ORDAZ; 11/c BERNARDI; 6/3b MEADE; 30/rf DE LA TORRE; 8/cf FREIGHT; 16/p
SLETTVET;
Brigham Young Univer starters: 10/c NIX-CLARK; 3/lf WHITELEY; 8/ss NORTON;
18/rf SNOW; 31/dp RAMIREZ; 22/1b URINCHO; 4/2b HOCH; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 24/cf
GONZALES; 11/p GWYN;
UNLV 1st - HULL out at first 3b to 2b. FANGONILO struck out swinging.
BOLINGER grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 1st - NIX-CLARK grounded out to p. WHITELEY
singled, bunt. NORTON struck out looking. SNOW grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 2nd - FEARN struck out looking. ORDAZ struck out swinging. BERNARDI
grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 2nd - RAMIREZ doubled. URINCHO walked. HOCH out at
first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; URINCHO advanced to second; RAMIREZ advanced to
third. QUIOCHO flied out to lf, SAC, RBI; RAMIREZ scored. GONZALES grounded out
to 3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 3rd - MEADE grounded out to p. DE LA TORRE singled. FREIGHT out at
first 3b to 2b; DE LA TORRE advanced to second. HULL homered, 2 RBI; DE LA
TORRE scored. FANGONILO struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 3rd - NIX-CLARK singled. WHITELEY grounded out to
1b unassisted; NIX-CLARK advanced to second. NORTON grounded out to ss;
NIX-CLARK advanced to third. SNOW singled, advanced to second on an error by
lf, RBI; NIX-CLARK scored. RAMIREZ popped up to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error,
1 LOB.
UNLV 4th - BOLINGER singled. BOLINGER advanced to second on a wild
pitch. FEARN struck out swinging. ORDAZ popped up to 2b. BERNARDI flied out to
lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 4th - URINCHO struck out swinging. HOCH grounded
out to 2b. QUIOCHO singled. GONZALES singled; QUIOCHO advanced to second.
NIX-CLARK singled, RBI; GONZALES advanced to second; QUIOCHO scored. WHITELEY
grounded out to p. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
UNLV 5th - MEADE singled. NEWMAN pinch ran for MEADE. DE LA TORRE struck
out swinging. FREIGHT flied out to lf. NEWMAN stole second. HULL struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 5th - MEADE to 3b for NEWMAN. NORTON homered, RBI.
NORTON to dp. SNOW to cf. RAMIREZ to ss. PLATT to rf for GONZALES. SNOW popped
up to c. RAMIREZ singled. URINCHO singled; RAMIREZ advanced to second. HOCH hit
by pitch; URINCHO advanced to second; RAMIREZ advanced to third. BREGANTE to p
for SLETTVET. QUIOCHO flied out to rf, SAC, RBI; URINCHO advanced to third;
RAMIREZ scored. PLATT struck out swinging. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
UNLV 6th - PAUS pinch hit for FANGONILO. PAUS fouled out to lf. BOLINGER
grounded out to ss. FEARN singled. BURGOS pinch ran for FEARN. ORDAZ doubled,
RBI; BURGOS scored. BERNARDI popped up to p. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univer 6th - PAUS to 2b. FEARN to 1b for BURGOS. BRIONES
to c for BERNARDI. NIX-CLARK flied out to lf. WHITELEY walked. NORTON struck
out swinging. SNOW singled; WHITELEY advanced to third, out at home ss to 1b to
c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
UNLV 7th - MEADE reached on an error by ss. MEADE advanced to second on
a wild pitch. DE LA TORRE reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second;
MEADE out at third 3b to 2b to ss to 3b. DE LA TORRE advanced to third on a
wild pitch. FREIGHT singled, RBI; DE LA TORRE scored. HULL grounded out to 2b;
FREIGHT advanced to second. PAUS flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1
LOB.