TEMPE, Ariz. - A run in the top of the seventh inning gave BYU its second win over a top-15 team in as many days as the Cougars defeated No. 11 Oregon 2-1 on Friday.
With Carly Duckworth on third base, Jenna Goar on second and two outs down, Ashlee Brawley hit a hard grounder to the Oregon shorstop. After having trouble getting the ball out of her glove, the shortstop fired to first in attempt to get the final out, but Brawley was ruled safe on a bang-bang play. In the meantime Duckworth scored what would be the game-winning run.
"I'm proud of the way the team battled today," said head coach Gordon Eakin. "We showed a lot of character and have made excellent strides in our team growth in the four games we've played."
Jessica Dugas hit 3 of 4 while Tiffany Messerschmidt had two hits and an RBI and Duckworth added hits and a run.
On in relief, freshman Caroline Umphlett struck out two Ducks after giving up a walk, then collected a ground ball for an easy throw to first for the third and final out.
Umphlett earned her second win of the season in 1.1 innings pitched, coming on after starter Hannah Howell racked up seven strikeouts while only giving up three hits in 5.2 innings.
Starting her first game of the season, Howell struck out the side to start the game in the first inning and had no-hitter going into the fourth. Oregon baserunners reached third base just once, putting runners on second and third before Howell left the game.
BYU started the scoring in the third, leading off the inning with a walk by Anna Hudson and a single from Dugas. Messerschmidt followed Dugas with a hard hit down the left field line, bringing in pinch runner Lacey Millett for the score.
The Cougars pounded Duck pitcher Jessica Moore throughout the day but ended up leaving 13 runners on base. BYU loaded the bases in both the fifth and sixth innings but came up empty before scoring in the final inning.
BYU plays UCSB later today at 4 p.m. MT. Check the BYU Softball Facebook page for updates throughout the game.
BYU 12, UCSB 4 (6 innings)
Capitalizing on numerous errors by UCSB and big hits from Willard and Alexandra Hudson, BYU ran past the Gauchos 12-4 in its final game of the week.
Willard capped off a great weekend by going 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBI, four runs and a walk. With two outs in the fourth, Willard sent her third home run of the weekend over the fence for two runs, extending BYU's lead, 7-1.
After UCSB scored three in the top of the sixth to trim the lead to 7-4, the Cougars answered right back in the bottom of the inning. After loading the bases, Hudson sent a Gaucho pitch all the way to the fence for a bases-clearing double to pull away. Two BYU batters were subsequently hit by pitches before Dugas drew a walk to bring in the final run.
Umphlett earned her third win of the week to go 3-0, pitching 5.0 innings with eight strikeouts, six hits, one earned run and one walk.
BYU started the game with a 4-run fourth inning that saw UCSB commit three errors.
Dugas added three runs on two walks, one hit and an RBI while Krista Hicks had two hits and two RBIs.
BYU Upsets No. 11 Oregon, Cruises by UCSB
