PROVO, Utah – BYU softball completed a sweep against Oklahoma State with a 10-2 victory before being no-hit by Utah Valley 13-0 in the second game of twinbill.
The Cougars (20-8) completed the sweep of the Cowgirls (16-16) after winning two games on Friday.
“We played really good softball against a really good Oklahoma State team and then didn’t show up in the second game,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said.
Game One
BYU swept Oklahoma State behind a strong offensive effort and a gritty pitching performance from freshman Arianna Paulson.
Paulson (1-2) recorded her first victory of the season striking out four batters while only allowing two runs and seven hits over six innings. Paulson survived several bases-loaded situations with the help of the defense as the only runs scored by the Cowgirls were from walks.
“Arianna coming in and pitching against a tough Cowgirl lineup she did a nice job, really the whole team did,” Eakin said.
CoCo Tauali’i took a 1-1 pitch over the center field wall in the second inning giving her three home runs on the year. ​
The Cougars broke open a 3-1 game in the fourth inning scoring three runs. The scoring started when Gordy Bravo hit a double to deep right field that bounced off the wall driving in Tauali’i from third base. Tauali’i had reached third after walking and advancing on a pair of infield hits by Alexa Strid and Lacey Hofstedt. After Bravo’s double, Hofstedt scored when Lauren Bell singled on a hard line drive past the Cowgirl pitcher. Bravo capped off the scoring in the inning when she scored on Mercedes O’Connor’s groundout to second base.
Two more runs were added in the ninth when McKenzie St. Clair doubled to deep center field and Sydney Broderick advanced from first to third after walking to begin the inning. Megan Arnold then singled to right-center field scoring both Broderick and St. Clair and extending the lead to 8-1.
The Cougars finished off the Cowgirls in the sixth inning when Ashley Thompson crushed a pitch over the right field wall scoring Mercedes O’Connor and clinching the 10-2 BYU victory.
Bell, Arnold and Thompson each drove in two runs, while Tauali'i scored two runs and drove in another.
Game Two
In the second game of the day, the Cougars were no-hit by the Utah Valley Wolverines and lost 13-0.
The Wolverines jumped to a 5-0 lead in the first inning thanks to three hits including a grand slam by Hailey Kofler. UVU added two runs in the second, two in the fourth and four more in the fifth inning. Four players for UVU had multi-RBI games.
BYU’s best opportunity came in the first inning as Bravo walked and advance to third on consecutive groundouts. Two of the three Cougars who reached on walks were erased on double plays and the other was switched at first on fielder’s choices.
The Cougars will travel to Ogden to take on Weber State Tuesday at 3 p.m. Links for the live stream and live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.