SAN DIEGO – After shutting out Harvard 2-0, BYU softball fell 6-0 to Long Beach State in the doubleheader at the San Diego Classic II Thursday afternoon.
“I thought both of the pitchers we faced today did a nice job," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We struggled at the plate today, but some of that credit goes to Long Beach State's pitcher for a great game. We will be back at it tomorrow and have a better day."
BYU (16-11) totaled 10 hits on the day with just two total runs. The Cougars’ errors, especially the two against Long Beach State, proved to be costly. McKenna Bull let the pitching effort with six strikeouts and two walks on the day. The team struggled at the plate with no player totaling more than two hits. The highlight of the doubleheader was freshman pitcher Olivia Sanchez's career-high six strikeouts in the shutout of Harvard.
Game one
Out-hitting Harvard (8-7) 8-3, BYU took the first game of the twinbill 2-0. It's the seventh shutout of the season for the Cougars. Sanchez threw a career-high six strikeouts in the win with just one walk. The two RBI in the game came from Lauren Bell and Libby Sugg.
After three scoreless innings, the Cougars scored the first run of the game in the top of the fourth. With Alexa Strid on third, Bell doubled down the right field line to bring in the run, putting BYU up 1-0 over Harvard.
In the following inning, Sugg hit her 13th home run of the season, a solo bomb over left field. The one-run homer extended the Cougars’ lead to 2-0.
Tough pitching from Sanchez held off a late rally, sealing the 2-0 shutout.
Game two
After shutting out Harvard, BYU was shutout by Long Beach State (16-9) 6-0 in the second game of the doubleheader. The Cougars tallied just two hits in the loss along with two errors. Bull had three strikeouts and one walk, while the two hits in the game came from Madison Merrell and Emilee Erickson.
The second game of the day was another low-scoring contest. Long Beach State scored one run in the top of the second on a solo home run over left field.
Following four scoreless innings, the 49ers went on a scoring barrage to develop a large lead over the Cougars. With the bases loaded, a single brought home one run. The other four runs scored in the inning were unearned due to a throwing error. Long Beach State would end up winning 6-0.
BOX SCORE: BYU vs. Long Beach State
The Cougars are back in action on Friday with another doubleheader in the San Diego Classic II. They will play No. 22/24 Fresno State at 4:30 p.m. PDT before playing San Diego State at 7 p.m. PDT. Live stats will be available for both games on the BYU schedule page.