CATHEDTRAL CITY, Calif. – To end the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, No. 23 BYU fell 11-1 to No. 18 Texas A&M on Saturday.
BYU (7-5, 0-0 West Coast Conference) had just two hits in the loss, while Texas A&M (14-0, 0-0 SEC) had 10. The Cougars finish with a 2-3 record in this tournament.
The lone run in the game came from a solo home run from Libby Sugg to avoid being run-ruled by the Aggies. In the circle, the pitching duties were split in the loss with McKenna Bull getting the start. Both she and Arianna Paulson had three strikeouts in the game.
Texas A&M struck early, scoring one run off of a double to left field in the top of the first. Then in the top of the second, the Aggies ran up the scoreboard with four runs, including a two-run homer over left field. BYU trailed 5-0 after two innings.
In the top of the third, another two-run home run over left field forced the Cougars to put Paulson in the circle. Following three innings, BYU was hitless, down 7-0 to Texas A&M.
A throwing error allowed the Aggies to bring one more home in the top of the fourth, making it 8-0.
Facing a potential run-rule scenario, Sugg hit first for the Cougars in the bottom of the fifth. She hit a solo shot over left field, her second home run of the year, to keep the game going and put BYU on the board, 8-1.
The Cougars threatened to score again in the bottom of the sixth after Madison Merrell hit a double to left center. However, BYU was unable to capitalize and the score remained 8-1 after six innings.
The Aggies scored three runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead to 11-1 heading into the bottom frame. The score would hold as the Cougars went three up, three down to end the game.
BYU will be back in action next week at the San Diego Classic I from March 2-4.