CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Despite a solid defensive effort, BYU softball was unable to get the offense going on the second day of the Mary Nutter Classic, falling to Northwestern 1-0 before dropping a 5-0 game to No. 4 Oklahoma.
"Autumn Moffat and Arissa Paulson pitched well today and we played solid defense," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We need to string some offense together as the final piece but we will get there."
The Cougars (5-7, 0-0 WCC) lost a one-run pitchers' duel against Northwestern (8-2, 0-0) for the first game of the day followed by another close battle against No. 4 Oklahoma (10-1, 0-0), holding them to only one run in four innings but ultimately losing 5-0.
Moffat pitched a complete game against the Northwestern, recording six strikeouts with only one run. Rylee Jensen recorded two hits on the day, including the only BYU hit against the Wildcats.
Game 1
Northwestern scored the only run of the game in the first inning. The Wildcats’ Rachel Lewis walked at the first at bat of the game and proceeded to steal second. A single from Morgan Nelson scored Lewis putting the Cougars down by one.
Northwestern vs. BYU Box Score
In the bottom of the fourth, the Cougars got into scoring position. Jensen singled to center field and advanced to third on two BYU ground outs. However, Libby Sugg popped out to short, ending the inning and stranding Jensen at third.
With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Northwestern threatened to score another run, but Moffat got out of the inning by fanning the last batter to keep the score at 1-0.
The Cougars were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh and Northwestern held on for the win.
Game 2
BYU was able to hold No. 4 Oklahoma to keep it a one-run game for four innings. In the first inning, The Cougars turned a double play on the second at bat of the game. But, the Sooners scored their first run of the game two batters later, as back-to-back singles sent in a runner to make the score 1-0.
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. BYU Box Score
Another Oklahoma run came in the top of the fifth inning. With two runners on base, a wild pitch gave the Sooners another run increasing their lead to 2-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Olivia Sanchez broke up Oklahoma’s no-hitter, sending a base knock to left field. Emilee Erickson followed reaching first base on an error but BYU was unable to bring anyone in and the inning ended with the Cougars still down by two runs.
Oklahoma tallied three more runs in the top of the sixth frame. A double to left field followed by a single punched in another. A single tacked on another run and the Sooners scored their last run of the inning off a wild pitch to make the score 5-0.
The Sooners went down in order in the top of the seventh, but their lead was too much and the Cougars lost 5-0.
BYU finishes up the Mary Nutter Classic on Saturday, Feb. 23 with its final game against UCSB. The game begins at 3 p.m. PT with a live broadcast on FloSoftball.