Cougars slide past Highlanders, 5-3

BYU softball withstood a late rally by UC Riverside to earn a 5-3 win in game two of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Thursday night.

Chloe Temples pitches against UC Riverside during the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on February 22, 2024Chloe Temples pitches against UC Riverside during the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on February 22, 2024

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — BYU softball withstood a late-inning rally by UC Riverside to earn a 5-3 win in game two of a doubleheader in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at Fenway Field on Thursday night.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (10-2, 0-0 Big 12) plated four in the bottom of the second inning, a lead that proved to be enough as starting pitcher Chloe Temples gave BYU four innings of no-hit ball before it held on late to earn its fifth-straight game, matching a season high.

Player Highlights

After 1-2-3 innings for the first frame and a half, BYU broke it open in the second when it batted around the order to score four. Maddie Udall, Lyndsey Madrigal and Violet Zavodnik each reached base safely, with Macy Simmons, Aleia Agbayani and Maddie Bejarano all recording run-scoring hits.

Scoreless fourth and fifth innings made way for the top of the fifth, when UC Riverside tallied back-to-back hits and a sacrifice fly, making it 4-1, Cougars.

The Highlanders scored again in the sixth on a walk, steal, passed ball and single, cutting the BYU lead in half at 4-2.

Responding in their half of the sixth inning, the Cougars got hits from Simmons, Aleia Agbayani and Ailana Agbayani to score an insurance run and push the lead to 5-2.

UCR got a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning, but a pop out two batters later helped BYU hold on for the 5-3 victory.

Up Next
The Cougars will play a single game against Long Beach State on Friday, Feb. 23, with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m. PST. The game will be streamed on FloSoftball.