CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — BYU softball defeated Hawai'i in run-rule fashion after falling to CSUN in a day one doubleheader of Mary the Nutter Collegiate Classic at Big League Dreams Sports Park on Thursday night.
GAME 1 BOX SCORE
GAME 2 BOX SCORE
Game 1: CSUN 7 | BYU 2
The Cougars (1-9, 0-0 Big 12) went up 2-0 in the third inning but the Matadors responded with a four-run fourth and a three-run sixth to get the win.
Player Highlights:
- Ilove’a Brittingham: 3-4, HR, R, RBI
- Miranda Mansfield: 1-2, 3B, R
- Hailey Shuler: 1-1, RBI, 2 BB
BYU threatened to score in the first when it loaded the bases with no outs. A Lily Owens leadoff single up the middle, CSUN error on a Miranda Mansfield sacrifice bunt and a Hailey Shuler walk loaded them up. The Matadors retired three-consecutive Cougar batters to get out of the jam with no damage done.
BYU got on the board first in the third after a Mansfield triple down the left field line and a Shuler sacrifice fly to center to drive her home. The Cougars tallied another when Ilove’a Brittingham took a 1-1 pitch deep to right center to put them up 2-0 after two.
In the bottom of the fourth, CSUN retaliated with a four-run inning to take control of the contest. Those runs came by way of two RBI singles and a 2-RBI double in three straight Matador at-bats. The damage stopped there with the Cougars trailing 4-2.
Although Brittingham and Shuler tacked on back-to-back base hits with two outs in the fifth, the Cougars stranded both of them on base.
BYU was once again knocking on the door in the sixth. With two outs, Rita Tavita walked, Lexie Bennett reached on an infield hit and Owens got hit by a pitch to load the bases. A ground out put that to rest and brought the number of Cougars left on base to nine for the game.
BYU fell behind further as a Matador pinch hitter came up in the sixth and blasted a three-run homer to left. The Cougar deficit increased to five.
The Cougars’ last chance to get back in the game came up short as a Shuler walk and Brittingham single to start the seventh was all BYU could muster. CSUN went on to retire the side, resulting in the Cougars falling in the first game of the doubleheader to the Matadors, 7-2.
Game 2: BYU 8 | Hawaii 0 (6)
The Cougars (2-9, 0-0 Big 12) picked up the run-rule victory over the Rainbow Wāhine behind a 12-strikeout outing for starting pitcher Gianna Mares, her career high and the fourth-most in a single game at BYU.
Player Highlights:
- Hailey Morrow: 3-4, 3B, HR, 2 R, 4 RBI
- Danica Acosta: 1-2, R, BB
- Lexie Bennett: 1-2, 3B, R, RBI
- Ilove’a Brittingham: 1-4, HR, R, RBI
- Gianna Mares: W (2-1), CG, 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
BYU struck first as Morrow took the first pitch of her at-bat deep to center, putting the Cougars up 1-0 through one frame.
Next time up, the Cougars went on to extend their lead. After Danica Acosta and Tristen Turlington reached on walks, Mansfield loaded up the bases with a single to center. Bennett then reached safely on a fielder’s choice, where Acosta scored on an errant throw to the plate.
Morrow followed that up with a two-RBI base hit to score Mansfield and Turlington for her second and third RBI of the gamee, making it 4-0 in favor of BYU. Even though Hawai'i got two runners in scoring position, Gianna Mares forced a Rainbow Wahine batter to pop out to shortstop Morrow to keep the lead at four through two innings.
Mares worked around a two-out double by freezing a Hawaii batter with a strikeout looking in the third.
The Cougars kept the momentum going in the top of the fourth. Bennett notched her first career triple before Owens drove her in on an RBI foul out. Brittingham then hit a solo shot over the left field wall to extend the lead. Mares struck out two in the bottom half, one swinging and one looking, to give her strikeout number seven and eight and keep it at 6-0, BYU.
Mares reached a career-high mark in the fifth with two more punch outs on her way to 10 strikeouts for the evening while stranding two Rainbow Wāhine runners.
After Owens got hit by a pitch to start the sixth frame, Morrow recorded her fourth RBI of the contest with an opposite field triple to drive Owens home. Shuler grounded out to second to score Morrow, putting the Cougars up 8-0 after six.
For the third consecutive inning, Mares sat down two more Hawai'i batters, increasing her strikeout numbers to 12. After allowing a leadoff single, she fanned those final two batters to seal the 8-0 run-rule victory for BYU.
On Deck
The Cougars will move on to day two of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Friday, Feb. 20 for a doubleheader against Long Beach State and Auburn. First pitch will be at 3 p.m. PT, with streaming on FloCollege.