CLEARWATER, Fla. — BYU softball picked up its first win of the 2026 season, beating Notre Dame after falling to Michigan State earlier in the night on day two of the NFCA Leadoff Classic at Eddie C. Moore Complex on Friday night.
- Game 1
- Game 2
Game 1: Michigan State 8 | BYU 4
The Cougars (0-2, 0-0 Big 12) recorded their first hits of the season in the fifth inning and briefly took a 4-2 lead, but the Spartans answered with six runs in the sixth to secure the win.
Player Highlights
- Ilove'a Brittingham: 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI
- Hailey Morrow: 1-4, R
- Kaysen Korth: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Starting pitcher Kaysen Korth worked around a leadoff walk in the first inning, inducing a flyout, foulout and groundout to strand the runner. Lily Owens drew a four-pitch leadoff walk in the bottom half but was also left stranded.
Bre Townsend, Miranda Mansfield and Danica Acosta loaded the bases in the second inning, but BYU struck out swinging to end the threat.
Michigan State scored one run in the third on a walk, stolen base and single through the left side, then added another on a solo home run down the left-field line in the fifth to take a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Acosta reached on an error, Owens walked and Morrow singled to load the bases. Brittingham delivered a two-run single up the middle, followed by an RBI bloop single from Maddie Udall-Woolley and a sacrifice fly by Gianna Mares to put BYU ahead, 4-2.
Michigan State quickly erased the deficit, tying the game on a pair of singles and a BYU error before a grand slam gave the Spartans an 8-4 advantage in the sixth.
BYU went down in order in the sixth and put two runners on with two outs in the seventh before a game-ending groundout sealed the loss.
Game 2: BYU 8 | Notre Dame 5
The Cougars (1-2, 0-0 Big 12) erased an early three-run deficit and took the lead for good with a three-run sixth inning to defeat the Fightin Irish.
Player Highlights
- Bre Townsend: 1-2, 2B, R, 3 RBI
- Hailey Morrow: 2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, RBI
- Lily Owens: 1-3, 2 R, HR, RBI
- Gianna Mares (W, 1-0): 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 7 BB, 8 K
- Hailey Shuler (S, 1): 1 IP
Notre Dame scored three runs in the first inning on a walk, sacrifice bunt, single, BYU throwing error, wild pitch and RBI single.
BYU answered in the second when Mares walked, Townsend doubled into the gap and Acosta singled down the left-field line to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Fighting Irish extended their lead with two runs in the third on a walk, double and single.
The Cougars again responded in the bottom of the third. Morrow doubled off the center-field wall, Shuler singled and Townsend was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to pull BYU within one, 5-4. BYU loaded the bases with no outs but struck out swinging three straight times to end the inning.
Owens tied the game with a leadoff home run to left field in the fourth.
After a scoreless fifth, BYU sent eight batters to the plate in the sixth, scoring three runs on an Acosta single, Owens fielder’s choice, Morrow triple, Brittingham sacrifice fly and a pair of walks to take an 8-5 lead.
Mares walked the first two batters in the seventh before Shuler entered in relief. BYU recorded the lead runner out at third on a fielder’s choice, then Morrow sparked a 6-4-3 double play to close out the Cougars’ first win of the season.
On Deck
BYU will wrap up NFCA Leadoff Classic play with a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Penn State and Missouri. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, with streaming available on the GameChanger app.
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