PROVO, Utah – BYU was led by strong pitching from freshman Ashley Thompson and senior Tori Almond to coast to a 6-1 victory over rival UVU.
“Our pitchers did a nice job,” head coach Gordon Eakin said. “Ashley, for her first start, pitched fairly well. There is still more upside to her as she learns and grows and Tori is pitching very well right now. She came in for the last two innings and looked sharp.”
Thompson didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and finished with four strikeouts over five innings pitched with one unearned run allowed. Almond pitched two shutout innings to finish the game and UVU's hopes.
The Cougars took advantage of several Wolverine mistakes in the first inning. Senior Katie Manuma started the scoring with a two RBI single on a hard hit to centerfield. With the bases loaded, senior Jenna Goar and senior Carly Duckworth drew walks and freshman Sydney Broderick was hit by a pitch to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead after one.
Coco Taualii led off the second with a walk and advanced on two passed balls and a wild pitch to score and put BYU ahead 6-0. Both teams were held scoreless over the next two innings. In the top of the fifth inning UVU got its lone run off of a Brianna Gatlin double to right-centerfield to score Rachel Schoonmaker to bring the score to 6-1.
The Cougars return to Gail Miller Field next weekend to host Salt Lake Community College on Friday at 4 p.m. MDT and then Snow College and Southern Utah in a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. MDT.