LAS VEGAS – Katie Manuma had a career night to lead BYU to a 14-8 victory over Seattle Thursday night in the Easton Desert Classic.

“It was a roller-coaster win,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “You know, up eight-to-nothing they come back threatened and then we took over offensively again.”

Manuma was 4 for 5 with three doubles and a home run while earning the win from the mound for the Cougars. The four hits tied her career high against Saint Mary’s last year and her seven RBIs set a new career high. Coco Tauali’i added two solo-shots on 2 for 5 hitting, while Carly Duckworth went 2 for 4 with a home run.

The 14 runs scored by the Cougars was a season high and the most since Saint Mary’s last season.

“The offensive production was really good,” Eakin said. “We played solid defense, but we need to get better on the mound. We hurt ourselves by walking people. We need to do a better job protecting the lead by not giving them free bases.”

Tauali’i started things off right for the Cougars with a lead-off home run to deep right center. After that, Duckworth singled up the middle and stole second and Ashley Thompson walked to put runners on first and second. Manuma then doubled on a line drive to right-center to bring both home.

With runners on first and second in the bottom of the first and with one out, Lacey Millett-Hofstedt made a diving catch in foul territory and Lauren Bell made a nice backhanded play to throw out the runner at first and end the threat.

With the bases loaded in the top of second McKenzie St. Clair hit a sacrifice fly to right center to bring in Bell and Millett-Hofstedt from second to give BYU the 5-0 lead. Seattle threatened again by getting runners on first and second before McKenna Bull retired three straight to get out of the jam.

Thompson started off the next inning with a blooper to right field which she extended into a double. Manuma then doubled again to bring in Thompson and give BYU the 6-0 lead. BYU loaded the bases and scored two more on a throwing error from the third baseman. Seattle loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and scored their first run on a fielding error to make the score 8-1 heading into the fourth.

Seattle battled back by scoring one on a single before a three-run home run to left field to make it 8-5 in the bottom of the fourth. Thompson came in to relieve Bull with one out in the inning. Seattle scored two more with a single up the middle to close within one heading into the fifth.

The Cougars were held scoreless in the top of the fifth and the Redhawks put runners on first and third with two outs. Thompson worked out of the jam, striking the batter out, looking to maintain the lead heading into the sixth.

With two outs in the top of the sixth Manuma hit a towering three-run shot over the second fence in left-centerfield to extend the lead to 11-7 heading into the bottom of the frame. Seattle used three straight singles to plate one run in the bottom of the frame before Manuma came in and retired three straight to strand runners on second and third.

Tauali’i and Duckworth led off the seventh inning with back-to-back homers to left-centerfield to give the Cougars a 13-8 lead. With runners on first and second Manuma then doubled to drive in the final run of the game. She retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to close out her night.

BYU returns to action against Portland State tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. PST before taking on Chattanooga at 3:45 p.m. PST.

PROVO, Utah – After starting the season 2-3 in the Red Desert Classic BYU will be heading to Las Vegas for the Easton Desert Classic.

Easton Desert Classic
Feb 13-15

Seattle
Thursday, Feb 13 at 6:45 p.m. PST
Eller Media Stadium
Las Vegas

Portland State
Friday, Feb 14 at 1:30 p.m. PST
Stephanie Lynn Craig Park
Henderson, Nev.

Chattanooga
Friday, Feb 14 at 3:45 p.m. PST
Stephanie Lynn Craig Park
Henderson, Nev.

Nevada
Saturday, Feb 15 at 11:15 a.m. PST
Stephanie Lynn Craig Park
Henderson, Nev.

Minnesota
Saturday, Feb 15 at 1:30 p.m. PST
Stephanie Lynn Craig Park
Henderson, Nev.

BYU
BYU started the season with a 2-3 record in the Red Desert Classic. All three of the losses were by a single run and the Cougars had the lead or tie heading into the sixth inning of all three games. McKenzie St. Clair was a bright spot in the tournament hitting .667 with seven RBIs and two home runs. She earned WCC Player of the Week honors for her performance. On the mound freshman Ashley Thompson had a record of 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA good for second in the conference.

Seattle
Seattle started the season with a win over Cal Poly before dropping four straight in the Kajikawa Classic. They are led by Bubba Morrow who is hitting .714 with a double and a home run. Jenny Hurst joins Morrow as a leader from the plate hitting .538 with two doubles and a home run. From the mound they are led by Richelle Ashburn with a 1-1 record and a 2.55 ERA.

BYU Series Record Vs. Seattle
Overall Series Record: 3-0
BYU Record in Provo: 0-0
BYU Record in Seattle: 0-0
BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 3-0
BYU Record under Gordon Eakin: 3-0
Longest BYU Win Streak: 3 (2010-Present)
Longest Seattle Win Streak: none
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 14 (2011)
Largest Seattle Margin of Victory: none
Most Runs Scored by BYU: 14 (2011)
Most Runs Scored by Seattle: 2 (2010)

Portland State
Portland State and BYU have met in each of the last three seasons splitting the four games in which they have played. The Vikings opened in the Kajikawa Classic going 2-3 with wins against Indiana and New Mexico. They are led from the plate by Crysta Conn and Shae Nelson. Conn is hitting .500 with a double and a home run. Nelson is hitting .400 and scoring a team high five runs. Meagan Hendrix is the leading pitcher with 2-1 record and a 5.60 ERA.

BYU Series Record Vs. Portland St.
Overall Series Record: 5-3
BYU Record in Provo: 0-0
BYU Record in Portland: 1-1
BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 4-2
BYU Record under Gordon Eakin: 4-3
Longest BYU Win Streak: 2 (twice 2001-05, 12)
Longest PSU Win Streak: 1 (three times)
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 13 (2005)
Largest PSU Margin of Victory: 2 (2005, 13)
Most Runs Scored by BYU: 13 (2005)
Most Runs Scored by PSU: 5 (2013)

Chattanooga
This will be the first meeting between BYU and Chattanooga.  Chattanooga enters the Easton Desert Classic with a 0-4 record in the UCF Knights Invitational. They are led from the plate by Anyssa Robles with a .538 batting average. On the mound, Taylor Deason leads the team with a 0.64 ERA in three appearance allowing only one earned run.

Nevada
Nevada and BYU played in the Red Desert Classic when the Wolfpack pulled out a 10-9 victory over the Cougars by scoring four runs in the sixth inning.  They finished the classic with a 4-1 record with their only loss coming agianst Idaho State. They are led by Karley Hopkins and Megan Sweet who are both hitting over .500 on the season. Megan Dortch is the leading pitcher with a 2-0 record without allowing a single earned run.

BYU Series Record Vs. Nevada
Overall Series Record: 3-2
BYU Record in Provo: 0-0
BYU Record in Reno: 3-0
BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-2
BYU Record under Gordon Eakin: 3-2
Longest BYU Win Streak: 3 (2012)
Longest Nevada Win Streak: 2 (2013-Present)
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 10 (2012)
Largest Nevada Margin of Victory: 8 (2013)
Most Runs Scored by BYU: 10 (2012)
Most Runs Scored by Nevada: 14 (2013)

Minnesota
Minnesota started the season strong going undefeated in the Tiger Classic. Tyler Walker is hitting .429 for the Golden Gophers with two triples and five RBIs. Kaitlyn Richardson adds a .353 average and two doubles. Sara Moulton and Sara Groenewegen both come into Vegas with a 0.00 ERA, striking out a combined 53 batters and being the pitchers of record in all five of their games.

BYU Series Record Vs. Minnesota
Overall Series Record: 0-1
BYU Record in Provo: 0-0
BYU Record in Minneapolis: 0-0
BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-1
BYU Record under Gordon Eakin: 0-1
Longest BYU Win Streak: none
Longest Minn. Win Streak: 1 (2007-Present)
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: none
Largest Minn. Margin of Victory: 3 (2007)
Most Runs Scored by BYU: 2 (2007)
Most Runs Scored by CSU: 5 (2007)