LAS VEGAS – Freshmen ruled the day as No. 25 BYU swept its doubleheader over Texas State and Nevada, winning 5-3 and 8-0, respectively, on Friday in the DeMarini Desert Classic.

“We played well today,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “Our pitching was outstanding. We got some big hits at key times and played solid defense. It’s doing the little things that makes us good right now.”

BYU improves to 5-2 on the year after the two wins today. After a close defeat of Texas State (4-2, 0-0 Sun Belt), the run-rule victory over Nevada (3-3, 0-0 Mountain West) was the first shutout win for the Cougars this year.  As a team, BYU hit four home runs on the day.

Freshman outfielder Rylee Jensen had five doubles on the day, hitting a combined 5 for 8 with three RBI and one run. Her three doubles against Nevada tied a single-game BYU record for doubles in a game with five other players. Freshman pitcher Kerisa Viramontes threw a no-hitter in her collegiate debut against Nevada. It was just the second no-hitter by a BYU freshman, the other coming from Paige Affleck in May 2008.

“Good team pitching effort,” BYU pitching coach Pete Meredith said. “Kerisa threw well. Starting her collegiate career with a no-hitter is pretty special. It was a solid team effort.”

Game one

In the first game of the doubleheader, BYU escaped a late rally in the seventh inning to defeat Texas State 5-3. McKenna Bull pitched 6.2 innings, striking out seven batters and giving up just one earned run. Arianna Paulson came into the seventh inning to earn her first career save. Ashley Thompson led the offense with three RBI on 2 of 3 hitting with two home runs.

The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the first. With Lauren Bell on first base, Thompson drilled a home run over right field. Her first homer of the year put BYU up 2-0 over Texas State after one inning.

With runners on second and third in the bottom of the second, Jensen hit a double to left field, bringing in both baserunners. That extended the lead to 4-0 heading into the third.

The Bobcats responded in the top of the third, scoring one off a single down the left field line to make it 4-1. However, Thompson got the four-run advantage back in the bottom frame with a solo shot over right center, pushing the lead up to 5-1.

For the third time in the game, the Cougars faced a bases-loaded situation with two outs, this time at the top of the seventh. After coming out empty the first two times in this situation, the Bobcats were able to capitalize, scoring two runs off of walks with the bases loaded. Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge caught a line drive to end the late rally and take the 5-3 win.

BYU vs. Texas State Box Score

Game two

Viramontes threw a no-hitter in her college debut and Jensen had three doubles to tie a school record to defeat Nevada 8-0 in five innings in the second game of the doubleheader.

In the first game of her college career, Viramontes threw a no-hitter in five innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Jensen had three doubles, including two in the fifth inning alone. BYU’s five doubles as a team is fifth all-time in the school’s history.

The second game got off to a slow start with BYU earning the only hit of the first two innings. The two pitchers earned a strikeout each in that time frame.

Jensen got the third inning started with a lead-off double to right field. The Cougars loaded up the bases, but a fly out left them scoreless.

Leading off in the top of the fifth, Jensen once again hit a double to left field, sparking some offense into BYU. Tarrow hit her first career home run over centerfield to bring in two runs. After a triple from Alldredge scored three more runs, Allie Hancock hit her first career homer, bringing her and Alldredge home. Starting over at the top of the lineup, Jensen hit her second double in the same inning to score Brooke Vander Heide. The Cougars ended up scoring eight runs to take a commanding 8-0 lead.

Viramontes threw two strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth to complete the no-hitter and run-rule the Wolf Pack in five innings.

BYU vs. Nevada Box Score

BYU concludes the DeMarini Desert Classic with a doubleheader on Saturday against San Jose State and Northern Iowa. Live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – Following a strong opening weekend with wins over No. 13 Washington and Nebraska, No. 25 BYU softball travels to Las Vegas this weekend to play five teams in the DeMarini Desert Classic from Thursday through Saturday.

BYU Game Notes

BYU (2-2, 0-0 West Coast Conference) will play Hawai’i at 4:30 p.m. PST on Thursday before facing Texas State and Nevada in a doubleheader on Friday starting at 10 a.m. PST. The tournament will conclude with two games on Saturday against San Jose State and Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. PST and 2:30 p.m. PST, respectively.

The matchups with Hawai’i, San Jose State and Northern Iowa will be played at Eller Media Stadium, home of UNLV. Friday’s doubleheader against Texas State and Nevada will be at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park in Henderson. Live stats will be available for all games on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU Storylines

• At the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the Cougars picked up two strong wins over Nebraska (12-1) and an upset over No. 13 Washington (4-2). The two losses came against No. 1 Oklahoma (7-1) and No. 2 Auburn (3-0).
• This is the third-straight year that BYU has participated in the DeMarini Desert Classic down in Las Vegas, hosted by UNLV. BYU went 4-1 in both 2016 and 2015. The only team BYU has faced in all three years at this tournamentis Hawai’i, who the Cougars have defeated in the past two matchups (9-1 in 2016 and 5-4 in 2015).
• BYU entered the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll this week at No. 25. The Cougars had not been ranked since week three in 2011 when they were also No. 25. BYU is also two out of the ESPN.com/USA Softball top 25 with 17 votes.
• In four games played, the Cougars are one of three teams in the nation that have not committed a single error. In 2016, they had six errors in the first four games, totaling 61 errors in the entire season.
• Outfielder Rylee Jensen kicked off her college career with a bang, going 5 for 5 in her first five at bats, including a 4 for 4 performance in the 12-1 win over Nebraska. It was the best outing by a freshman in a season opener in BYU history. It also tied Jodi Norton with the best season-opening performance in BYU history by any class.
• Senior McKenna Bull earned the first WCC Pitcher of the Week nod of 2017 this week. In her two complete games over opening weekend, she picked up two wins, including a win over then-No. 13 Washington. The reigning two-time WCC Pitcher of the Year threw seven strikeouts against Nebraska, giving up just one hit and one run in the run-rule win.

Opponents Outlook

Hawai’i (2-1, 0-0 Big West) | Thursday, Feb. 16 | 4:30 p.m. PST

• The Warriors finished 2016 with a 24-30 record, going 8-13 in Big West play.
• Head coach Ben Coolen is in his 28th year with the program, 26th as the head coach. He has totaled a 993-641-1 record in those 26 years. He is the third longest tenured coach at Hawai’i behind only the women’s volleyball coach and sailing coach.
• In the series record, BYU leads 11-2, with a perfect 6-0 record at neutral sites. BYU’s Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge had four RBI to lead the team in last year’s 9-1 win over the Warriors.
   

Texas State (4-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) | Friday, Feb. 17 | 10 a.m. PST

• In 2016, the Bobcats amassed a 40-22 overall record, 15-9 in Sun Belt games.They advanced to the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, getting a win over Samford and dropping two one-run losses to California.
• Ricci Woodward is in her 16th year as the head coach, collecting a 556-363-1 record, 10 conference championships and six NCAA regional appearances.
• BYU has played Texas State three times with the Bobcats have a 2-1 advantage in the overall series history.
   

Nevada (3-2, 0-0 MW) | Friday, Feb. 17 | 12:15 p.m. PST

• The Wolf Pack finished 2016 with a 32-15 record, going 10-10 in the Mountain West.
• After being an assistant on the team for the past four seasons, Josh Taylor is in his first year as the head coach.
• BYU edges Nevada 4-3 in the overall series history with the last game coming in 2015, a 7-5 victory for the Cougars.
   

San Jose State (3-3, 0-0 MW) | Saturday, Feb. 18 | 10 a.m. PST

• The Spartans tallied a 28-24 record in 2016, with a 17-7 mark in Mountain West play.
• Head coach Peter Turner is in his 11th season with San Jose State, collecting a 258-248 career record coming into 2017.
• The last time these two teams met, McKenna Bull threw her first career solo no-hitter in the 2016 season opener, an 8-0 run-rule victory. The Cougars lead the overall series record 8-3.
   

Northern Iowa (4-1, 0-0 MVC) | Saturday, Feb. 18 | 2:30 p.m. PST

• In 2016, the Panthers had a 38-19 record, going 16-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• In his 10th season, Ryan Jacobs has a 267-209 career record as the head coach.
• The lone game in the series history with BYU came in 2001, with the Cougars winning 7-1 in San Diego.