SEATTLE – Solid hitting lifted BYU softball over Portland State 11-2 but came up short against No. 11 Alabama 7-6 on the first day of the Husky Classic Friday.

BYU (7-10) scored 11 runs on nine hits against Portland State (2-8) in five innings, due to the NCAA eight-run rule.

The Cougars scored the most runs by any Alabama (11-2) opponent all season in the extra-inning loss.

Game one

Eight different Cougars scored, with Briielle Breland, Lexi Tarrow and Brooke Vander Heide scoring two runs apiece. Tarrow went a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate while Bridget Fleener and Vander Heide both went 2 for 3. Additionally, Tarrow and Fleener both hit their third home runs of the season.

Freshman pitcher Autumn Moffat earned her first win of the season and held the Vikings to just two hits.

Portland State got on the board first for a 2-0 lead, scoring on a fielder’s choice and another came in on a hit batter with the bases loaded. 

To lead off the bottom of the first, Rylee Jensen walked and Breland was hit by a pitch. Lexi Tarrow then bunted and Jensen scored on a throwing error by the third baseman to trail 2-1. Libby Sugg singled as Breland crossed the plate to even the score 2-2. Caitlyn Alldredge hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Tarrow to score as the Cougars took a 3-2 advantage.

Brooke Vander Heide singled up the middle and later stole second to start the second frame. Jensen walked and Tarrow was hit by a pitch as Vander Heide and Jensen also advanced. Vander Heide came home on a passed ball to extend BYU’s lead, 4-2.

Bridget Fleener homered to centerfield in the bottom of the third to make it 5-3.

Caitlyn Alldredge doubled down the line in left to lead off the fifth. Fleener singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw before Erin Miklus came in as a pinch runner. Allie Hancock then walked. Vander Heide singled to right field, bringing both Alldredge and Miklus home to go up 7-2. Hancock stayed at third, Vander Heide stole second and Breland was hit by another pitch before Tarrow hit a grand slam to right field for the 11-2 win.

BYU vs. Portland State Box Score

Game two

Five Cougars scored, led by Tarrow’s two runs. Jensen, Sugg, Miklus and Vander Heide also scored. Sugg went 2 for 3 at the plate while Alexa Strid had two RBI.

In the top of the first, both Jensen and Tarrow walked. Sugg singled up the middle and Jensen scored to take a 1-0 lead.

The Crimson Tide responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the second as an Alabama batter singled through the right side and the runner on third scored to even it 1-1.

The Cougars scored two more runs in the third inning to go up 3-1. Tarrow led off and singled through the right side. Sugg then doubled down the line as Tarrow advanced to third. Strid singled and advanced to second on a throwing error as Sugg ran to third and Tarrow came across for a 2-1 advantage. Alldredge hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Sugg home to make 3-1.

In the fourth inning, Vander Heide walked and Tarrow reached on a fielder’s choice. Sugg walked before Strid singled to center field to score Tarrow and Sugg, making it 5-1.

Alabama tied it up 5-5 in the fifth with a grand slam to left field.

In the top of the eighth inning, Miklus, a pinch runner for Hancock, was placed on second base, due to the NCAA extra inning rule. Miklus advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Vander Heide and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Breland to go up 6-5.

The Crimson Tide answered by scoring on a Cougar fielding error in the bottom half of the inning. A single to centerfield then brought in the final run.

BYU vs. No. 11 Alabama Box Score

The Husky Classic continues for BYU on Saturday against Northwestern at 12:30 p.m. PT and No. 1 Washington at 7:15 p.m. PT. Links to live stats, the Pac-12 stream and radio broadcast for the Washington game will be available on the BYU softball schedule page. The full tournament schedule can be found on the Husky Classic website.

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball travels to Seattle this week to play in four games at the Husky Classic Friday and Saturday.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars (6-9) will face two ranked teams along with two other matchups. They open the tournament with a doubleheader against Portland State at 9:00 a.m. PT and No. 11 Alabama at 11:15 a.m. PT. On Saturday, BYU will play Northwestern and No. 1 Washington at 12:30 p.m. PT and 7:15 p.m. PT, respectively.

Hosted by Washington, all games will be played at Husky Softball Stadium and streamed online by the Pac-12. Links to live stats, the live stream and radio broadcast for the Washington game will be available on the BYU softball schedule page. The full tournament schedule can be found on the Husky Classic website.

BYU STORYLINES

• BYU ranks No. 16 nationally in home runs per game with 1.20. Nine Cougars have hit 18 homers in 15 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s four. Alexa Strid, Lexi Tarrow Caitlyn Alldredge, Briielle Breland, Bridget Fleener and Allie Hancock have each crushed two while Madison Merrell and Ashley Godfrey have one apiece.
• The Cougars played two of its Husky Classic opponents at the Seattle Regional in 2014. BYU beat Northwestern 7-2 in its first game of the postseason before falling 9-0 to Washington and 8-3 to Northwestern.
• Junior catcher and team captain Libby Sugg has been named to the 2018 USA Softball College Player of the Year Watch List. She earned NFCA All-Pacific Region First Team honors and was named to the All-WCC Second Team last season. Sugg led the team in RBI and home runs with 56 and 13, respectively, while hitting .356.

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK
Portland State | Friday, Mar. 2 | 9:00 a.m. PT | Pac-12 Stream

• The Vikings are 2-7 on the season so far, earning wins over Sam Houston State and New Mexico State.
• BYU leads in the overall series 7-3, most recently winning 4-3 on March 7, 2014, in the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic.
• Meadow McWhorter enters her second season at the helm of the Portland State program. She previously coached at Mt. Hood Community College for 14 years, compiling a record of 468-146.

No. 11 Alabama | Friday, Mar. 2 | 11:15 a.m. PT | Pac-12 Stream

• The Crimson Tide have a 9-2 overall record this season, with its only losses coming to No. 11/12 Baylor and No. 9/7 Florida State.
• Alabama competed in the Gainesville Super Regional in 2017, where it went 1-2 to Florida.
• This will be just the second meeting between the teams. The Crimson Tide carry the edge in the overall series, 1-0. In the first meeting, Alabama took home a 6-0 win on February 19, 2009, in the Cathedral City Classic.
• Head coach Patrick Murphy has earned a record of 987-273 in 19 seasons with the Crimson Tide.

Northwestern | Saturday, Mar. 3 | 12:30 p.m. PT | Pac-12 Stream

• The Wildcats are 7-6 on the season so far, including losses to No. 7 Arizona and No. 11 Tennessee.
• Northwestern leads the overall series with the Cougars, 2-3. In 2015, BYU won 5-1 at the Wilson DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
• Kate Drohan enters her 17th season as the head coach at Northwestern, compiling a 532-326-1 record.

No. 1 Washington | Saturday, Mar. 3 | 7:15 p.m. PT | Pac-12 Stream

• The Huskies are a perfect 18-0 in 2018, having beat No. 6 Texas A&M in a 4-3 walk-off in nine innings at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week.
• Washington advanced to its 12th Women’s College World Series in 2017, falling to No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida.
• The Huskies lead in the overall series, 7-3. Last year, BYU upset then-ranked No. 13 Washington 4-2 with a sixth-inning rally at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
• Head coach Heather Tarr has been at the helm of the Washington program for 13 seasons while collecting a coaching record of 532-215-1.