SAN DIEGO – Powerful hitting propelled BYU softball to a 10-4 victory at San Diego Friday night at USD Softball Complex.

"It was a good team win again tonight," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “We have a few things to clean up for tomorrow but we played well tonight."

Nine Cougars (31-20, 9-1 West Coast Conference) combined for 16 hits while holding the Toreros (25-25, 4-9 WCC) to five hits. Alexa Strid went 3 for 4 at the plate with a game-high three RBI while Lexi Tarrow went 3 for 5 with two runs. Briielle Breland also had a good day at the plate going 2 for 4. Alldredge contributed two runs and two RBI while Brooke Vander Heide added two runs as well.

Kerisa Viramontes and Autumn Moffat shared pitching duties. Viramontes totaled six strikeouts and two walks in four innings while Moffat recorded one strikeout without giving up a walk in three shutout innings.

BYU opened the game scoring three runs on three hits in the top of the first. Jensen walked to lead off. Breland singled to the San Diego shortstop who committed a throwing error, allowing Jensen to score and Breland to advance to second.

Tarrow then got on base with a single to shortstop before she and Breland moved up on a wild pitch. Libby Sugg brought Breland in with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 2-0. Bridget Fleener singled through the right side to advance Tarrow to third. Strid grounded out to the pitcher as Tarrow came across to give BYU a 3-0 lead.

San Diego responded in the in the second frame as Lindsay Clare sent a two-run homer over the left-field fence to close the gap 3-2.

The Toreros added another run in the fourth to even the score 3-3. Lauren Kane singled to right field and Savannah Shields came in as a pinch runner. Shields stole second before advancing to third on a BYU throwing error. She came home as Katie Vretoz singled up the middle.

The Cougars bats came alive in the fifth inning as BYU scored five runs on seven hits. Tarrow singled to shortstop on the first pitch before advancing to second as Sugg singled to right field. Pinch runner Ashley Godfrey came in for Sugg. Fleener singled to right center to move Godfrey to third and Tarrow home as the Cougars regained the lead 4-3.

Vander Heide pinch ran for Fleener before she advanced to third and Godfrey scored as Strid singled to right field, making it 5-3. Strid stole second before Caitlyn Alldredge doubled to left center, bringing in both runners for a 7-3 advantage.

Merrell singled to third base as Alldredge ran to third before a Torero fielding error by the first baseman allowed Alldredge to come across and finish the BYU scoring in the fifth.  

San Diego’s Hannah Gilliland hit an in-the-park-home run off the glove of the diving centerfielder to make it 8-4 in the bottom of the fifth.

With two outs in the top of the sixth, Vander Heide singled to left field before stealing second and advancing to third on a San Diego throwing error by the catcher. Strid singled up the middle to bring Vander Heide home and for a 9-4 BYU advantage.

Alldredge walked to start the seventh inning and moved to second as Jensen grounded out to second base. Tarrow singled to left field to score Alldredge for the Cougars’ final run of the night.

BYU at San Diego Box Score

The Cougars and Toreros finish the series Saturday with a doubleheader at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. PDT.

PROVO, Utah – A busy week of softball begins for BYU as the Cougars travel to Southern Utah Monday and host Utah Valley Tuesday before heading to conference foe San Diego this weekend for a three-game series.

BYU Game Notes

The rescheduled game between the Cougars (28-20, 8-1 West Coast Conference) and Thunderbirds (7-36, 4-14 Big Sky) will take place Monday at 4 p.m. MDT at Kathryn Berg Field. BYU then returns to Provo Tuesday to host a Cystic Fibrosis Awareness game against Utah Valley (19-24, 10-4 Western Athletic Conference) in the UCCU Crosstown Clash at 6 p.m. MDT. The Cougars conclude the week in San Diego (25-24, 4-8 WCC) with a matchup Friday at 6 p.m. PDT and a doubleheader Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m. PDT.

Monday’s Southern Utah game can be streamed on PlutoTV Channel 236 while the UCCU Crosstown Clash will be televised locally on KBYU-TV/Channel 11 and streamed live on YouTube. Links to the streams and live stats for all games will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU celebrates Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month on Tuesday with 6-year-old Team IMPACT teammate Emily Sorenson throwing the first pitch. The Cougars will wear purple ribbons and 100 purple plastic bracelets will be given out to fans.

BYU STORYLINES:

• The Cougars swept the Thunderbirds earlier this season at Gail Miller Park in two five-inning games. In the first game, Alexa Strid went a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate, with five of the team’s eight RBI. Briielle Breland also went 2 for 2 with two RBI, including two home runs. Five players contributed multiple hits to BYU's 14-hit tally in the night cap. Lexi Tarrow went 3 for 4 while Rylee Jensen, Libby Sugg, Emilee Erickson and Strid each contributed two hits for the Cougars.
• In the earlier UCCU Crosstown Clash matchup this year, BYU shut out Utah Valley 11-0 in five innings in Orem. Three Cougars had multiple hits, led by Libby Sugg’s perfect 3 for 3 from the plate and four RBI. Sugg hit her 10th home run of the season, a three-run dinger, and two doubles. Lexi Tarrow went 2 for 3 while Caitlyn Alldredge went 2 for 2, including one home run.
• Currently in second behind LMU in the WCC standings, BYU continues conference play against San Diego this weekend. The Cougars will play LMU (28-21-1, 11-1 WCC) in the final week of the regular season.
• BYU ranks No. 28 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.0. Twelve Cougars have combined to hit 48 homers in 48 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s 10. Caitlyn Alldredge follows with seven while Rylee Jensen and Briielle Breland have six each. Lexi Tarrow has hit four while Alexa Strid, Madison Merrell, Bridget Fleener and Allie Hancock have all hit three apiece. Ashley Godfrey, Emilee Erickson and Olivia Sanchez have also hit dingers.

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK:
Southern Utah (7-36, 4-14 Big Sky)

• The Thunderbirds are 7-36 on the season and 4-14 in the Big Sky, most recently going 1-2 at Idaho State.
• BYU leads in the overall series 54-7. The Cougars swept a doubleheader earlier this season at home with 8-0 and 10-2 victories.
• Head coach Tom Gray is in his fourth season at Southern Utah and has an overall record of 55-134 with the Thunderbirds.

Utah Valley (19-24, 10-4 WAC) | Game Notes

• The Wolverines are 19-24 and 10-4 in conference play in 2018. Last week, they swept conference foe CSU Bakersfield.
• BYU leads the overall series 38-4 and won 11-0 in five innings against UVU earlier this season.
• TJ Hubbard is in his second season at the helm of the Utah Valley program after going 16-24 in 2017.

San Diego (25-24, 4-8 WCC)

• The Toreros are 25-24 this year and 4-8 in WCC play. They recently dropped three games to conference leader LMU.
• BYU leads the overall series 19-5 and went 3-0 against San Diego in 2017.
• Head coach Melissa McElvain is in her 17th season with the Torero program and has compiled an overall record of 361-473.