PUERTO VALLARTA, Mex. – Freshman Huntyr Ava and the BYU pitchers led the softball team to back-to-back wins against George Washington 1-0 and Nevada 6-1, Thursday morning at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

"It was a great start to our season today," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We had solid pitching and timely hitting. We had two well played and exciting games."

In the first game, Ava hit the walk-off RBI single to score Marissa Chavez for a 1-0 win, while in the second game the freshman came in as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning, blasting a three-run homer to give BYU a 5-1 edge, leading to a 6-1 victory. 

Game One vs. George Washington

Game Highlights

• A walk-off single from freshman Huntyr Ava ended the game as Mariss Chavez made it home to give BYU a 1-0 win. 
• Autumn Moffat earned her first win of the season pitching a complete game shutout with only two hits and one walk

Player Highlights:

• Huntyr Ava: 2-4, 1 RBI, 0 K
• Autumn Moffat: W (1-0), 7.0 IP, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K
• Marissa Chavez: 1-2, 1R, 2B, 1BB, 0K

BYU vs. George Washington Box Score

Moffat came out firing on all cylinders to start the game for BYU, going three up, three down in the top of the first inning. A pitchers duel emerged as both teams remained scoreless throughout the first six innings of the game.

In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Chavez lined the ball to right field making it all the way to second base. With Ava up to bat, the Utah native ripped the ball between the first and second baseman into right field giving Chavez the time to make it all the way to home. The walk-off RBI single gave BYU its first win of the season.

Game Two vs. Nevada

Game Highlights

• Ava blasted her first career homer at BYU, tallying three RBI in the process after coming into the game in the bottom of the sixth as a pinch hitter.
• Arissa Paulson recorded her first win of the season, striking out five while allowing only one earned run.
• Five different players tallied runs in the game including two from second baseman Erin Miklus

Player Highlights

• Huntyr Ava: 1-1, 1R, 3RBI, 1HR, 0K
• Arissa Paulson: W (1-0), 7.0 IP, 1ER, 0BB, 5K
• Taylei Williams: 1-3, 2RBI, 2B

BYU vs. Nevada Box Score

BYU started out the scoring in the bottom of the second inning as Rylee Jensen-McFarland doubled to center field sending Aubrielle Paulson home for the first run. Williams followed with a sacrifice fly out to left field to bring in Miklus.

In the top of the fifth, the Wolf Pack scored the only run of the game on an error in the outfield.

But in the bottom of the sixth, Ava secured the win for the BYU with a three-run homer and the game ended after the Cougars tallied three outs in the top of the seventh inning for a 6-1 win.

BYU takes on Oregon in the second day of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge at 6 p.m. CT at Nancy Almaraz Stadium in Puerto Vallarta.

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball will travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge and face four different teams to begin the 2020 season.

BYU at Puerto Vallarta Game Notes

The Cougars will play George Washington and Nevada on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. CT, respectively. Then on Friday, Feb. 7, BYU will face Oregon at 6 p.m. CT before closing out the tournament against No. 3 Oklahoma in a Saturday night contest at 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Sooners are coming off an appearance in the Women’s College World Series, losing to UCLA in the final game. 

All four games will be played at Nancy Almaraz Stadium in Puerto Vallarta with live streaming on FloSoftball with a subscription. 

20 Years of BYU Softball. The start of the 2020 season marks the 20th anniversary of the start of BYU softball. February 4, 2000, the Cougars defeated Sacramento State 3-2 in San Jose to start the program off with a win. In the 20 years, BYU has captured 14 conference titles and made 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament. Head coach Gordon Eakin has been part of the BYU softball program since its inception and took over the head coaching duties in 2002.

Ranked Opponents. Throughout the 2020 season, BYU will face four top 25 preseason teams including No. 3 Oklahoma at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge. 

Back to Mexico. This will be the Cougars fourth trip to the Puerto Vallarta Challenge. Last season, BYU faced two ranked teams and took down No. 18 Baylor in its second game of the tournament. In 2017, the Cougars came home with a 2-2 record also beating No. 13 Washington. At the inaugural tournament in 2015, BYU won all four games. 

Return to the WCC. This will be BYU’s seventh season as a member of the West Coast Conference after joining in the 2014 season. Since its first season, BYU has claimed the WCC Championship the last six-straight years. Last season, BYU earned three of the top season awards including Player of the Year (Lexi Tarrow), Pitcher of the Year (Arissa Paulson) and Defensive Player of the Year (Erin Miklus) as well as having seven players be named to the All-WCC teams. 

BYU Record Book. Left fielder Rylee Jensen-McFarland returns for her senior season at BYU already ranked in multiple categories in the BYU record books. Jensen-McFarland ranks top 10 at BYU in career batting average (.350), runs (143) and on-base percentage (.444). Only a junior, starting pitcher Arissa Paulson ranks top ten at BYU in career wins (33), complete games (31), shutouts (7) and strikeouts (280).

Opponent Outlook

George Washington | Thursday, Feb. 6 | 10 a.m. CST | FloSoftball 

Overall: 0-0
Home: 0-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
Under Eakin: ---
Longest win Streak: ---
Last win: ---
Longest Losing Streak: ---
Last loss: ---

Nevada | Thursday, Feb. 6 | 12:30 a.m. CST | FloSoftball 

Overall: 5-3
Home: 0-0
Away: 3-0
Neutral: 2-3
Under Eakin: 5-3
Longest win Streak: 3 
Last win: 8-0, 2/17/19
Longest Losing Streak: 3
Last loss: 20-10, 2/15/19

Oregon | Friday, Feb. 7 | 6 p.m. CST | FloSoftball 

Overall: 4-10
Home: 1-0
Away: 0-8
Neutral: 3-2
Under Eakin: 3-10
Longest win Streak: 1, four times 
Last win: 6-5, 3/25/14
Longest Losing Streak: 4
Last loss: 1-0, 3/30/17

No. 3 Oklahoma | Saturday,  Feb. 8 | 8:30 p.m. CST | FloSoftball 

Overall: 0-7
Home: 0-0
Away: 0-3
Neutral: 0-4
Under Eakin: 0-6
Longest win Streak: --- 
Last win: ---
Longest Losing Streak: 7
Last loss: 5-0, 2/22/19