LAS -- Home runs played a huge role in BYU softball Friday as the Cougars lost to Notre Dame, 8-3, then beat Purdue, 5-2 at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.

BYU, now 6-2 on the year, gave up a sixth-inning grand slam to the Irish, which proved to be insurmountable. In the nightcap, the Cougars used the deep ball to their advantage, sending three over the outfield fence to secure a victory over the Boilermakers.

The first game started out a pitching duel against Notre Dame, with Summer Tobias keeping the dangerous Irish bats quiet through the first three innings. In the top of the fourth, Notre Dame strung together a triple and double to give it a 3-0 lead.

The Cougars fought back in their side of the fourth when Tracee Hoch drew a bases-loaded walk and was followed by a Monica Gonzales RBI single to cut the deficit to just one run.

The Irish put together a five-run sixth inning to put the game out of reach with the big blow being the grand slam. BYU added a run in the bottom of the sixth but couldn't get any closer. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said the Cougars didn't come up with the big hits when they needed.

"We got runners on base with out a problem," he said. "We just didn't have any timely hits. If we would have got a hit or two with runners in scoring position, it would have been a different game."

In game two, it looked as if the Cougars would once again be bitten by the home run bug when Purdue's DaQueta Johnson nailed a two-run homer off BYU starter Daniella Urincho in the top of the fourth. But BYU came right back in its side of the inning when Hoch nailed a solo home run and was followed two batters later by another solo shot by Emi Snow. The round-tripper was Snow's first hit of the season.

Over the next inning and a half, the teams stalemated with each getting runners in scoring position but being unable to drive any runners home.

In the bottom of the sixth the Cougars again got two runners on base with two outs in the inning when Ianeta Le`i came through with a three-run shot, giving BYU a 5-2 lead.

Urincho took care of business in the top of the seventh striking out two of the four batters she faced in the inning to get the victory, her second on the season.

"Neta's [Le`i] home run was huge," Eakin said. "And Dani [Urincho] pitched a great game for us."

The Cougars will finish their five-game stint at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic Saturday when they take on Kansas at 10 a.m. and Cal State-Fullerton at 2 p.m. (MST)

Notre Dame vs Brigham Young
Feb 17, 2006 at Las Vegas, NV (SLC Field Three)
Notre Dame 8
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
BROWN rf.................  4  0  1  1   1  0  0  0   0
KOTCHEFF cf..............  5  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
LAING 2b.................  2  1  2  0   1  0  3  4   0
RUTHRAUFF 1b.............  1  1  0  0   3  0  9  0   2
LENN c...................  4  1  2  4   0  0  5  0   5
 SMITH pr................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 GLASCO c................  0  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
KOHAN dp.................  3  1  2  0   0  1  0  0   0
 NORTHWAY pr.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
JAQUISH 3b...............  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  1   0
HUFNAGLE lf..............  3  1  1  1   0  1  2  0   1
 MOLA ph.................  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SCHOONAERT ss............  4  2  2  1   0  0  0  2   0
BARGER p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 BOOTH p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 FUEMMELER p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 30  8 11  7   5  4 21 10   9
Brigham Young 3 (5-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CHAMBERLAIN, Krystle lf..  3  0  0  0   0  3  0  0   3
 SNOW, Emi lf............  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
WHITELEY, Jennifer cf....  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
LE`I, Ianeta 1b..........  2  0  0  0   2  0  6  0   3
 KENNEDY, Lindi pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RUSSELL, Ashlyn 3b.......  3  1  3  0   1  0  2  1   0
 ANDERSON, Jana pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 PLATT, Stephanie pr.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PARAMORE, Paige dp.......  3  0  0  0   1  1  0  0   1
NORTON, Jodi ss..........  3  2  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
NIX, Cortney c...........  3  0  0  0   0  1  6  0   0
 RAMIREZ, Andrea ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
HOCH, Tracee 2b..........  1  0  0  1   2  0  6  0   2
GONZALES, Monica rf......  3  0  1  2   0  0  1  0   0
TOBIAS, Summer p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  4   0
 BOYCE-HUMBER, Brooke p..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 25  3  5  3   8  6 21  7  10
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Notre Dame.......... 000 305 0 -  8 11  1
Brigham Young....... 000 201 0 -  3  5  2
-----------------------------------------
E - RUTHRAUFF; LE`I; GONZALES. DP - Notre Dame 2; BYU 1. LOB - Notre Dame 9;
BYU 10. 2B - BROWN; SCHOONAERT; RUSSELL; NORTON. 3B - HUFNAGLE. HR - LENN.
HBP - LAING; KOHAN; NORTON. SH - JAQUISH. SB - KOTCHEFF; LAING; SCHOONAERT;
ANDERSON.
Notre Dame             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BARGER..............  4.1  3  2  2  4  4 16 21
BOOTH...............  1.2  2  1  1  3  0  6  9
FUEMMELER...........  1.0  0  0  0  1  2  3  4
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
TOBIAS, Summer......  4.0  6  3  2  4  1 16 22
BOYCE-HUMBER, Brooke  3.0  5  5  4  1  3 14 16
Win - BARGER (1-0).  Loss - TOBIAS ().  Save - None.
WP - BOYCE-HUMBER 2. HBP - by TOBIAS (KOHAN); by BARGER (NORTON); by
BOYCE-HUMBER (LAING).
Umpires -
Start: 11:30 am   Time: 1:37   Attendance: 350
Notre Dame vs Brigham Young - Play-by-Play
Feb 17, 2006 at Las Vegas, NV (SLC Field Three)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Notre Dame.......... 000 305 0 -  8 11  1
Brigham Young....... 000 201 0 -  3  5  2
-----------------------------------------
Notre Dame starters: 24/rf BROWN; 17/cf KOTCHEFF; 1/2b LAING; 77/1b RUTHRAUFF; 16/c
LENN; 21/dp KOHAN; 27/3b JAQUISH; 11/lf HUFNAGLE; 22/ss SCHOONAERT; 8/p BARGER;
Brigham Young starters: 1/lf CHAMBERLAIN; 3/cf WHITELEY; 66/1b LE`I; 25/3b RUSSELL;
19/dp PARAMORE; 8/ss NORTON; 10/c NIX; 4/2b HOCH; 24/rf GONZALES; 12/p TOBIAS;
Notre Dame 1st - BROWN grounded out to p. KOTCHEFF grounded out to p. LAING
singled to left center. LAING stole second. RUTHRAUFF walked. LENN grounded out to
p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 1st - CHAMBERLAIN struck out looking. WHITELEY reached on a
fielding error by 1b. LE`I hit into double play ss to 2b to 1b; WHITELEY out on the
play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Notre Dame 2nd - KOHAN singled to shortstop. NORTHWAY pinch ran for KOHAN.
JAQUISH out at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; NORTHWAY advanced to second. HUFNAGLE
popped into double play 2b unassisted; NORTHWAY out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - RUSSELL singled to center field. ANDERSON pinch ran for
RUSSELL. ANDERSON stole second. PARAMORE walked. NORTON grounded out to 2b; PARAMORE
advanced to second; ANDERSON advanced to third. NIX struck out looking. HOCH
grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Notre Dame 3rd - RUSSELL to 3b for ANDERSON. SCHOONAERT out at first 3b to
2b, bunt. BROWN walked. KOTCHEFF fouled out to 1b, bunt. LAING singled through the
left side; BROWN advanced to second. RUTHRAUFF walked; LAING advanced to second;
BROWN advanced to third. LENN popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3
LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - GONZALES grounded out to p. CHAMBERLAIN struck out
looking. WHITELEY grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Notre Dame 4th - KOHAN to dp for NORTHWAY. KOHAN hit by pitch. JAQUISH struck
out looking. HUFNAGLE tripled down the lf line, RBI; KOHAN scored. SCHOONAERT
singled to right field, advanced to second on a fielding error by rf, advanced to
third, RBI; HUFNAGLE scored. BROWN doubled to left center, RBI; SCHOONAERT scored,
unearned. KOTCHEFF flied out to rf. LAING walked. RUTHRAUFF reached on a fielder's
choice; LAING advanced to second; BROWN out at third 3b unassisted. 3 runs, 3
hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - LE`I walked. RUSSELL doubled to left center; LE`I
advanced to third. PARAMORE grounded out to 1b unassisted. NORTON hit by pitch. NIX
reached on a fielder's choice; NORTON advanced to second; RUSSELL advanced to third;
LE`I out at home 3b to c. HOCH walked, RBI; NIX advanced to second; NORTON advanced
to third; RUSSELL scored. GONZALES singled through the right side, RBI; HOCH
advanced to second; NIX advanced to third; NORTON scored. CHAMBERLAIN struck out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Notre Dame 5th - SNOW to lf for CHAMBERLAIN. BOYCE-HUMBER to p for TOBIAS.
LENN singled to left center. SMITH pinch ran for LENN. KOHAN singled to right field;
SMITH advanced to second. KOHAN advanced to second; SMITH advanced to third on a
wild pitch. JAQUISH struck out. SMITH out at home c unassisted. HUFNAGLE struck out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - LENN to c for SMITH. WHITELEY grounded out to 2b. LE`I
walked. BOOTH to p for BARGER. KENNEDY pinch ran for LE`I. RUSSELL singled through
the left side; KENNEDY advanced to second. PARAMORE popped into double play 2b
unassisted; RUSSELL out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Notre Dame 6th - LE`I to 1b for KENNEDY. SCHOONAERT reached on a muffed throw
by 1b. BROWN grounded out to c unassisted. SCHOONAERT stole second. KOTCHEFF singled
to second base; SCHOONAERT advanced to third. KOTCHEFF stole second. LAING hit by
pitch. LAING advanced to second; KOTCHEFF advanced to third; SCHOONAERT scored on a
wild pitch, unearned. RUTHRAUFF walked. LENN homered to center field, 4 RBI;
RUTHRAUFF scored; LAING scored; KOTCHEFF scored. KOHAN struck out looking. JAQUISH
fouled out to 3b. 5 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - GLASCO to c for LENN. NORTON doubled to center field. NIX
grounded out to p; NORTON advanced to third. HOCH walked. GONZALES grounded out to
2b, RBI; HOCH advanced to second; NORTON scored. SNOW walked. WHITELEY walked; SNOW
advanced to second; HOCH advanced to third. LE`I flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
Notre Dame 7th - MOLA pinch hit for HUFNAGLE. MOLA out at first p to 2b,
bunt. SCHOONAERT doubled down the lf line. BROWN grounded out to 1b unassisted;
SCHOONAERT advanced to third. KOTCHEFF grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 7th - HUFNAGLE to lf for MOLA. FUEMMELER to p for BOOTH.
RUSSELL walked. PLATT pinch ran for RUSSELL. PARAMORE struck out. NORTON struck out.
RAMIREZ pinch hit for NIX. RAMIREZ flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Purdue vs BYU
Feb 17, 2006 at Las Vegas, Nev. (Stephanie Craig Park)
Purdue 2 (4-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Falzon, S. cf............  3  0  2  0   1  0  0  1   0
Hall, A. 2b..............  4  0  1  0   0  3  1  2   1
Mitchell, K. 3b..........  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  2   2
Lilley, T. ss............  3  1  2  0   0  0  0  3   1
Johnson, D. rf...........  2  1  2  2   0  0  0  0   0
 Miller, K. pr...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Peterson, E. c...........  2  0  0  0   0  0  8  0   0
Stone, B. 1b.............  3  0  0  0   0  0  9  0   1
Schell, K. dp............  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
Krcelich, T. lf..........  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
LaRiva, D. p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Baker, B. p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 25  2  7  2   2  4 18  9   6
BYU 5 (6-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  1  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf....  3  0  0  0   1  2  0  0   0
LE`I, Ianeta 1b..........  3  1  1  3   1  1 11  0   0
RUSSELL, Ashlyn dp.......  3  0  1  0   1  1  0  0   0
 NIX, Cortney pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea ss.......  2  0  1  0   2  0  2  1   2
 ANDERSON, Jana pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
NORTON, Jodi 3b..........  2  0  0  0   1  1  2  2   3
 PARAMORE, Paige ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
HOCH, Tracee 2b..........  3  1  2  1   0  1  1  3   0
KENNEDY, Lindi rf........  3  0  2  0   0  1  1  0   0
 CHAMBERLAIN, Krystle pr.  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SNOW, Emi c..............  3  2  1  1   0  0  4  1   1
URINCHO, Daniella p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 26  5  9  5   7  7 21  9  10
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Purdue.............. 000 200 0 -  2  7  1
BYU................. 000 203 X -  5  9  0
-----------------------------------------
E - Hall, A.. LOB - Purdue 6; BY 10. 2B - KENNEDY. HR - Johnson, D.; LE`I;
HOCH; SNOW. SH - Johnson, D.; Peterson, E.. SB - Mitchell, K.; ANDERSON. CS
- Falzon, S..
Purdue                 IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LaRiva, D...........  4.0  3  2  2  5  5 15 20
Baker, B............  2.0  6  3  3  2  2 11 13
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
URINCHO, Daniella...  7.0  7  2  2  2  4 25 29
Win - URINCHO (2-1).  Loss - Baker, B. (1-3).  Save - None.
Umpires -
Start: 4:35 pm   Time: 2:10   Attendance:
Game notes:
Purdue vs BYU - Play-by-Play
Feb 17, 2006 at Las Vegas, Nev. (Stephanie Craig Park)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Purdue.............. 000 200 0 -  2  7  1
BYU................. 000 203 X -  5  9  0
-----------------------------------------
Purdue starters: 20/cf Falzon, S.; 23/2b Hall, A.; 15/3b Mitchell, K.; 7/ss Lilley,
T.; 25/rf Johnson, D.; 17/c Peterson, E.; 3/1b Stone, B.; 6/dp Schell, K.; 22/lf
Krcelich, T.; 5/p LaRiva, D.;
BYU starters: 24/cf GONZALES; 3/lf WHITELEY; 66/1b LE`I; 25/dp RUSSELL; 31/ss
RAMIREZ; 8/3b NORTON; 4/2b HOCH; 23/rf KENNEDY; 18/c SNOW; 22/p URINCHO;
Purdue 1st - Falzon, S. grounded out to 2b. Hall, A. struck out swinging.
Mitchell, K. walked. Mitchell, K. stole second. Lilley, T. grounded out to 2b. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 1st - GONZALES walked. WHITELEY struck out swinging. LE`I struck out
swinging. RUSSELL walked; GONZALES advanced to second. RAMIREZ grounded out to 2b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Purdue 2nd - Johnson, D. singled through the right side. Miller, K. pinch ran
for Johnson, D.. Peterson, E. grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt; Miller, K. advanced to
second. Stone, B. popped up to 3b. Schell, K. popped up to 1b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - Johnson, D. to rf for Miller, K.. NORTON grounded out to ss. HOCH
struck out looking. KENNEDY doubled to center field. SNOW grounded out to 1b
unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Purdue 3rd - Krcelich, T. lined out to 1b. Falzon, S. singled up the middle.
Hall, A. struck out swinging; Falzon, S. out at second c to ss, caught stealing.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - GONZALES grounded out to ss. WHITELEY walked. LE`I walked; WHITELEY
advanced to second. RUSSELL grounded out to p; LE`I advanced to second; WHITELEY
advanced to third. RAMIREZ walked. NORTON struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
Purdue 4th - Mitchell, K. grounded out to 1b unassisted. Lilley, T. singled
to shortstop. Johnson, D. homered to center field, 2 RBI; Lilley, T. scored.
Peterson, E. grounded out to ss. Stone, B. fouled out to rf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - HOCH homered to center field, RBI. KENNEDY struck out swinging.
SNOW homered to center field, RBI. GONZALES grounded out to 2b. WHITELEY grounded
out to 3b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Purdue 5th - Schell, K. grounded out to 2b. Krcelich, T. grounded out to p.
Falzon, S. walked. Hall, A. singled to third base; Falzon, S. advanced to second.
Mitchell, K. reached on a fielder's choice; Hall, A. advanced to second; Falzon, S.
out at third 3b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 5th - Baker, B. to p for LaRiva, D.. LE`I grounded out to ss. RUSSELL
struck out swinging. RAMIREZ singled to second base. ANDERSON pinch ran for RAMIREZ.
ANDERSON stole second. NORTON walked. HOCH singled up the middle; NORTON advanced to
second; ANDERSON advanced to third, out at home cf to c. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Purdue 6th - RAMIREZ to ss for ANDERSON. Lilley, T. singled down the lf line.
Johnson, D. out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Lilley, T. advanced to second.
Peterson, E. popped up to ss. Stone, B. grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - KENNEDY singled down the rf line. CHAMBERLAIN pinch ran for
KENNEDY. SNOW reached on a fielder's choice; CHAMBERLAIN out at second 3b to 2b.
GONZALES singled to second base, advanced to second on an error by 2b; SNOW advanced
to third. WHITELEY struck out swinging. LE`I homered to left field, 3 RBI; GONZALES
scored; SNOW scored. RUSSELL singled to right field. NIX pinch ran for RUSSELL.
RAMIREZ walked; NIX advanced to second. PARAMORE pinch hit for NORTON. PARAMORE
grounded out to 1b unassisted. 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Purdue 7th - NORTON to 3b for PARAMORE. KENNEDY to rf for CHAMBERLAIN.
Schell, K. struck out swinging. Krcelich, T. grounded out to p. Falzon, S. singled
to shortstop. Hall, A. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

PROVO -- After winning four of five games in Hawai`i, the BYU softball team travels to Las Vegas to play in the 24-team Louisville Slugger Desert Classic beginning Thursday.

The Cougars (4-1) will travel to Las Vegas Wednesday and begin play on Thursday evening when they take on UC Davis (0-2) at 8 p.m. (MST). BYU will play two games on each Friday and Saturday. Friday's opponents will be Notre Dame (46-15, 2005) at 12:15 p.m. (MST) and Purdue (3-2) at 5 p.m. (MST). Saturday, the Cougars will take on Call St. Fullerton (2-3) and Kansas (2-2) at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

Even though BYU won four of five contests in the Paradise Classic the Cougars' head coach Gordon Eakin is looking for improvement at the Louisville Slugger Tournament.

"We didn't play up to our potential in Hawai`i," Eakin said. "But, it was a good learning experience for our veteran team, now they are more focused."

The loss to Texas State bumped BYU from the Top-25. The Cougars remain just outside of the poll as the No. 26 team.

Although none of the games will be broadcast live on the Internet, some of the games will have live stats. Visit www.byucougars.com for live stats links that will be posted as they become available.