LAS -- Another strong relief appearance by sophomore pitcher Hannah Howell and patient hitting were the keys in No. 23 BYU softball's 8-6 win over Cal Poly after which BYU staved off a furious run by Boise State to claim a 12-11 win at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic on Friday.

After holding SIUE scoreless Thursday evening to earn her first win of the year, Howell came on in third inning against the Mustangs with BYU down 6-3, again allowing no runs and striking out five.

BYU drew 11 total walks against three Cal Poly pitchers. Out of eight total runs, BYU scored only two off of base hits - an RBI single from Caschjen Atagi and a solo home run by Delaney Willard. The remainder of the Cougars' runs were brought in by walks, fielder's choices and ground outs.

Three drawn walks by BYU loaded the bases, then brought in two runs in the third inning. In the fourth, BYU slowly chipped away at the Mustangs with a mixture of walks, fielder's choices and singles. After Jessica Dugas walked and JC Clayton singled, Tiffany Messerschmidt reached on an error to load the bases and Kristin Delahoussaye got enough on the ball for an RBI ground out.

After Jessica Fitu earned a free base on an intentional walk, Atagi hit an RBI single and Katie Manuma sent in another run on a fielder's choice.

Willard's solo home run, her second on the season, was BYU's only extra-base hit, coming in the sixth inning.

Clayton had three hits for the Cougars and scored three runs while Messerschmidt hit 2-for-4 with two runs and a walk.

Game 2

Senior Kristin Delahoussaye buried the slump she had been in since the beginning of the young season against Boise State, exploding for two doubles and a home run on her way to hitting 4-for-5 with five RBI and two runs. Fellow senior Jessica Fitu added a homer and a double, hitting 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs.

Up one run at 6-5, BYU appeared to pull away with a six-run sixth inning. Junior Stacie Graham hit a triple that scored Delaney Willard and Madisen Robb. JC Clayton's single brought in Graham, and the Cougars had two on base after Tiffany Messerschmidt reached on a bunt.

Delahoussaye finished off the inning with a 3-run blast to left field, giving BYU a 12-6 lead needing three outs to finish off the Broncos.

But Boise State wouldn't quit, collecting a flurry of singles off the three Cougar pitchers needed to end the inning. Up by a single run and with runners on first and second, freshman Katie Manuma finally forced a fly ball into left field to end the game.

#23 BYU at Cal Poly
Feb 18, 2011 at Las Vegas (Stephanie Lynn Craig)
BYU 8 (4-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  5  3  3  0   0  0  0  0   0
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dh..  4  2  2  0   1  1  0  0   2
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  4  0  0  2   0  0  5  2   0
FITU,Jessica c...........  2  0  0  1   3  0  9  1   0
ATAGI,Caschjen 3b........  5  0  2  1   0  2  2  2   4
MANUMA, Katie 1b.........  3  0  0  2   1  1  4  0   1
 ENGEL, Jenna pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  3  1  1  2   1  1  0  0   2
HUDSON,Alexandra lf......  2  0  1  0   2  1  1  0   3
 MILLETT,Lacey pr........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  1  2  0  0   3  0  0  1   1
AFFLECK,Paige p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOWELL,Hannah p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 29  8  9  8  11  6 21  8  13
Cal Poly 6 (1-5)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Westlund ss..............  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  4   0
Romano 2b................  4  2  2  0   0  1  2  3   0
Lund rf..................  3  1  2  0   1  1  0  0   0
Cahn dh..................  3  2  1  3   1  0  0  0   2
Patton p.................  3  1  2  1   0  1  0  0   0
 Thomas p................  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Correia c................  3  0  1  2   1  0  6  1   0
 Andersen pr.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Walker 1b................  3  0  0  0   1  2  6  2   2
Gerhart cf...............  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
Brown lf.................  3  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
 Vogelsang ph............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Williams 3b..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  4  1   0
Totals................... 30  6 10  6   4  6 21 11   7
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 102 311 0 -  8  9  1
Cal Poly............ 303 000 0 -  6 10  1
-----------------------------------------
E - CLAYTON; Williams. LOB - BYU 13; Cal Poly 7. 2B - Lund; Patton. HR -
WILLARD; Cahn. HBP - MANUMA. SH - DELAHOUSSAYE. SB - HUDSON. CS - ENGEL.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK,Paige.......  2.0  5  6  6  2  1 11 13
HOWELL,Hannah.......  5.0  5  0  0  2  5 19 21
Cal Poly               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Patton..............  4.2  6  3  3  3  6 19 23
Cahn................  1.0  2  4  3  3  0  6  9
Thomas..............  1.1  1  1  1  5  0  4 10
Win - HOWELL (2-1).  Loss - Thomas ().  Save - None.
HBP - by Thomas (MANUMA).
Umpires -
Start: 11:15 am   Time: 2:51   Attendance: 250
BYU starters: 16/ss CLAYTON; 20/dh MESSERSCHMID; 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 10/c FITU;
9/3b ATAGI; 31/1b MANUMA; 28/rf WILLARD; 5/lf HUDSON; 19/cf DUGAS; 12/p
AFFLECK;
Cal Poly starters: 24/ss Westlund; 13/2b Romano; 9/rf Lund; 27/dh Cahn; 2/p
Patton; 36/c Correia; 25/1b Walker; 16/cf Gerhart; 0/lf Brown; 11/3b Williams;
BYU 1st - CLAYTON singled to second base. MESSERSCHMID singled to first
base, bunt; CLAYTON advanced to second. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 3b, SAC,
bunt; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second; CLAYTON advanced to third. FITU grounded
out to 2b, RBI; MESSERSCHMID advanced to third; CLAYTON scored. ATAGI struck
out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Cal Poly 1st - Westlund singled down the lf line. Westlund hit by batted
ball between first and second. Romano reached on a fielder's choice to second
base; Westlund out at second 2b unassisted. Lund struck out swinging. Cahn
walked; Romano advanced to second. Patton doubled to right center, RBI; Cahn
advanced to third; Romano scored. Correia singled to right center, 2 RBI;
Patton scored; Cahn scored. Walker grounded out to 2b. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - MANUMA grounded out to ss. WILLARD struck out looking. HUDSON
singled to left center. DUGAS flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Cal Poly 2nd - Gerhart grounded out to 3b, bunt. Brown lined out to 3b.
Westlund grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - CLAYTON singled to second base. MESSERSCHMID singled to
shortstop; CLAYTON advanced to second. DELAHOUSSAYE fouled out to 3b. FITU
walked; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second; CLAYTON advanced to third. ATAGI
struck out looking. MANUMA walked, RBI; FITU advanced to second; MESSERSCHMID
advanced to third; CLAYTON scored. WILLARD walked, RBI; MANUMA advanced to
second; FITU advanced to third; MESSERSCHMID scored. HUDSON struck out
swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Cal Poly 3rd - Romano singled to center field. Lund walked; Romano
advanced to second. Cahn homered to left field, 3 RBI; Lund scored; Romano
scored. HOWELL to p for AFFLECK. Patton singled down the rf line. Correia flied
out to lf. Walker struck out swinging. Gerhart singled to center field; Patton
advanced to second. Vogelsang pinch hit for Brown. Patton picked off, out at
second c to 2b. 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - Cahn to p. Patton to dh. Brown to lf for Vogelsang. DUGAS
walked. CLAYTON singled to center field; DUGAS advanced to second. MESSERSCHMID
reached on an error by 3b; CLAYTON advanced to second; DUGAS advanced to third.
DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 2b, RBI; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second; CLAYTON
advanced to third; DUGAS scored. FITU intentionally walked. ATAGI singled to
left field, RBI; FITU advanced to second; MESSERSCHMID advanced to third;
CLAYTON scored. MANUMA reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; ATAGI advanced to
second; FITU out at third ss to 3b; MESSERSCHMID scored, unearned. WILLARD
grounded out to 1b unassisted. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Cal Poly 4th - Batted ball hit batter out of the box. Brown grounded out
to c unassisted. Westlund reached on an error by ss. Romano struck out
swinging. Lund singled to center field; Westlund advanced to third. Cahn
grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 5th - HUDSON walked. Cahn to dh. Thomas to p for Patton. MILLETT
pinch ran for HUDSON. DUGAS walked; MILLETT advanced to second. CLAYTON reached
on a fielder's choice; DUGAS advanced to second; MILLETT out at third ss to 3b.
MESSERSCHMID walked; CLAYTON advanced to second; DUGAS advanced to third.
DELAHOUSSAYE out at first 1b to 2b, RBI; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second;
CLAYTON advanced to third; DUGAS scored. FITU intentionally walked. ATAGI
grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Cal Poly 5th - HUDSON to lf for MILLETT. Thomas struck out looking.
Correia popped up to c. Walker walked. Gerhart lined out to 2b. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - MANUMA hit by pitch. ENGEL pinch ran for MANUMA. ENGEL out at
second c to ss to 1b to 2b, caught stealing. WILLARD homered, RBI. HUDSON
walked. HUDSON stole second. DUGAS walked. Patton to p for Thomas. CLAYTON
flied out to lf. MESSERSCHMID struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Cal Poly 6th - ENGEL to 1b. Brown out at first 1b to 2b. Westlund fouled
out to 3b. Romano singled to left field. Lund doubled to right center; Romano
advanced to third, out at home cf to 2b to c. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 7th - DELAHOUSSAYE popped up to ss. FITU lined out to 3b. ATAGI
singled down the lf line. MANUMA to 1b for ENGEL. MANUMA struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Cal Poly 7th - Cahn popped up to 2b. Patton struck out looking. Correia
walked. Andersen pinch ran for Correia. Walker struck out swinging. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
 Boise State vs #23 BYU
                Feb 18, 2011 at Las Vegas (Stephanie Lynn Craig)
Boise State 11 (1-4-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Bourke, H. 2b............  4  2  1  2   0  1  1  3   0
Caplan, K. lf............  5  1  3  3   0  0  1  1   1
Alvarez, V. dh...........  5  0  1  2   0  1  0  0   1
Crump, A. p..............  4  1  3  1   1  0  0  1   2
 Collier, A. pr..........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Weatherly, T cf..........  4  1  2  1   0  1  1  0   0
Capobianco 1b............  3  0  1  0   0  0  6  0   0
 Harvey, M. ph...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Kraft, J. pr............  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Sweeney, K. 3b...........  4  1  1  1   0  0  0  2   4
Bridges, D. rf...........  4  2  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
Whyte, M. ss.............  2  1  1  0   1  1  2  0   0
Yurek, M. c..............  0  0  0  0   0  0  7  1   0
Totals................... 35 11 14 10   2  5 18  8   8
BYU 12 (5-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  4  2  2  1   1  0  0  0   0
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa lf..  3  1  2  0   1  0  2  0   0
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi c...  5  2  4  5   0  1  6  1   1
FITU,Jessica dh..........  5  2  3  2   0  1  0  0   2
ATAGI,Caschjen 3b........  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  3   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  1  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 MILLETT,Lacey pr........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MANUMA, Katie 1b.........  3  0  0  0   0  1  7  0   3
 ROBB, Madisen 1b........  1  1  1  0   0  0  0  1   0
GRAHAM, Stacie 2b........  4  1  2  4   0  1  5  2   2
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  4  1  2  0   0  0  1  0   0
ALMOND,Tori p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 AFFLECK,Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 HOWELL,Hannah p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34 12 17 12   3  5 21 10  10
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Boise State......... 001 130 6 - 11 14  2
BYU................. 302 016 0 - 12 17  2
-----------------------------------------
E - Capobianco; Sweeney, K.; CLAYTON; ATAGI. LOB - Boise State 8; BYU 10. 2B
- Caplan, K.; DELAHOUSSAYE 2; FITU. 3B - GRAHAM. HR - Crump, A.;
DELAHOUSSAYE; FITU. HBP - Harvey, M.; WILLARD 2. SH - Bourke, H.; Whyte, M.;
MESSERSCHMID. SB - MESSERSCHMID; ATAGI. CS - DUGAS.
Boise State            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Crump, A............  6.0 17 12  7  3  5 34 40
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ALMOND,Tori.........  4.2  6  5  3  2  4 19 23
AFFLECK,Paige.......  1.2  5  4  2  0  0 10 11
HOWELL,Hannah.......  0.1  1  2  0  0  1  3  3
MANUMA, Katie.......  0.1  2  0  0  0  0  3  3
Win - AFFLECK (3-2).  Loss - Crump, A..  Save - None.
WP - HOWELL. HBP - by Crump, A. (WILLARD); by Crump, A. (WILLARD); by AFFLECK
(Harvey, M.).
Umpires -
Start:   Time: 2:40   Attendance: 300
Weather: Clear
Boise State starters: 6/2b Bourke, H.; 3/lf Caplan, K.; 17/dh Alvarez, V.; 8/p
Crump, A.; 2/cf Weatherly, T; 15/1b Capobianco; 5/3b Sweeney, K.; 31/rf
Bridges, D.; 22/ss Whyte, M.; 9/c Yurek, M.;
BYU starters: 16/ss CLAYTON; 20/lf MESSERSCHMID; 4/c DELAHOUSSAYE; 10/dh FITU;
9/3b ATAGI; 28/rf WILLARD; 31/1b MANUMA; 21/2b GRAHAM; 19/cf DUGAS; 8/p ALMOND;
Boise State 1st - Bourke, H. flied out to lf. Caplan, K. fouled out to
c. Alvarez, V. struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 1st - CLAYTON walked. MESSERSCHMID out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
CLAYTON advanced to second. DELAHOUSSAYE doubled to center field, RBI; CLAYTON
scored. FITU homered, 2 RBI; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. ATAGI singled to right field.
ATAGI stole second. WILLARD walked. MANUMA fouled out to 1b. GRAHAM struck out
swinging. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Boise State 2nd - Crump, A. singled down the lf line. Weatherly, T
struck out looking. Capobianco flied out to cf. Sweeney, K. grounded out to 2b.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - DUGAS reached on a throwing error by 3b. DUGAS out at second c
to ss, caught stealing. CLAYTON grounded out to p. MESSERSCHMID walked.
MESSERSCHMID stole second. DELAHOUSSAYE struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits,
1 error, 1 LOB.
Boise State 3rd - Bridges, D. singled to right center. Whyte, M. out at
first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; Bridges, D. advanced to second. Bourke, H. struck out
swinging. Caplan, K. doubled to right center, RBI; Bridges, D. scored. Alvarez,
V. lined out to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 3rd - FITU doubled to left center. ATAGI grounded out to 2b; FITU
advanced to third. WILLARD hit by pitch. MANUMA grounded out to c unassisted;
WILLARD advanced to second. GRAHAM singled to right field, 2 RBI; WILLARD
scored; FITU scored. DUGAS singled down the lf line; GRAHAM advanced to second.
CLAYTON singled to left field; DUGAS advanced to second; GRAHAM advanced to
third, out at home lf to c. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Boise State 4th - Crump, A. homered to right center, RBI. Weatherly, T
grounded out to 3b. Capobianco grounded out to 3b. Sweeney, K. grounded out to
3b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - MESSERSCHMID grounded out to 3b. DELAHOUSSAYE doubled to right
field. FITU singled to right field; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. ATAGI
struck out swinging. WILLARD hit by pitch; FITU advanced to second. MANUMA
struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Boise State 5th - Bridges, D. struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b.
Whyte, M. walked. Bourke, H. reached on a throwing error by 3b, SAC, bunt,
advanced to second; Whyte, M. advanced to third. Caplan, K. singled to center
field, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; Bourke, H. advanced to third;
Whyte, M. scored. Alvarez, V. grounded out to 2b, RBI; Caplan, K. advanced to
third; Bourke, H. scored, unearned. Crump, A. walked. Weatherly, T singled to
center field, RBI; Crump, A. advanced to second; Caplan, K. scored, unearned.
AFFLECK to p for ALMOND. Capobianco singled to pitcher; Weatherly, T advanced
to second; Crump, A. advanced to third. Sweeney, K. grounded out to 1b
unassisted. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
BYU 5th - GRAHAM grounded out to 2b. DUGAS singled to center field.
CLAYTON lined out to ss. MESSERSCHMID singled to left field; DUGAS advanced to
second. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to center field, RBI; MESSERSCHMID advanced to
second; DUGAS scored. FITU flied out to cf. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Boise State 6th - ROBB to 1b for MANUMA. ROBB to 2b. GRAHAM to 1b.
Bridges, D. grounded out to p. Whyte, M. singled to center field. Bourke, H.
grounded out to p; Whyte, M. advanced to second. Caplan, K. fouled out to c.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 6th - ATAGI flied out to lf. WILLARD reached on an error by 1b.
MILLETT pinch ran for WILLARD. ROBB singled to left field; MILLETT advanced to
second. GRAHAM tripled down the rf line, 2 RBI; ROBB scored; MILLETT scored,
unearned. DUGAS grounded out to 2b. CLAYTON singled to center field, RBI;
GRAHAM scored, unearned. MESSERSCHMID singled to pitcher, bunt; CLAYTON
advanced to second. WILLARD to rf for MILLETT. DELAHOUSSAYE homered to left
field, 3 RBI, unearned; MESSERSCHMID scored, unearned; CLAYTON scored,
unearned. FITU struck out swinging. 6 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Boise State 7th - Alvarez, V. grounded out to 2b. Crump, A. singled to
right field. Collier, A. pinch ran for Crump, A.. Weatherly, T singled to left
field; Collier, A. advanced to second. Harvey, M. pinch hit for Capobianco.
Harvey, M. hit by pitch; Weatherly, T advanced to second; Collier, A. advanced
to third. Kraft, J. pinch ran for Harvey, M.. Sweeney, K. singled to pitcher,
RBI; Kraft, J. advanced to second; Weatherly, T advanced to third; Collier, A.
scored. HOWELL to p for AFFLECK. Sweeney, K. advanced to second on a wild
pitch; Kraft, J. advanced to third; Weatherly, T scored. Bridges, D. reached on
an error by ss. Whyte, M. struck out looking. Bourke, H. singled down the lf
line, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI; Bridges, D. advanced to third;
Sweeney, K. scored, unearned; Kraft, J. scored, unearned. DELAHOUSSAYE to 2b.
FITU to c. MANUMA to p for ROBB. /  for HOWELL. Caplan, K. singled to third
base, RBI; Bourke, H. advanced to third; Bridges, D. scored, unearned. Alvarez,
V. singled to left field, RBI; Caplan, K. advanced to second; Bourke, H.
scored, unearned. Crump, A. to p for Collier, A.. Crump, A. flied out to lf.
6 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 7th - Capobianco to 1b for Kraft, J.. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.

No. 23 BYU softball is traveling to Las Vegas to participate in the Desert Classic on Feb. 17-19, facing Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Cal Poly, Boise State, No. 18 Stanford and Cal State Northridge.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— The Cougars are a combined 10-9 against opponents in this year’s Desert Classic, including 5-3 vs. Cal Poly, 1-0 vs. Boise State, 2-5 vs. Stanford and 2-1 vs. Cal State Northridge. This weekend will be the first meeting between BYU and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

— BYU split its first two games against ranked teams last week, losing to No. 14 Oregon, 3-2, before defeating No. 19 Texas A&M, 7-2. The Cougars will face one ranked team, No. 18/19 Stanford, this weekend.

— Senior catch Jessica Fitu leads BYU with a .500 batting average after hitting 9-of-18 with 17 total bases, including two home runs and two doubles. Fitu was followed by freshman first baseman Katie Manuma who finished the weekend batting .471 by going 8-of-17 with 11 total bases, including one home run, in her first games as a Cougar.

— Fourteen fielders and two pitchers started at least one game for BYU at the Kajikawa Classic. Eleven different players scored at least one run while all four pitchers to enter the circle for the Cougars had at least one strikeout.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

BYU will face SIUE for the first time in program history on Thursday. The Cougars split in their tournament last weekend, getting wins over Drexel and Campbell. SIUE is led by Taylor Tooley, batting .417 with three stolen bases, and pitcher Ali Downing, who holds a 0.77 ERA in two appearances last week, allowing one earned run and striking out five.

BYU and Cal Poly will face each other for the third-straight year and sixth time in the last five years. Last season, BYU trailed 2-0 going into the final inning before scoring three runs, including a two-RBI single by current Cougar senior Caschjen Atagi. Cal Poly’s Nicole Lund hit two home runs and gathered

five RBI last weekend for the Mustangs.

Boise State and BYU have faced off once before, a 7-3 win for the Cougars in 2009 in Provo. In that game, current senior Paige Affleck earned the win and another senior on this year’s team, Kristin Delahoussaye, hit 2-for-3 with three RBI. Boise State has had a tough time bringing runs in, averaging just 1.25 per game.

BYU and Stanford also have a recent history, having faced off in 2010, a 4-2 win for BYU that snapped a three-game losing streak to the then-No. 9 ranked Cardinal. Current Cougars Jessica Fitu and Delaney Willard each hit a home run in the game, scoring four-straight runs and after going down 2-0 after three innings. Stanford has a solid one-two punch at pitcher, with Teagan Gerhart sporting a 0.82 ERA with 16 strikeouts and Ashley Chinn bringing a 3-0 record with 18 strikeouts to the weekend. Jenna Rich leads Stanford at the plate after batting .526 and hitting four home runs with 13 RBI in the Cardinal’s first five games.

Cal State Northridge went 3-2 last weekend, with Hannah Fraijo earning two of the Matadors’ wins from the circle. CS-Northridge works with a relatively straight lineup, with eight players starting every game last weekend, led by Jennifer Mosier who leads the team with five hits and eight total bases.

BYU PICKED FIRST IN MWC PRESEASON POLL

PROVO -- A voting panel of the six Mountain West Conference head softball coaches chose defending league champion BYU as the favorite to win the 2011 MWC regular-season title.

In 2010, BYU (46-13 overall, 12-3 MWC) registered its sixth consecutive 40-win season on the way to its fifth MWC regular-season title and sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cougars became the first MWC team to advance to an NCAA Super Regional. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin returns 11 letterwinners from last year’s MWC championship squad, including seven starters. Among the returning starters are 2010 all-MWC honorees Paige Affleck (three-year starting pitcher), Jessica Purcell-Fitu (catcher) and Kristin Delahoussaye (second base).

2011 MWC Preseason Poll

Team (1st place votes) Points

1. BYU (4) 24

2. San Diego State (2) 22

3. UNLV 15

4. Colorado State 13

5. Utah 11

6. New Mexico 5