CATHEDRAL -- Home runs by Jessica Fitu and Delaney Willard highlighted No. 25 BYU softball's 5-1 win against Ohio State in the Cougars' final game at the Cathedral City Classic on Saturday.

Junior Stacie Graham also went 3-for-3 and senior pitcher Paige Affleck allowed three hits with five strikeouts for her fourth win on the year.

Willard's third home run of the year came on a solo shot in the fourth, giving BYU a little extra breathing room by extending the Cougars' lead to 3-1. Fitu's homer, a two-run shot in the seventh, gave her five for the year.

The Buckeyes helped BYU on its first two runs, bringing in Cougar shortstop JC Clayton after an illegal pitch by Ohio State in the top of the first. BYU added another run in the second when freshman Katie Manuma scored from third after an errant throw by the Ohio State catcher.

Ohio State scored its lone run unearned in the third inning but never seriously threatened, advancing only one other runner as far as third the remainder of the game.

BYU will be back in action on Thursday, Mar. 3, taking on Houston and Long Beach State before taking on three other California squads over the next two days at a tournament in San Diego, Calif.

#25 BYU vs Ohio State
Feb 26, 2011 at Cathedral City, CA (Pawtucket)
BYU 5 (7-7)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  3  1  1  0   1  0  0  1   1
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  1  0  1  0   3  0  0  0   0
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  3  1  0  0   0  0  4  3   3
FITU,Jessica c...........  4  1  1  2   0  0  5  0   0
ATAGI,Caschjen lf/dh.....  4  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   2
MANUMA, Katie 1b.........  3  1  1  0   0  0  8  1   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  3  1  1  1   0  1  0  0   0
ROBB, Madisen 3b.........  3  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   0
GRAHAM, Stacie dh/lf.....  3  0  3  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HUDSON,Alexandra lf.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
AFFLECK,Paige p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 27  5  8  3   4  1 21  7   6
Ohio State 1 (4-8)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Hillman lf...............  4  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
Herron ss................  2  1  0  0   1  0  1  3   0
Carrillo 1b..............  3  0  1  1   0  0 10  0   0
Gresham dh...............  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
Goodchild rf.............  2  0  1  0   1  0  2  0   0
Longworth c..............  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
Coletta 3b...............  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  3   3
Pecina 2b................  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  2   2
Spears cf................  2  0  0  0   0  2  3  0   0
 Mills ph................  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Medrano p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Plant p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 25  1  3  1   3  5 21 12   6
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 110 100 2 -  5  8  3
Ohio State.......... 001 000 0 -  1  3  1
-----------------------------------------
E - CLAYTON; ATAGI; ROBB; Longworth. DP - B. Young 1. LOB - B. Young 6; OSU
6. 2B - MANUMA. HR - FITU; WILLARD. SH - DELAHOUSSAYE. CS - GRAHAM.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK,Paige.......  7.0  3  1  0  3  5 25 28
Ohio State             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Medrano.............  0.1  0  1  1  2  0  0  3
Plant...............  6.2  8  4  4  2  1 27 29
Win - AFFLECK (4-5).  Loss - Plant (0-1).  Save - None.
WP - Plant.
Umpires - HP: Fred Barker  1B: James Bertuzzi III  3B: Chris Martinez
Start: 11:08 am   Time: 1:58   Attendance:
Weather: Rainy, 50 degrees
BYU starters: 16/ss CLAYTON; 19/cf DUGAS; 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 10/c FITU; 9/lf
ATAGI; 31/1b MANUMA; 28/rf WILLARD; 33/3b ROBB; 21/dh GRAHAM; 12/p AFFLECK;
Ohio State starters: 2/lf Hillman; 24/ss Herron; 36/1b Carrillo; 41/dh Gresham;
3/rf Goodchild; 51/c Longworth; 27/3b Coletta; 9/2b Pecina; 18/cf Spears; 8/p
Medrano;
BYU 1st - CLAYTON walked. DUGAS walked; CLAYTON advanced to second.
DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to p, SAC, bunt; DUGAS advanced to second; CLAYTON
advanced to third. DUGAS; CLAYTON. Plant to p for Medrano. FITU grounded out to
p. ATAGI popped up to ss. 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Ohio State 1st - Hillman popped up to 1b. Herron walked. Carrillo
grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b; Herron out on the play. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - MANUMA doubled to left center. WILLARD struck out looking.
ROBB flied out to rf; MANUMA advanced to third. MANUMA scored on an error by c.
GRAHAM singled up the middle. CLAYTON flied out to lf. 1 run, 2 hits, 1
error, 1 LOB.
Ohio State 2nd - Gresham singled. Goodchild popped up to 3b. Longworth
flied out to lf. Coletta walked; Gresham advanced to second. Pecina struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - DUGAS walked. DELAHOUSSAYE flied out to cf. FITU grounded out
to ss; DUGAS advanced to second. ATAGI flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Ohio State 3rd - Spears struck out swinging. Hillman grounded out to 1b
unassisted. Herron reached on an error by lf, advanced to second. Carrillo
singled, RBI; Herron scored, unearned. Gresham lined out to 3b. 1 run, 1
hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - MANUMA grounded out to ss. WILLARD homered to center field,
RBI. ROBB flied out to lf. GRAHAM singled to pitcher. CLAYTON singled to third
base; GRAHAM advanced to second. DUGAS walked; CLAYTON advanced to second;
GRAHAM advanced to third. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 3 hits, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
Ohio State 4th - Goodchild singled to left field. ATAGI to dh. GRAHAM to
lf. Goodchild picked off. Goodchild picked off. Longworth grounded out to p;
Goodchild out at first p to 1b, picked off. Coletta popped up to 3b. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 5th - FITU grounded out to 3b. ATAGI grounded out to ss. MANUMA
flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Ohio State 5th - Pecina out at first 1b to 2b. Spears struck out
looking. Hillman grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 6th - WILLARD grounded out to 2b. ROBB grounded out to 3b. GRAHAM
singled to left field. GRAHAM out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Ohio State 6th - Herron reached on an error by ss. Carrillo grounded out
to 1b unassisted; Herron advanced to second on a fielder's choice. Gresham
popped up to 2b. Goodchild walked. Longworth reached on an error by 3b;
Goodchild advanced to second; Herron advanced to third. Coletta grounded out to
2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 7th - CLAYTON grounded out to p. DUGAS singled. DELAHOUSSAYE reached
on a fielder's choice; DUGAS out at second 3b to 2b. DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to
second on a wild pitch. FITU homered down the rf line, 2 RBI; DELAHOUSSAYE
scored. ATAGI flied out to cf. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Ohio State 7th - HUDSON to lf for GRAHAM. Pecina struck out looking.
Mills pinch hit for Spears. Mills struck out swinging. Hillman popped up to 2b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

No. 25 BYU softball is traveling to Cathedral City, Calif., to participate in the Cathedral City Classic on Feb. 24-26, facing Florida State, Virginia, No. 18 Nebraska, No. 8 Tennessee and Ohio State.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU is a combined 6-13 all-time against this week’s Cathedral City Classic opponents.

— BYU holds a 1-2 record against ranked teams thus far on the year, defeating No. 19 Texas A&M, 7-2, and losing 3-2 to No. 14 Oregon and 7-4 to No. 18 Stanford. The Cougars will face two more ranked teams, No. 18 Nebraska and No. 8 Tennessee, both on Friday, Feb. 25.

— Senior catcher Jessica Fitu was named the MWC Player of the Week after hitting .750 last week, including a 5-for-5 performance against Cal State Northridge, including the fourth grand slam of her career, a BYU record.

— Sophomore Hannah Howell was also named MWC Pitcher of the Week after winning two games versus SIUE and Cal Poly. Howell held opponents to zero runs and 15 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

— BYU currently leads the MWC in batting average, on base percentage, runs, hits, RBI, doubles, total bases and walks.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

BYU and Florida State have faced off just twice, splitting a doubleheader in Provo in 2005. FSU has won five of its last six games and is lead by Kelly Hensley with a .421 average, including eight hits and two home runs. Tiffani Brown leads the team with 14 hits, including three triples, while Sarah Hamilton has 53 strikeouts for FSU, sporting a 3-3 record and 1.34 ERA.

This will be the fourth meeting in the last five years between BYU and Virginia, with the Cougars holding a current two-game win streak. The Cavaliers will play their first games outside of North Carolina this weekend after going 3-2 last week. Virginia’s Stephanie Harris has 12 hits and Taylor Williams has

11 to pace the Cavaliers with Melanie Mitchell starting all but two games this year, currently sitting at a 4-2 record and 2.61 ERA.

Nebraska has a long history with the Cougars, leading BYU in the series, 5-3. However, BYU has won three of the last four, including a 5-1 win last season. The Cornhuskers have started off hot this season with a 10-1 record, their only loss coming to Arizona. Taylor Edwards has had a huge year so far, recently breaking an NCAA record by hitting a home run in seven-straight games. She is batting .405 with 15 hits and 19 RBI. Pitcher Ashley Hagemann boasts a team-high 1.51 ERA and 7-1 record, including 62 strikeouts in nine overall appearances.

Tennessee has never lost to BYU in three tries, including a 4-0 win last time the two teams met in 2009. Like BYU this season, the Lady Volunteers have defeated Cal Poly, Boise State and SIUE while losing to Stanford. Seven Tennessee starters are hitting at least .400 led by Shelby Burchell’s .565 average and four home runs. Cat Hosfield has a 0.60 ERA in five appearances.

BYU is also looking for its first win against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have won just two of their last six games. Alicia Herron leads the team with 15 hits and eight RBI. Kasie Kelly has pitched 36.0 innings for OSU and has a 3.50 ERA and 2-1 record.

GRAND RECORD

Senior catcher Jessica Fitu hit the fourth grand slam of her career last weekend against Cal State Northridge, setting a new BYU record for most grand slams in a career and tying for third place all-time in the NCAA record books.