PROVO, Utah -- The BYU softball team shut down New Mexico 11-3 Thursday at Gail Miller Field, increasing its record to 26-15 and 3-1 in the Mountain West Conference.

After the loss, the Lobos fell to 17-19 overall and 3-3 in conference.

“We played well today, even though we didn’t score in the first three innings,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “Our hitting was good and I think we pretty much did everything I was looking for.”

Senior designated hitter Caschjen Atagi led the Cougars with two home runs, four RBI and three runs. Junior right fielder Delaney Willard hit 2-for-4, including her second career grand slam.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when BYU’s Atagi smacked the ball over the fence to put the Cougars ahead 1-0.

Pitcher Paige Affleck recorded six strikeouts in the first three innings and finished the game with nine in her fourth shutout of the season.

With two outs at the bottom of the fourth, left fielder Carly Duckworth ran home for BYU’s second run on a sac fly by Madisen Robb. Following Duckworth’s score, JC Clayton’s single brought in Kristin Delahoussaye and Jessica Dugas. The team finished the inning with three additional runs on Atagi’s second home run of the night for a 7-0 lead.

Delahoussaye started off the fifth inning with back-to-back outs at first base. The team held the Lobos with Affleck’s seventh strikeout of the game, but couldn’t get the eight-run lead to end the game early, sending it into a sixth inning.

At the top of the sixth, Lobo Stefanie Carramusa popped the ball over the fence behind left field for a home run, also bringing home teammates Danielle Castro and Jessica Garcia for New Mexico’s only three runs.

With the Cougars back at bat and the bases loaded, Willard finished the game with a grand slam past center field. With Atagi, Millett and Hicks already on base, Willard pushed the Cougars’ score to 11-3 to end the game.

Next up, BYU plays Colorado State Friday at 6 p.m. at Miller Park. The game will be televised live on BYUtv.

New Mexico at BYU

Apr 21, 2011 at Provo, Utah (Gail Miller Field)

New Mexico 3 (17-19,3-3)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

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INGRAM, Kaity 3b......... 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0

HODGINS, Kerry cf........ 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

GARCIA, Jessica c/dh..... 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0

GUILLERMO, Sheryl pr.... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

CASTRO, Danielle 1b...... 2 1 1 0 1 0 3 1 0

CARRAMUSA, Stefanie ss... 3 1 1 3 0 0 4 2 0

ANAYA, Chelsea 2b........ 3 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

COX, Shenise rf.......... 3 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2

TRACY, Amber dh/c........ 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0

LUJAN-DRESSLAR, Jess lf.. 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2

DeBROECK, Kaela p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

GUTIERREZ, Kari p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 20 3 5 3 5 9 15 5 4

BYU 11 (26-15,3-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b.. 2 1 1 0 2 0 3 2 0

DUGAS,Jessica cf......... 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 3

CLAYTON, JC ss........... 2 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 0

HICKS, Krista ss........ 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0

FITU,Jessica c........... 3 1 0 0 1 0 9 2 0

MILLETT,Lacey pr........ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ATAGI,Caschjen dh........ 3 3 2 4 1 0 0 0 0

WILLARD, Delaney rf...... 4 1 2 4 0 0 0 0 3

DUCKWORTH,Carly lf....... 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1

GRAHAM, Stacie 1b........ 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0

ROBB, Madisen 3b......... 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

AFFLECK,Paige p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Totals................... 26 11 11 11 5 2 18 8 7

Score by Innings R H E

---------------------------------------

New Mexico.......... 000 003 - 3 5 1

BYU................. 001 604 - 11 11 0

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E - CARRAMUSA, S. LOB - NM 4; BYU 7. HR - CARRAMUSA, S; ATAGI 2; WILLARD.

HBP - GRAHAM; ROBB. SB - DELAHOUSSAYE; DUGAS; CLAYTON; DUCKWORTH. CS -

INGRAM, Kait; LUJAN-DRESSL.

New Mexico IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

DeBROECK, Kaela..... 3.2 6 4 4 2 0 16 20

GUTIERREZ, Kari..... 1.1 5 7 7 3 2 10 13

BYU IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

AFFLECK,Paige....... 6.0 5 3 3 5 9 20 25

Win - AFFLECK (16-10). Loss - DeBROECK, Ka (8-11). Save - None.

WP - DeBROECK, Ka. HBP - by DeBROECK, Ka (GRAHAM); by DeBROECK, Ka (ROBB).

Umpires - HP: Clair McBride 1B: Ray Meibos 3B: Jason Bluemel

Start: 6:05 pm Time: 2:07 Attendance: 629

Weather: 51 degrees, cloudy

GUTIERREZ, K faced 4 batters in the 6th.

New Mexico starters: 1/3b INGRAM, Kait; 21/cf HODGINS, Ker; 18/c GARCIA, Jess;

15/1b CASTRO, Dani; 9/ss CARRAMUSA, S; 16/2b ANAYA, Chels; 23/rf COX, Shenise;

6/dh TRACY, Amber; 12/lf LUJAN-DRESSL; 2/p DeBROECK, Ka;

BYU starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 19/cf DUGAS; 16/ss CLAYTON; 10/c FITU; 9/dh

ATAGI; 28/rf WILLARD; 3/lf DUCKWORTH; 21/1b GRAHAM; 33/3b ROBB; 12/p AFFLECK;

New Mexico 1st - INGRAM, Kait walked. HODGINS, Ker struck out looking. GARCIA, Jess struck out swinging; INGRAM, Kait out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

BYU 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE walked. DUGAS singled to shortstop; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. DUGAS advanced to second on a wild pitch; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. CLAYTON singled to shortstop. FITU reached on a fielder's choice; CLAYTON advanced to second; DUGAS advanced to third; DELAHOUSSAYE out at home ss to c. ATAGI popped up to c. WILLARD grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.

New Mexico 2nd - CASTRO, Dani singled to center field. CARRAMUSA, S reached on a fielder's choice; CASTRO, Dani out at second 3b to ss. ANAYA, Chels struck out swinging. COX, Shenise struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

BYU 2nd - DUCKWORTH flied out to ss. GRAHAM hit by pitch. ROBB hit by pitch; GRAHAM advanced to second. DELAHOUSSAYE flied out to cf. DUGAS reached on a fielder's choice; ROBB out at second ss unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

New Mexico 3rd - TRACY, Amber struck out swinging. LUJAN-DRESSL singled to shortstop. LUJAN-DRESSL out at second c to ss, caught stealing. INGRAM, Kait struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

BYU 3rd - CLAYTON walked. FITU grounded out to ss; CLAYTON out at second ss unassisted. ATAGI homered to center field, RBI. WILLARD grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

New Mexico 4th - HODGINS, Ker grounded out to p. GARCIA, Jess walked. GUILLERMO, S pinch ran for GARCIA, Jess. CASTRO, Dani grounded out to 2b; GUILLERMO, S out at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

BYU 4th - GARCIA, Jess to c for GUILLERMO, S. DUCKWORTH singled to third base. DUCKWORTH stole second. GRAHAM out at first 1b to 2b; DUCKWORTH advanced to third. ROBB flied out to rf, RBI; DUCKWORTH scored. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to center field. DELAHOUSSAYE stole second. DUGAS singled to second base; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. GUTIERREZ, K to p for DeBROECK, Ka. DUGAS stole second. CLAYTON singled to second base, 2 RBI; DUGAS scored; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. CLAYTON stole second. HICKS to ss for CLAYTON. GARCIA, Jess to dh. TRACY, Amber to c. FITU walked. ATAGI homered to center field, 3 RBI; FITU scored; HICKS scored. WILLARD singled up the middle. DUCKWORTH struck out swinging. 6 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

New Mexico 5th - CARRAMUSA, S grounded out to 2b. ANAYA, Chels grounded out to ss. COX, Shenise singled to left field. TRACY, Amber walked; COX, Shenise advanced to second. LUJAN-DRESSL struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

BYU 5th - GRAHAM popped up to ss. ROBB flied out to lf. DELAHOUSSAYE walked. DUGAS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

New Mexico 6th - INGRAM, Kait struck out swinging. HODGINS, Ker walked. GARCIA, Jess reached on a fielder's choice; HODGINS, Ker out at second ss to 2b. CASTRO, Dani walked; GARCIA, Jess advanced to second. CARRAMUSA, S homered to left field, 3 RBI; CASTRO, Dani scored; GARCIA, Jess scored. ANAYA, Chels singled up the middle. COX, Shenise struck out swinging. 3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

BYU 6th - HICKS singled to left field. FITU reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on an error by ss; HICKS advanced to third. MILLETT pinch ran for FITU. ATAGI walked. WILLARD homered to center field, 4 RBI; ATAGI scored; MILLETT scored; HICKS scored. 4 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.

PROVO, Utah -- BYU softball hosts its first conference games of the season on Thursday, Apr. 21, against Colorado State and a two-game stand against Colorado State Thursday and Friday, Apr. 22-23, at Gail Miller Field.

Thursday, Apr. 21

BYU vs. New Mexico

Gail Miller Field

6 p.m.

Televised live on BYUtv

Friday, Apr. 22

BYU vs. Colorado State

Gail Miller Field

6 p.m.

Televised live on BYUtv

Saturday, Apr. 23

BYU vs. Colorado State

Gail Miller Field

2 p.m.

CLICK HERE to follow the BYU softball team on Facebook.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU has won 17 of its last 19 games, including a streak of 12 wins before a 1-0 loss in extra innings at SDSU on Saturday. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 120-21 in the last 19 games.

— Junior first baseman Stacie Graham was named MWC Co-Player of the Week and senior pitcher Paige Affleck was named MWC Pitcher of the Week for their efforts last week at UNLV and at San Diego State. The honors were the sixth and seventh of the season for BYU.

— Graham, a 5-10 junior from Farmington, Utah, hit the game-winning home run, the first of her career, in BYU’s 1-0 win at San Diego State a day after going 2-for-3 with a double, single, hit by pitch, three runs, and three RBI in BYU’s 14-0 shutout of UNLV in Las Vegas.

— Affleck won the fourth MWC weekly honor of her career after pitching to all but a single batter over BYU’s three games last weekend. Affleck finished with a 0.00 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched, including shutouts at UNLV and San Diego State.

— Junior center fielder Jessica Dugas became the 16th player in BYU history to earn four hits in a game, going 4-for-4 at UNLV last week. Dugas also had a career-high three RBI along with two stolen bases and a run scored in the Cougars’ 14-0 win.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

New Mexico comes into Provo with a 3-2 MWC record, 17-18 overall after most recently losing to New Mexico State on Tuesday, 6-0. In conference play, the Lobos have two wins over Colorado State and one win against UNLV with losses coming against UNLV and San Diego State. BYU currently holds a nine-game win streak over New Mexico.

New Mexico is led by Jessica Garcia, one of the best hitters in the MWC. Garcia is batting .436 with 51 hits, including eight home runs and 14 doubles with 28 RBI. As a team, the Lobos are batting .302. In the circle, pitchers Kaela DeBroeck and Kari Gutierrez split duties, with both appearing in 22 games with 17 starts apiece. DeBroeck sports an ERA of 4.35, narrowly better than Gutierrez at 4.78.

Colorado State comes in on a six-game losing streak, including two against New Mexico, two against San Diego State and one against UNLV in conference play. The Rams are allowing opponents to bat .359 on the year compared to the team’s own .255 batting average.

Brittany Palish leads the team batting .325 while Caitlin Stem has a team-high 33 hits, including 10 doubles. Three CSU pitchers have over 20 appearances, led by Alexa Cash with the lowest ERA on the team at 10.26 in 86.0 innings pitched and a 1-14 record. Kelsey O’Brien leads the team with a 3-13 record.

HOME RUN HIT STREAK

Junior right fielder Delaney Willard hit five home runs in four games recently against Seattle, Loyola Marymount and a doubleheader vs. Southern Utah. Willard’s four-game home run streak was the longest for a BYU player since Stephanie Hopkins hit one out in four straight in April 2008. Her five homers are the most in a four-game span since Angie Quiocho hit six out of the park also in April 2008.

NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE

Senior catch Jessica Fitu became the first BYU player in history to record five hits in a game, going 5-for-5 against Cal State Northridge earlier this season. Fitu hit a grand slam and had four singles on her way to finishing with six RBI and one run.

ALL-TIME CONFERENCE WINS LEADER

Already the record holder in all BYU career pitching categories, senior Paige Affleck became the winningest pitcher in Mountain West Conference history on Mar. 19, winning the 74th game of her career over No. 9 California in the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament championship game. Affleck has now won 80 games in her career.

TAKING MORE

BYU has 13 players with at least one stolen base so far this year, led by freshman Lacey Millett and junior Jessica Dugas with nine steals apiece. Eight players have four or more. The Cougars have 54 stolen bases overall, already seventh-most in a season by a BYU team, and had a season-high four stolen

bases against Florida State, Iona and UNLV.

GOTTA SCORE

BYU is 17-0 when scoring at least six runs and 20-0 when leading after five innings. In addition, 12 of BYU’s 15 losses have come by three runs or fewer.