CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif.—The BYU softball team lost both games in its opening day of the Mary Nutter Classic after a grand slam in the top of the seventh lifted No. 11 LSU over BYU 10-6 and an error propelled Oklahoma State to the 3-2 victory against the Cougars on Thursday in Palm Springs.

BYU (4-7) had 11 hits to LSU’s 12, but the Tigers hit three home runs to score eight of its 10 runs in defeat of the Cougars. JC Clayton, Marissa Bravo, Alexandra Hudson Shamo and Carly Duckworth each had two hits apiece in the game. Megan Arnold blasted the only home run for BYU, her first of the season, for two RBI. Hannah Howell pitched 4.1 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits alongside seven strikeouts. Caroline Umphlett pitched 2.2 innings and gave up five runs on four hits for her first loss of the season.

Down 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth, BYU brought in four runs on four hits to tie up the game. The Cougars chipped away at the LSU (11-1) lead as Arnold smacked a home run to bring in Duckworth who had singled to start the inning. Shamo followed with her second single of the day to force an LSU pitching change. Two walks and a sacrifice bunt from Ashlee Brawley Robinson loaded the bases for BYU and Bravo took advantage with a double to right center to bring in two runs and tie the game at 6-6.

LSU fought back in the top of the seventh and loaded the bases with one out. Howell re-entered the game for Umphlett and gave up a grand slam to her first batter to give LSU every run back that BYU earned in the bottom of the sixth to take the 10-6 victory.

To start the game, BYU surrendered a single to the lead-off batter for LSU and she scored on a home run from teammate Allison Falcon to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead.

BYU’s bats responded in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles from Clayton and Lacey Millett. Bravo moved both runners into scoring position on a ground out to the pitcher and then Katie Manuma attempted a squeeze play to bring in Clayton, but popped the ball up to third base. However, an error from the shortstop scored Clayton to cut the Tiger lead to 2-1.

Howell handed out two K’s in the top of the second to hold LSU from crossing the plate, but the Tigers added one more run in the top of the third on two singles to take back the two-run lead at 3-1.  

Clayton started the bottom of the third with her second hit of the day and scored off singles from Bravo and Manuma to put BYU one run closer at 3-2.

Another run from LSU in the top of the fourth prompted a pitching change for BYU as Umphlett came in to relieve Howell for just her third appearance of the season.  Umphlett recorded the last out on a popup to left field to send BYU into the bottom of the inning.

LSU smashed another two-run home run in the top of the fifth to cushion its lead at 6-2.

Duckworth started the bottom of the seventh as she did in the sixth with a single to shortstop, but LSU’s pitcher struck out the next three Cougar batters to take the 10-6 win.

Game 2

BYU (4-8) and Oklahoma State (6-5) each had five hits apiece in the game. Clayton and Coryn Tauali'i scored the two Cougar runs and each had a hit. Clayton also extended her season hitting streak to 11 games and still has a hit in every game of the season but one. Bravo was clutch again with a late-inning base hit to bring in the only Cougar RBI of the day. Tori Almond started the game and gave up only two earned runs on five hits in six innings of work. 

The Cowgirls jumped on the scoreboard early with a solo home run to go up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, but BYU took advantage of two errors in the top of the third to earn the run back. Tauali’i started the inning with an infield single and was bunted over to third by Clayton. An error from the shortstop allowed Tauali’i to score for the first Cougar run.

Oklahoma state threatened to score in the bottom of the frame with a lead-off double to start things off, but BYU’s defense held the next three batters off the bases to keep the game tied at 1-1.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, the Cowgirls pushed in another run on a fielder’s choice that scored the runner from the third, but Almond was able to strike out the next batter to send the game into the fifth.

Tauali’i walked to start the inning and then Oklahoma State brought in a new pitcher to face Clayton, who took the walk to place runners on first and second with no outs, but BYU wasn’t able to convert. In the bottom of the fifth, Almond struck out two batters and Arnold threw out the runner attempting to steal third.

Oklahoma State added a security run in the bottom of the sixth off a single and a Cougar error to go up 3-1. BYU rallied in the top of the seventh and with two outs and Clayton on second, Bravo struck again with a single up the middle to bring in Clayton and cut the score to 3-2, but Manuma’s line drive to the second baseman was caught to end the game.

BYU will play one game tomorrow against UNLV at 1 p.m. PST and it will be available via gametracker. Also check the BYU softball Facebook page for live updates throughout. 

PROVO, Utah—The BYU softball team will travel to windy Palm Springs, Calif., to play No. 10 LSU, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Northwestern and UC Santa Barbara in the Big League Dreams Complex at the Mary Nutter Classic Thursday-Saturday.

MARY NUTTER CLASSIC

Feb. 21-23, 2013

Big League Dreams Complex

Cathedral City, Calif.

No. 10 LSU

Thurs., Feb. 21

10 a.m. PST

Big League Dreams Complex, Shutt Fenway

Oklahoma State

Thurs., Feb. 21

3:30 p.m. PST

Big League Dreams Complex, Pocket Radar DesMoines

UNLV

Fri., Feb. 22

1 p.m. PST

Big League Dreams Complex, Just Softball Pawtucket

Northwestern

Sat., Feb. 23

12 p.m. PST

Big League Dreams Complex, Pocket Radar DesMoines

UC Santa Barbara

Sat., Feb. 23

2:30 p.m. PST

Big League Dreams Complex, Pocket Radar DesMoines

BYU Quick Hits

• The Cougars played in their last Mary Nutter Classic in 2012 and lost three of their five games to three ranked teams in No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 1 Florida and No. 14 Texas A&M.
• BYU is currently 4-6 on the season and recently beat No. 20 Hawai’i in its first game of the Easton Desert Classic. BYU’s defense turned three double plays in the tournament, including two against No. 20 Hawai’i.
• Junior Katie Manuma was named the College Madness PCSC Player of the Week for hitting .400 with 6 RBI in the Easton Desert Classic.
• JC Clayton is currently on a nine-game hitting streak and has gotten a hit in every game but one. Her career-record is 15 games.
• Head coach Gordon Eakin is in his 11th season with BYU and has a record of 420-181 (.704). He is currently No. 18 on the list of Division I active college softball coaches in win percentage.

Opponent Notes

No. 10 LSU

This will be the first time the Cougars will face LSU in BYU history. The No. 10-ranked Tigers have a record of 10-1 this season, losing only to No. 22 North Carolina who they had previously beat to start the season. With a team batting average of .289, the Tigers have blasted 25 extra-base hits, including 10 home runs, and have scored 55 runs compared to 13 from its opponents. They are led by Bianka Bell who is currently hitting a .407 clip with two home runs and six RBI on the season. At the mound LSU is led by senior Rachel Fico who has an ERA of 0.38 to go along with her six wins and 51 strikeouts. The Tigers have played 10 of their 11 games at home as they hosted two tournaments to start the season, with the only away game being against Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. 

Oklahoma State

The Cowgirls are led by junior catcher Tarah Ettinger who has pushed in six runs on a .444 batting average so far this season. Oklahoma State has scored just 26 runs this year, but has also held its opponents to only 17 runs. All four of the Cowgirl’s losses this season came by less than two runs and two of them were lost in extra innings to Iowa and Dayton at the Lovelace Invitational last weekend. Ace Simone Freemane is 4-2 for Oklahoma State and has only given away a total of nine earned runs in her six appearances for the Cowgirls. BYU and Oklahoma State remain even at three wins apiece in the overall series record and will each look to grab the go-ahead win on Friday.

UNLV

BYU has an all-time record of 34-12 against UNLV, but hasn’t faced the Runnin’ Rebels since leaving the Mountain West Conference in 2011. BYU won the last game between the two teams with its biggest win to date against UNLV, scoring 16 runs and holding them to only two hits on April 29, 2011. The Runnin’ Rebels sit at an even 5-5 this season and are led by .423 batter Stefany Valentino who adds two doubles, one home run and 8 RBI to her season statistics. UNLV has five pitchers who have made an appearance this season but are led by veteran Amanda Oliveto who has all five wins along with 31 strikeouts and 42.2 innings pitched.

Northwestern

The Wildcats started the season with a difficult schedule that had them playing four teams in the top 15. Three of their losses came to those teams in No.13 Arizona, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 13 Georgia. In its first tournament of the year, the Wildcats couldn’t produce a win and left the Kajiwaka Classic in Arizona with an 0-5 record. Since then the team has picked up three wins and only one loss, and they look to improve upon that record in their third tournament of the 2013 campaign. The team has five batters who are hitting over .300 and are led by Andrea DiPrima who is hitting .524 with three doubles and two runs scored. The Wildcats have four pitchers on their roster, but are led by Meghan Lamberth and Amy Letourneau who have pitched a combined 50.2 innings of the 60 total.

UC Santa Barbara

The Gauchos started their 2013 season with a record of 5-0 in the Mardi Gras Classic and outscored their opponents 30-5, with two shutouts. However, Missouri handed UCSB both of its losses in its next tournament by outscoring them 23-4 to take both victories. The Gauchos are led by senior Keilani Jennings who has a team-high 13 RBI to go along with a .438 clip and seven extra-base hits, including four home runs. Sophomore Shelby Wisdom has a record of 6-2 with 34 strikeouts for UCSB while also hitting .306 with seven RBI.

Last Time Out

LAS VEGAS--BYU started the Easton Desert Classic with a 4-2 upset of No. 20 Hawai’i, but gave up both of its leads on day two to go 2-3 in the tournament, losing to Oregon State and Louisiana Monroe before defeating Cal State Fullerton and falling to Portland State on its final day.

BYU (3-3) had seven hits in its first game of the tournament and took advantage of three Hawai’i (5-2) errors for the 4-2 win. Lacey Millett added two stolen bases to her three hits and two runs, while JC Clayton, Katie Manuma, Megan Arnold and Carly Duckworth each contributed one hit. Manuma also had two of the Cougar RBI. BYU’s defense came up big as well, turning its first two double plays of the season against the Rainbow Wahine. Tori Almond pitched her way to her second win of the season and had seven strikeouts in the outing.

On day two, the BYU softball team led heading into the seventh inning of both its games at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park, but squandered both of its leads to go 0-2 on the day, losing 7-3 to Oregon State and 6-5 to Louisiana Monroe.

“Our team fought hard today against two very good teams to take multiple run leads into the seventh inning of both games,” said head coach Gordon Eakin. “With just three outs to go and the lead, our pitchers could not get the job done. Our veteran pitching staff needs to step up and close the door in those situations.”

BYU (4-6) turned things around in its first game on Saturday and held onto its one-run lead to take the 4-3 victory against Cal State Fullerton (2-5), but wasn’t able to finish the day with a win as Portland State hit three homeruns en route a 5-3 victory.

Almond pitched the first three innings against Fullerton and gave up two runs on two hits with five strikeouts. Hannah Howell pitched the remaining four innings and held CSF to one run on two hits for her first win of the season. Ashlee Brawley Robinson and Clayton led the team offensively with two hits apiece. Robinson also scored one run and brought in the game-winning run in the bottom of the fourth.

BYU used a two-run fourth inning to take the 3-2 lead against the Vikings, but a single, double and homerun in the bottom of the frame helped Portland State take back the lead at 5-3. BYU wasn’t able to answer and fell to the Vikings for its sixth loss of the season.

The first four games for BYU will be broadcast via gametracker. Check the schedule for updated information throughout the tournament.