ST. GEORGE, Utah—Tori Almond highlighted BYU’s first game of the day against Seattle with a career-high 13 strikeouts to take the 10-0 win at the Canyons Complex on Friday though the Cougars dropped the second game 14-6 to Nevada.

Game 1

BYU’s (1-1) offense came out strong in the first game, scoring 10 runs on 12 hits to defeat Seattle (0-1). Tori Almond pitched her first shutout of the season, giving up only three hits on no walks and 13 strikeouts. Offensively, Marissa Bravo led the way for BYU going 3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI. JC Clayton also went 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI for the Cougars. Katie Manuma hit the only long ball of the game with a two-run shot to center-field.

BYU jumped on the scoreboard early to give Almond a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the first. Clayton started the run with a single up the middle and advanced to second on a hit from Bailie Hicken. Bravo struck next with a blooper to right left field to grab her first hit and RBI as a Cougar, driving in Clayton. BYU punched in one more run after two walks and a fielder’s choice brought in Bravo to go up 2-0.

Almond had a six-pitch first inning, sitting down the first three batters she faced. In the bottom of the second, Almond held the Redhawks to no hits once again and struck out three batters to send BYU to the top of the third.

Seattle spoiled Almond’s no-hitter in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff double, but BYU answered with three straight outs.

Manuma grabbed a cushion for BYU in the top of the sixth with a two-run shot to left-center field to put BYU up 4-0.

BYU broke the game wide open in the top of the seventh, scoring six runs. Madisen Robb, Coryn Tauali’i  and Clayton hit three-straight  singles to start the rally and bring in the first run. Jenna Goar, Mylee Davis and Ashlee Brawley Robinson each converted on pinch-hit opportunities. Goar had a single for one RBI, Davis found a gap to bring in two runs and Robinson found a hole in right-center field to clear the bases and bring the score to 10-0 in favor of BYU.

BYU would roll to earn its first win of the season.

Game 2

Hannah Howell took the mound at the start of the second game and after a two-inning hiatus re-entered to relieve Almond and finish the game but the Cougars dropped the contest 14-6 to Nevada.

Howell gave up only three earned runs and had seven strikeouts in the game. Lacey Millett highlighted the Cougar offense with three hits, two runs and two stolen bases. Clayton and Bravo also finished with two hits apiece.

BYU (1-2) allowed Nevada (1-0) to score seven runs in the first four innings to find themselves in a 7-1 hole.

The Cougars started to chip away at the Wolfpack lead in the bottom of the fourth with Robinson and Davis singling up the middle to start. Clayton then made it to first on a fielder’s choice and Robinson advanced to third. Millett brought Robinson in and Clayton scored on a bunt single from Manuma. BYU then scored one more run on a wild pitch to bring the score to 7-4.

Nevada took back its three runs and more in the top of the fifth. The Wolfpack capitalized on a Cougar throwing error to push through four unearned runs and open up their lead to 12-4.

BYU needed a run in the bottom of the fifth to avoid the run rule and Bravo delivered with two outs and the bases loaded with a bloop hit that fell just out of the reach of the second baseman, but it would be all the Cougars would get, still down 12-5.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Clayton snuck a ball up the middle to bring in Carly Duckworth and take the score to 12-6 but it wasn't enough as Nevada would go on to score two more runs to earn the 14-6 victory. 

BYU plays in its last day of the Red Desert Classic tomorrow and will start the day against Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. MT and will then play Idaho State at 4 p.m. MT. The Tennessee game will be streamed live on utsports.com and the Idaho State game will be available via gametracker.

PROVO, Utah--The BYU softball team kicks off its 2013 season this weekend in the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah.

RED DESERT CLASSIC

Feb. 7-9, 2013

Canyons Complex

St. George, Utah

Colorado State

Thurs., Feb. 7

1:30 p.m. MT

Canyons Complex, Field 5

Seattle

Fri., Feb. 8

11 a.m. MT

Canyons Complex, Field 5

Nevada

Fri., Feb. 8

1:30 p.m. MT

Canyons Complex, Field 5

No. 5 Tennessee

Sat., Feb. 9

1:30 p.m. MT

Canyons Complex, Field 5

Idaho State

Sat., Feb. 9

4 p.m. MT

Canyons Complex, Field 5

Cougar Quick Hits

-The Cougars played in their last Red Desert Classic in 2010, where they went 5-0, beating San Jose State, Seattle, UC Santa Barbara, Maine and Tulsa. In the tournament, BYU outscored its opponents 41-16.

-BYU is moving to its third new conference in as many years. The Cougars will join the Pacific Coast Softball Conference alongside Santa Clara, Saint -Mary’s, San Diego, Utah Valley, Loyola Marymount and Cal State Bakersfield for the 2013 season.

-Head coach Gordon Eakin starts his 11th season with a 416-175 (.704) record. He is currently No. 18 on the list of Division I active college softball coaches in win percentage.

-The team returns All-American shortstop JC Clayton and second-team All-Conference performers Tori Almond and Katie Manuma to this year’s roster. The team also welcomes four freshmen and one transfer to the roster.

Opponent Notes

Colorado State

The Rams return 17 letterwinners from last year’s team who finished the year with a 29-22 record and an 8-4 record in the Mountain West Conference. Last year, the team was led by junior pitcher Kacie McCarthy. McCarthy earned MWC Pitcher of the Year and NFCA Pacific Region accolades. Colorado State only outscored its opponents 267-260 in 2012, but they were able to rely on a .294 batting average and a .949 fielding percentage to take second in the MWC. The Cougars are 28-17 overall against the Rams. In the last matchup on May 5, 2011 BYU beat CSU 18-5.

Seattle 

BYU will play Seattle for just the second time in school history this season. In 2010, BYU took the 3-2 win over the Redhawks.This year, Seattle returns its best hitter, Sarah Petosa. Junior outfielder Petosa led the team with a .365 batting average, 54 hits and 20 runs. The team will look to the experience of junior Richelle Ashburn from the mound and will also welcome transfer pitcher Breonna Chrisman to the team this year.

Nevada

BYU and Nevada faced each other last season in Western Athletic Conference play and the Cougars took all three games from the Wolfpack, outscoring them 25-4. Nevada returns 15 letterwinners from last year’s roster and will look to improve upon its record of 21-34 in its first season in the Mountain West Conference. Nevada will be led by junior Karley Hopkins who hit .333 with 61 hits and 31 runs in 2012 and junior Sarah Parsons who earned first-team All-WAC honors for her .368 batting average and league-high eight doubles.

No. 5 Tennessee

The Lady Vols are coming off a 52-14 season and their fifth appearance in the Women’s College World Series. Tennessee was 22-6 in conference play and took first in its division in 2012. The team is led by sisters Ivy and Ellen Renfroe, who helped the team to its seventh 50-plus win season in program history. The Renfroe sisters combined for all 52 Tennessee wins last year and sported a 1.80 and 1.24 ERA, respectively. This year the team will also welcome Anna Renfroe, the sister of Ivy and Ellen. Offensively, the Lady Vols are led by Raven Chavanne who hit .422 alongside 79 hits and 44 runs. Co-head coaches Karen Weekly and Ralph Weekly, along with their staff, were also named NFCA Southeast Staff of the Year in 2012. BYU is 0-4 all-time against the Vols.

Idaho State

The Bengals return 11 letterwinners from last year’s roster. BYU and Idaho State played twice last season and split games, with BYU winning 5-2 at home and Idaho State winning 7-4 at home. Amanda Fitzsimmons will return to the mound for her senior season and will look to improve upon her record of 11-13 from last year. Fitzsimmons earned 11 of the 12 Bengal wins in 2012 and also led the team offensively with a .324 batting average and nine home runs. BYU has an all-time record of 11-1 against Idaho State.

Preseason Polls

BYU softball grabbed the top spot in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference preseason poll for 2013.

All seven head coaches participated in the poll and six of the seven gave BYU a first-place vote, each worth seven points. BYU received 48 votes overall followed by Loyola Marymount with 39 and San Diego with 32. Saint Mary’s received the other first place vote as the defending conference champions and were picked to finish just behind San Diego with 31 votes. Utah Valley finished with 18 votes, CSU Bakersfield with 15 and Santa Clara with 13.

BYU also received four votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll to earn a No. 35 national ranking. The Cougars also received one vote in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 rankings.

Watch for live game updates on twitter @BYUcougars and on facebook at BYU softball.