BYU heads to San Diego Classic

PROVO, Utah – Ashley Thompson and Lauren Bell lead BYU softball to San Diego after strong performances in last week’s Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Easton Desert Classic
Feb. 13-15
San Diego

No. 2 Tennessee
Thursday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. PST
SDSU Softball Stadium

San Diego State
Thursday, Feb. 27 at 3:30 p.m. PST
SDSU Softball Stadium

Fresno State
Friday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. PST
SDSU Softball Stadium

Ole Miss
Friday, Feb. 28 at 4:30 p.m. PST
SDSU Softball Stadium

Colorado State
Saturday, Mar. 1 at 2 p.m. PST
USD Softball Complex

BYU
BYU ended a third straight tournament with a 2-3 record with two of those losses coming to No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 7 Washington. The pitching staff saw improvements, recording its first shutout of the year against Virginia. BYU will look to continue its progress in San Diego led by freshmen Thompson and Bell. Thompson hit her first career home run against Oklahoma State and leads the team in batting average with a .472. Bell was the only Cougar to hit in all five games last week, batting .500 in those games with three doubles.

Tennessee
Tennessee is one of five unbeaten teams remaining in the NCAA. It held onto its No. 2 ranking in the NFCA poll and moved up to No. 2 in the ESPN/ASA poll after beating two ranked teams in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Ellen Renfroe returns as the top pitcher for the Lady Volunteers. She has a 7-0 record and a 0.31 ERA through 25.1 innings pitched. Megan Geer leads the offense, hitting .465 with a team-high 14 runs scored and seven stolen bases.

San Diego St.
Tournament host San Diego State had a similar weekend to BYU at last week’s Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, going 2-3. It is led in the circle by Danielle O’Toole with a 1.51 ERA and 60 strikeouts in her 10 starts. Patrice Jackson is its top hitter with a .457 average, seven home runs and 16 RBIs.

Fresno St.
Fresno State also finished 2-3 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a close loss to Tennessee in the final game of the tournament. Brenna Moss leads the team in runs with 16 and steals with eight. Stesha Brazil leads the Bulldogs with four home runs and 22 RBIs. Jill Compton has started nine games in the circle for Fresno State and maintains a 2.39 ERA with 39 strikeouts.

Ole Miss
The Rebels are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak after going undefeated in the Red and Blue Classic last week in Oxford, Miss. They are led by RT Cantillo with a .525 batting average, eight RBIs and four stolen bases. Shelby Jo Fenter, Emily Gaitan and Carly Hummel have started the most games in the circle for the Rebels, leading a staff with a 2.04 ERA and 101 strikeouts.

Colorado St.
After a bye last week, Colorado State comes into San Diego with a 7-3 record. Danielle Wikre leads the team in batting average (.500), hits (15), home runs (3), slugging percentage (.867) and on-base percentage (.571). The Rams have three pitchers in their rotation led by Holly Reinke with a 4-0 record, a 1.20 ERA and 20 strikeouts.