San Diego no-hits Cougars in WCC debut

SAN DIEGO –  BYU fell to San Diego by a 4-0 margin Friday night as the Toreros’ Cassidy Coleman delivered a no-hitter in the first-ever West Coast Conference softball game.

The Cougars (14-20, 0-1 WCC) faced a well-rested San Diego team (16-16, 1-0 WCC) and it showed as the Toreros rode the arm of their career strikeouts leader for the third no-hitter in school history. Coleman struck out 13 of 21 batters faced, a season high, on the way to her seventh win of the season.

San Diego scored three runs in the bottom of the opening frame to take early control and added another run in the third inning for the final tally. Three BYU pitchers held the Toreros to just seven hits while BYU’s defense forced San Diego to leave nine runners on base. Cougar starter McKenna Bull (6-9) had five strikeouts over three innings but took the loss.

Despite the strong performance by Coleman, four Cougars found ways to reach base to try and ignite some offense. BYU catcher Sydney Broderick was hit by a pitch, centerfielder Coco Tauali’i and third baseman Ashlee Robinson each gained access to the base paths on walks and right fielder Gordy Bravo used her hustle to reach first after a striking out on a wild pitch. 

Robinson drew a base on balls in the third inning with one out, but Coleman came back to strike out shortstop Lauren Bell and Broderick to strand Robinson on base. Tauali’i walked with two outs in the fifth inning to try and get a Cougar rally going but another strikeout by Coleman retired the side.

The sixth inning proved to be the most intriguing for BYU. With one out, Broderick was hit by Coleman to advance to first, where she remained when Bravo came to the plate with two outs. Swinging at a third strike that went wild, Bravo hurried to first while Broderick advanced toward second. The San Diego catcher's throw to second went into center field but the Toreros were able to recover and throw Broderick out as she attempted to advance to third.

BYU and San Diego will resume the series with a twin bill Saturday starting at noon PT.