Late inning scoring lifts BYU to final day sweep

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. –  Three homers against Mississippi State lifted the BYU softball team to a 6-2 win followed by an 11-0 shutout against Bethune-Cookman on the final day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Game One

Game Highlights:

• Autumn Moffat recorded her third win of the season, pitching a complete game with only one earned run and seven strikeouts.
• Rylee Jensen-McFarland, Bridget Fleener and Huntyr Ava all blasted balls over the fence in the game. It was Jensen-McFarland and Ava’s third of the season and Fleener’s first.

Player Highlights:

• Autumn Moffat: W (3-3), 7.0 IP, 1ER, 4BB, 7K
• Huntyr Ava: 2-4, 3RBI, 1R, HR
• Rylee Jensen-McFarland: 1-3, 2R, 2RBI, HR, BB

BYU vs. Mississippi State Box Score

In the top of the first, the Cougars got on the board first. With Jensen-McFarland on third, Ava singled to left field to send Jensen-McFarland home for a 1-0 lead.

The next two innings remained scoreless as the two teams battled at the plate. In the fourth frame Bridget Fleener added to BYU’s score sending one over the fence to give BYU a 2-0 edge. It was answered by a run from Mississippi State in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 2-1.

In the top of the fifth, with Erin Miklus on first, Jensen-McFarland homered to right field to increase BYU’s score to 4-1. The Bulldogs again answered it with another run in the bottom of the sixth frame.

Ava tallied the Cougars final homer in the top of the seventh. Taylei Williams had reached base on an error bringing her home when Ava homered to go up 6-2.

Mississippi State went three-up, three-down in the bottom of the seventh and BYU took the 6-2 win.

Game Two

Game Highlights:

• Arissa Paulson and Carley Brown both made an appearance in the game with Paulson tallying the win after pitching five innings.
• Nine players recorded hits in the game with two coming from Rylee Jensen-McFarland, Taylei Williams, Martha Epenesa and HannahJo Peterson.
• Rylee Jensen-McFarland tallied her 100 career RBI in the game.

Player Highlights:

• Rylee Jensen-McFarland: 2-4, 1R, 3RBI
• Arissa Paulson: W (5-1), 5.0 IP, 3H, 0R, 4K
• Martha Epenesa: 2-4, 2R, RBI, 2B
• HannahJo Peterson: 2-2, 2R, BB

BYU vs. Bethune-Cookman Box

The two teams remained scoreless for the first four innings with the Cougars going three-up, three-down in the first and fourth innings.

The Cougar bats came alive in the top of the fifth as Hannah Jo Peterson, Jensen-McFarland, Miklus and Ava all tallied runs to go up 4-0. In the sixth, BYU put up another three runs and followed it up with four more in the top of the seventh to make the score 11-0.

Bethune-Cookman went three-up, three-down in the bottom of the seventh and BYU tallied their second win of the day.

BYU travels back to California next week to the Judi Garman Invite with its first game against Cal Poly on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on FloSoftball with live stats.