SAN DIEGO – Katie Manuma homered twice to hand No. 2 Tennessee its first loss of the season before San Diego State won 2-0 in a pitcher’s duel in the night cap.

“It was a great effort today in both games,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “We played very well against Tennessee. We hung right in there and got a great win for our program. We played well against San Diego State, but their pitcher threw a heck of a game.“

Manuma went 2-for-4 against Tennessee (14-1) with two home runs and four RBIs. McKenzie St. Clair added a solo shot of her own in the first game hitting .333 on the day. Ashley Thompson, McKenna Bull and Tori Almond (0-1) all had a hand in the win against Tennessee. Almond then pitched a complete game against San Diego State (11-6) allowing only two runs and striking out eight.

“I’m proud of our team and the way they competed today,” Eakin said. “We are moving in the right direction.”

Game one

Manuma got things started for the Cougars with a long home run over the left-center wall to give BYU a 3-0 lead. The Lady Volunteers answered in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run to pull within 3-2.

After a scoreless second, Tennessee doubled down the right-field line to lead off the bottom of the third. After the runner was moved over on a deep fly ball, they then tied the game with a sacrifice fly to the left-field wall.

Ashlee Robinson walked and Lacey Millett-Hofstedt singled on a bunt back to the pitcher to put runners on. Robinson then stole third and Millett-Hofstedt stole second to tie JC Clayton for the career steals record. Tennessee would get out of the bases loaded jam with a pop up to the shortstop keeping the score 3-3 heading to the bottom of the fourth.

Bull came in relief of Thompson and kept Tennessee without a run through the sixth to keep the game tied when St. Clair homered to left-center to give BYU a 4-3 lead. Manuma followed that up with her second home run of the game, this time to left field to make it 5-3. Carly Duckworth and Sydney Broderick singled and Robinson walked to load the bases for the Cougars. Duckworth scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-3 heading to the bottom of the frame. After a single by the Lady Volunteers through the left side, Almond entered and retired all three batters she faced for the save. Bull (2-5) receved the win after going .

Game two

BYU and San Diego State began the game in a pitcher’s duel. The Cougars put runners on in the first and second innings but were unable to cross anyone. The Aztecs put runners on in the second and in the fourth they struck first with an RBI single up the middle to take a 1-0 lead. Broderick made it to second in the bottom of the frame, but was unable to advance any further keeping the score the same heading to the fifth.

San Diego State added one more in the top of the fifth on a single down the left-field line for the 2-0 lead. BYU put runners on the corners in the bottom of the frame and Thompson sent a drive to the warning track, but it was caught for the final out of the inning.

Robinson gave the Cougars a chance in the bottom of the seventh knocking a hard hit ball up in the air, catching it with her bare hand and making the throw to first. However, the Cougars could not get a rally started in the bottom of the frame going down in order. It was the eighth game decided by two runs or less in the last 11 meetings between the two teams.

If the weather permits, BYU will take on Fresno State tomorrow at 2 p.m. PST followed by Ole Miss at 4:30 p.m. PST.

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.