HONOLULU – BYU softball dropped its final game in Hawai'i 3-1 to James Madison Saturday in bracket play of the Rainbow Wahine Classic.

“James Madison is a great team and they were able to take advantage early in the game," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We were unable to play to our potential in this tournament. Hopefully we will be able to work out the kinks over the next couple of weeks before conference play."

McKenzie St. Clair was a bright spot for BYU (10-17) hitting 2-for-3. Mercedes O’Connor added a 1-for-3 performance with a double and an RBI.

James Madison (18-9) started quickly loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first, but Tori Almond (2-4) worked out of the jam to keep things scoreless heading into the second.

Both teams were held in check in the second with Katie Manuma getting the inning's only hit and Almond striking out two of the three batters she faced.

The Dukes got on the board first getting runners on first and second to lead off the bottom of the third. A fly ball to right advanced the runners and a two-out single down the left field line gave them the 2-0 lead.

St. Clair started the top of the third with a single, but BYU could not get anything else going in the inning. The Dukes loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth. Almond held them to only one run, giving James Madison a 3-0 lead.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, Coco Tauali’i was hit by a pitch to get on base. O’Connor then doubled down the left field line to score her and trim the Dukes lead to 3-1. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the frame, McKenna Bull entered and ended the scoring threat to keep the game close.

Ashlee Robinson singled to start the Cougars off in the top of the seventh and Tauali’i walked to put her in scoring position. James Madison, however, struck out the next two batters to seal the game.

BYU returns to the diamond Thursday to take on Utah in the Deseret Duel at 6 p.m. MDT in Salt Lake City.

PROVO, Utah – BYU heads to the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu for its final tournament this season against strong competition.

Rainbow Wahine Classic
Mar. 12-15
Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
Honolulu

James Madison
Wednesday, Mar. 12 at 1 p.m. HST

No. 2/4 Oregon
Wednesday, Mar. 12 at 3 p.m. HST

Hawai'i
Thursday, Mar. 13 at 8 p.m. HST

Valparaiso
Friday, Mar. 14 at 1:30 p.m. HST

Bracket Play
Mar. 14-15 TBD

BYU
BYU finished 2-3 in the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic getting wins over Portland State and North Dakota State while losing both games against No. 19/21 Stanford by two runs. Freshman Sydney Broderick had her best five-game stretch of her young career hitting .533 with three doubles and two RBIs. Senior Tori Almond saw action in all five games of the tournament finishing with a 2.72 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

James Madison
James Madison won four games last week in the Jack in the Box Spring Fling Tournament including two wins over Cal. It received votes in this week’s National Fastpitch Coaches Association Poll for its performance. Sophomore infielder Hannah Hayes leads the Dukes from the plate batting .390 with 11 runs scored. Sophomore catcher Erica Field leads the team with 15 RBIs. In the circle, sophomore Jailyn Ford and junior Heather Kiefer have split duties and have combined for 114 strikeouts.

Oregon
Oregon enjoyed a bye week last week, but still maintained its No. 2/4 ranking. This will be the third time the Cougars face a team ranked No. 2 in one of the major polls. The Ducks are 18-2 on the year and senior Courtney Ceo leads the team with a .500 batting average to go with 15 runs and 14 RBIs. Sophomore Cheridan Hawkins is the primary pitcher and holds a 10-2 record with 126 strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA.

Hawai’i
Hawai’i finished last week 2-2 in the Jack in the Box Spring Fling Tournament. It is a power hitting team ranking 13th in the nation hitting 1.24 home runs per game. Junior first baseman Leisha Li’ili’i leads the Rainbow Wahine from the plate with a .378 average, seven home runs and 18 RBIs. Freshman Heather Morales is Hawai’i’s primary pitcher. She has a 5.14 ERA over 61.1 innings pitched with 27 stikeouts.

Valparaiso
Valparaiso has struggled in the early going most recently finishing 1-4 in the Springhill Suites Invitational. It is led from the plate by Amanda Wisniewski with a .327 average, four home runs and 10 RBIs. Sierra Pico leads the Crusaders in the circle with a 3.32 ERA and 28 strikeouts.