TEMPE, ARIZ. – In its final game of the Kajikawa Classic, BYU softball fell to Cal Poly 3-1 Saturday morning.

“It was a hard-fought and well-played game,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “In the bottom of the fifth, Gordy Bravo made a sensational catch crashing through the temporary outfield fence, but the ball came loose on the play. That was the turning point of the game.”

Bravo went 1-for-3 at the plate, Alexa Strid hit 1-for-3 with a double and Lacey Hofstedt also collected a hit on three at-bats while chipping in with the RBI for the Cougars (2-3).

From the circle McKenna Bull pitched all seven innings allowing nine hits and three earned runs while striking out five.

With effective pitching and strong defense, BYU stymied the Mustangs (2-1) for the first three innings, carrying a scoreless tie into the top of the fourth.

BYU then struck first as Coco Tauali'i scored from third on a Hofstedt single after being advanced by a Strid double. 

In the bottom half of the frame Cal Poly evened the score with a two-out RBI double to left field by Stephanie Heyward. 

In the bottom of the fifth the Mustangs hit their solo home run to take a 2-1 lead. Cal Poly extended its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the next inning, scoring on a two-out single to right field.

BYU then loaded the bases at the top of the seventh. Bravo led off the frame with a base hit to right-center field. Two outs later Ashley Thompson drew a walk, and then Sydney Broderick reached base on an error. The two-out rally came up short as McKenzie St. Clair went down swinging to end the game.

“We saw things we’ll have to work on,” Eakin said. “We’ll build on the positives.”

The Cougars head down to Las Vegas for the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic next weekend Feb. 12-14. Their first game is against Hawai’i Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PST at UNLV’s Eller Media Stadium. 

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball travels to Tempe, Arizona, for the start of the 2015 season in the Kajikawa Classic beginning Thursday.

Kajikawa Classic
Feb. 5-7
Tempe Sports Complex
Tempe, Arizona

Virginia
Thursday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. MST

San Jose State
Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. MST

New Mexico
Friday, Feb. 6 at 11:15 a.m. MST

California
Friday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. MST

Cal Poly
Saturday, Feb. 7 at 9:15 a.m. MST

Results will be updated daily on the BYU Athletics website. Scoring updates for the whole tournament will be available on the Arizona State website.

BYU

Coming off it's fourth-consecutive championship in its fourth-different conference, BYU softball aims for another postseason run to extend its streak of 10-straight NCAA appearances. This will be the first time since the 2011 season that the Cougars have played in the same conference two years in a row. The Cougars have taken the conference title each year since 2009. The 2015 season welcomes back six sophomore starters led by pitcher McKenna Bull and catcher Sydney Broderick. Bull broke the BYU freshman record for strikeouts in a season (206) and is 10th all-time at BYU. Broderick hit .360 with six home runs and 31 RBI in addition to stringing together a 16-game hitting streak in 2014.

The Cougars are coached by Gordon Eakin who holds a 483-223 record entering his 13th year as head coach.

Virginia

Virginia looks to improve coming off a tough 2014 campaign in which the team went 8-43 (1-25 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Cavaliers return two seniors, two juniors and six sophomores while welcoming six freshmen. Returning contributors include Aimee Chapdelaine (8-36, 6.90 ERA, 91 SO) while Madison Labshere (.230 BA, 6 HR, 23 RBI) and Iyana Hughes (.256 BA, 12 RBI).

San Jose State

After a 30-24 season overall record and a 13-11 mark in Mountain West Conference play, San Jose State looks to compete with key players returning. Pitcher Allison Lang led the team with a 3.03 ERA and a 12-5 win-loss record with 56 strikeouts in 2014. Other pitchers Madison Fish and Katelyn Linford return after they went 8-6 and 9-12, respectively. Batting leaders include Jessie Hufstetler (.441, 5 HR, 44 RBI) and Sharon-Renae Estrada (.311, 4 HR, 34 RBI).  Michelle Cox also had a solid season, batting .342. 

New Mexico

The Mountain West’s New Mexico hopes to improve on a 16-36 (7-17 MW) 2014 season. The Lobos hope to show strides of growth as they bring back a host of pitching in Lauren Soles (6-8, 6.14 ERA, 42 SO), Carrie Sheehan (5-10, 7.00 ERA, 67 SO), Lisa Rodrigues (4-9, 7.38 ERA, 62 SO) and Tess McPherson (1-9, 12.44 ERA, 25 SO). Brandi Heimburg (.388, 1 HR, 15 RBI), McPherson (.375, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Mariah Rimmer (.308, 4 HR, 34 RBI) come back to improve upon their 2014 seasons at the plate.

California

The Pac-12’s California was picked to finish seventh in the conference preseason poll. Following a 23-29 (4-18 Pac-12) season, the Golden Bears will try to find its stride with returning pitchers Nisa Ontiveros (9-9, 4.23 ERA, 52 SO) and Stephani Trzcinkski (8-15, 4.93 ERA, 86 SO). Key batters returning this season are Cheyenne Cordes (.401, 13 HR, 40 RBI), Kylie Reed (.352, 19 RBI), Danielle Henderson (.345, 12 HR, 37 RBI) and Breana Kostraba (.324, 5 HR, 30 RBI).

Cal Poly

After a second-place finish in the Big West, Cal Poly looks to best its 33-19 (14-7) 2014 record. Sierra Hyland (26-8, 1.94 ERA, 263 SO) will be the mainstay from the circle while also contributing for her own cause at the plate. She batted .366 with six home runs and 36 RBI last season. Other key batters include Emily Ceccacci (.356, 21 RBI), Jillian Andersen (.318, 20 RBI) and Lauren Moreno (.273, 5 HR, 30 RBI).