PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Lauren Bell's grand slam and Ashley Thompson's solo homer led BYU softball to an 8-1 win over Southern Illinois University Saturday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

After giving up an unearned run in the top of the third, the Cougars (13-6) responded with eight unanswered runs sparked by Bell's first-career grand slam to beat the Salukis (3-8-1). The home run is the second of her career.

"We played well today," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We hit the ball hard and executed well offensively, while (McKenna) Bull pitched a great game. Lauren Bell's grand slam was a clutch hit for us. It really got our offense going."

Two batters later in the bottom of the third, Thompson blasted her second home run of the season — a solo shot over right field — for the 5-1 score.

The Cougars tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning starting with Bell's sacrifice fly for her fifth RBI of the game. Mercedes O'Connor then picked up her eighth RBI of the tournament, scoring Lacey Hofstedt. McKenzie St. Clair singled later in the inning to score Gordy Bravo for the eighth run and eventual final score. 

Bell led the offense with five RBI on 1-for-3 hitting while Bravo took advantage of her opportunities at the plate with three hits in four at-bats including a triple and two runs scored. The sophomore designated player St. Clair hit a season-high 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI while Alexa Strid went 2-for-3. Thompson hit 1-for-3 with a walk in addition to her home run. 

Sydney Broderick and Coco Tauali'i both had doubles in the game while Hofstedt added a hit and two runs scored in the game.

Sophmore ace Bull allowed only two hits for the second-consecutive game, pitching a complete game and giving zero earned runs while striking out six batters.

"It's been a great experience in Mexico not only with softball, but also the people here have been great to us," Eakin added. "We're excited to come back in the future."

BYU resumes play next week against North Dakota State Thursday at 10 a.m. MST in the University of Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee.

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball will head south of the border for games against Nevada, Northern Colorado and Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in the Triple Crown Puerto Vallarta College Challenge Thursday through Saturday.

The Cougars (9-6) are coming off a 3-2 showing at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, picking up wins over UC Santa Barbara, Indiana and Oregon State. The BYU offense scored 15 or more runs for the first time since 2012, puting up 16 against UCSB.

Junior Gordy Bravo has ignited the Cougars at the leadoff spot this season by hitting .469 with three doubles, 13 RBI and four stolen bases. The outfielder is currently on a career-best hit streak of 13 games while recording a .500 OBP for a career-best reached base streak of 16 games dating back to 2014.

Senior Lacey Hofstedt is second on the team with a .419 batting average and leads BYU with her seven stolen bases this year. Other highlights from the plate include McKenzie St. Clair’s .414 and Coco Tauali’i’s .394 batting averages. Sophomores Ashley Thompson and Sydney Broderick are second and third for the Cougars in runs batted in with 11 and 10, respectively.

Pitcher McKenna Bull has continued her consistent play with a 2.36 ERA and 71 strikeouts with a 9-3 record. The sophomore tied a career high in strikeouts with 14 against Maryland last weekend. 

Links to live stats and recaps will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

Game Notes

Nevada (Thurs. 2 p.m. CST)

The Wolf Pack is 3-12 this season, dropping all five games in the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend. Its three wins have come against Fordham, Cal State Fullerton and UTEP. The Cougars faced Nevada twice in 2014, falling both times.

UNR brings plenty of power to the plate with a team total seven home runs and three players with two dingers each. Karley Hopkins (.372 BA, 14 BB, .526 OBP) leads the team from the plate while Jasmine Jenkins (.277 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI), Amanda Weis (2 HR, 7 RBI) and Ashley Butera (2HR, 4 RBI) all bring big bats into the contest. Wolf Pack pitchers have split the innings three ways among Megan Dortch (1-3, 5.59 ERA, 34 SO), McKenna Isenberg (0-5, 6.03 ERA, 22 SO) and Chase Redington (2-4, 7.29 ERA, 16 SO).

Northern Colorado (Fri. 9 a.m.)

The Bears take a 3-4 record into this weekend, having clinched wins over Santa Clara, Tulsa and Creighton. Mikayla Duffy (2 HR, 4 RBI) and Kaitlin Flynn (.444 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBI) are standouts at the plate. So far this season, Jayme Reddacliff (2-3, 3.04 ERA, 27 ip, 14 SO) and Kelli Kleis (1-1, 4.77 ERA, 14.2 ip) have split the time from the circle. BYU is 4-0 all-time against Northern Colorado with a 9-0 win in its last meeting in 2010.

SIU (Fri. 2 p.m. & Sat. 11 a.m.)

The Salukis are 2-5 with wins over UMBC and Morehead State and a 5-2 loss to then-No. 5 Kentucky. SIU has not played since Feb. 14 because of rainouts in its tournament at Mississippi last weekend. Savannah Fisher (.357 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI), Shay Harre (.350 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Sydney Jones (.286 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI) highlight the Saluki hitting, while pitcher Katie Bertelsen (0-3, 5.48 ERA, 8 SO) has thrown two complete games from the circle. The Cougars have never faced SIU.