TEMPE, Ariz. – BYU softball fell to North Dakota State 3-2 and No. 7/8 Arizona State 10-3 on the final day of the ASU Invitational on Saturday.

Despite outhitting the Bison (20-12) with 11 hits while allowing six and playing an error-free game, the Cougars (17-18) suffered a one-run defeat in their first matchup of the day.

In the nightcap, the highly-ranked Sun Devils (31-4, 5-1 Pac-12) produced 10 runs on nine hits while holding BYU to four hits in an ASU win.

Game one

Seven Cougars had hits against the Bison, led by two from Rylee Jensen, Libby Sugg and Alexa Strid. Jensen and Madison Merrell scored one run apiece while Sugg and Briielle Breland both added one RBI as well.

Autumn Moffat and Arianna Paulson shared pitching duties for BYU, recording two and three strikeouts, respectively.

North Dakota State got on the board early in the first inning as a double to deep center field from Vanessa Anderson brought in two walked batters for a 2-0 lead.

In the third frame, Merrell and Jensen hit back-to-back singles up the middle. Breland then singled down left-field line as Jensen advanced to second and Merrell scored to bring the score to 2-1. After Lexi Tarrow grounded out to first, moving up the runners, Sugg singled to right center and Jensen came across to even the score 2-2.

The Bison scored the winning run in the fourth when Stephanie Soriano got on base with a single before advancing two bases on groundouts to second and third, respectively. A single up the middle from Madyson Camacho brought Soriano in to give North Dakota State the winning margin.

BYU vs. North Dakota State Box Score

Game two

Some highlights for the Cougars in the nightcap included both Breland and Jensen going 2 for 3 at the plate while scoring one and two runs, respectively. Breland hit a double and home run with one RBI while Sugg added an RBI as well.

Kerisa Viramontes, Paulson, Moffat and Olivia Sanchez all saw action from the circle for the Cougars. Sanchez totaled two strikeouts while Moffat recorded one.

BYU got on the board early in the first with a 1-0 lead. Jensen led off with a well-placed bunt and Breland reached on a throwing error by the ASU third baseman to move Jensen over. Strid then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. Sugg hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Jensen home for a 1-0 lead.

The momentum changed when the Sun Devils took a 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the second as Kindra Hackbarth hit a grand slam to center field.

In the third frame, Breland sent a homer over the left-field fence for the Cougars to narrow the deficit to 4-2. However, a double to left field from ASU’s Bella Loomis scored two more runs in the bottom of the third to push the Sun Devils' advantage to 6-2.

Arizona State also added three more runs in the fourth inning. Jade Gortarez singled to right field before Morgan Howe doubled to center field to score Gortarez for a 7-2 lead. Marisa Stankiewicz later hit a two-run homer to center field to go up 9-2.

BYU got on the scoreboard again in the top of the fifth. Jensen singled up the middle and Breland doubled to center field as Jensen moved up to third. Jensen advanced home on a wild pitch to make it 9-3.

Stankiewicz hit her second dinger of the game to right field in the bottom of the sixth for the final run of the game.

BYU vs. No. 7/8 Arizona State Box Score

The Cougars travel to Logan, Utah, on Tuesday to play Utah State before beginning conference play against Santa Clara at home on April 5-6.

PROVO, Utah – Following a 3-1 upset over No. 13/14 Baylor, BYU softball travels to Tempe, Arizona, for the ASU Invitational Friday and Saturday.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars (17-14) open the tournament with a doubleheader against North Dakota State (18-10) at 1:30 p.m. MST and host No. 7/8 Arizona State (27-4, 5-1 Pac-12) at 6:30 p.m. MST. BYU will play both schools the following day with the Bison at 11:00 a.m. MST and Sun Devils at 4:00 p.m. MST.

Please note that Tempe, Arizona, does not observe Daylight Saving Time and observes Mountain Standard Time all year. If following the games from Utah, they begin at 2:30 p.m. MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) and 7:30 p.m. MDT, respectively.

All games will be played at Farrington Stadium. Both ASU games will be streamed online by the Pac-12. Links to live stats and the stream will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU STORYLINES

• Sophomore pitcher Kerisa Viramontes has been named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week, her first of the season and second of her career. She pitched three complete games for BYU en route to a 0.28 ERA over 25.1 innings pitched. Viramontes opened the week throwing 199 pitches in a 12-inning walk-off loss at No. 10/11 LSU, giving up no earned runs in the complete game. She also pitched in BYU’s 3-1 win against No. 13/14 Baylor, going seven innings with just five hits and one earned run allowed. Viramontes had seven strikeouts on the week while lowering her season ERA to 1.83.
• BYU ranks No. 14 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.13. Eleven Cougars have hit 35 homers in 29 games so far this season, led by Rylee Jensen’s six. Libby Sugg and Caitlyn Alldredge follow with five while Briielle Breland has hit four. Lexi Tarrow, Bridget Fleener and Alexa Strid have all hit three apiece. Allie Hancock and Madison Merrell both have two. Ashley Godfrey and Emilee Erickson have also hit dingers.
• Junior catcher and team captain Libby Sugg has been named to the 2018 USA Softball College Player of the Year Watch List. She earned NFCA All-Pacific Region First Team honors and was named to the All-WCC Second Team last season. Sugg led the team in RBI and home runs with 56 and 13, respectively, while hitting .356 in 2017.

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK
North Dakota State (18-10)

• The Bison have an 18-10 overall record in 2018, having gone 1-3 last week at the LSU Round Robin. They fell to BYU 3-1 before beating No. 10/11 LSU 1-0 in nine innings.
• In 2017, NDSU advanced to the Norman Regional before falling to No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 23 Tulsa.
• The Cougars lead the series 3-2 after last week’s matchup in Baton Rouge.
• Darren Mueller enters his 17th year at the helm of the North Dakota State program with a record of 571-315 in 16 seasons.

No. 7/8 Arizona State (27-4, 5-1 Pac-12)

• The Sun Devils are 27-4 this season with losses to No. 1 Washington, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 12 Tennessee, and Iowa.
• ASU leads the overall series 8-0, most recently winning 3-0 on March 15, 2012, when the Sun Devils were ranked No. 5 at the time.
• Arizona State advanced to the Oxford Regional in 2017 before falling to Ole Miss and North Carolina.
• Head coach Trisha Ford is in her second season at ASU after compiling an overall record of 31-22 in 2017.