CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Despite a solid defensive effort, BYU softball was unable to get the offense going on the second day of the Mary Nutter Classic, falling to Northwestern 1-0 before dropping a 5-0 game to No. 4 Oklahoma. 

"Autumn Moffat and Arissa Paulson pitched well today and we played solid defense," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We need to string some offense together as the final piece but we will get there."

The Cougars (5-7, 0-0 WCC) lost a one-run pitchers' duel against Northwestern (8-2, 0-0) for the first game of the day followed by another close battle against No. 4 Oklahoma (10-1, 0-0), holding them to only one run in four innings but ultimately losing 5-0.

Moffat pitched a complete game against the Northwestern, recording six strikeouts with only one run. Rylee Jensen recorded two hits on the day, including the only BYU hit against the Wildcats. 

Game 1

Northwestern scored the only run of the game in the first inning. The Wildcats’ Rachel Lewis walked at the first at bat of the game and proceeded to steal second. A single from Morgan Nelson scored Lewis putting the Cougars down by one.

Northwestern vs. BYU Box Score

In the bottom of the fourth, the Cougars got into scoring position. Jensen singled to center field and advanced to third on two BYU ground outs. However, Libby Sugg popped out to short, ending the inning and stranding Jensen at third.

With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Northwestern threatened to score another run, but Moffat got out of the inning by fanning the last batter to keep the score at 1-0.

The Cougars were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh and Northwestern held on for the win. 

Game 2

BYU was able to hold No. 4 Oklahoma to keep it a one-run game for four innings. In the first inning, The Cougars turned a double play on the second at bat of the game. But, the Sooners scored their first run of the game two batters later, as back-to-back singles sent in a runner to make the score 1-0.

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. BYU Box Score

Another Oklahoma run came in the top of the fifth inning. With two runners on base, a wild pitch gave the Sooners another run increasing their lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Olivia Sanchez broke up Oklahoma’s no-hitter, sending a base knock to left field. Emilee Erickson followed reaching first base on an error but BYU was unable to bring anyone in and the inning ended with the Cougars still down by two runs.

Oklahoma tallied three more runs in the top of the sixth frame. A double to left field followed by a single punched in another. A single tacked on another run and the Sooners scored their last run of the inning off a wild pitch to make the score 5-0.

The Sooners went down in order in the top of the seventh, but their lead was too much and the Cougars lost 5-0.

BYU finishes up the Mary Nutter Classic on Saturday, Feb. 23 with its final game against UCSB. The game begins at 3 p.m. PT with a live broadcast on FloSoftball.

PROVO, Utah – The BYU softball team continues its tournament slate in Cathedral City, California at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 22-24.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars have traveled to this tournament for the last 11 years to face some of the best teams in the nation. Last season, BYU had wins against CSUN and Fresno State but fell to No. 11 Tennessee, Missouri and No. 4 Oklahoma. 

The tournament begins Thursday, Feb 22 as BYU plays Nebraska followed by Missouri at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. PT, respectively. The Cougars continue on Friday with games against Northwestern at 12:30 p.m. and No. 4 Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. BYU finishes the tournament on Saturday against UCSB at 3:00 p.m.

All the games will be played at the Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City, California. The games will be broadcast live on FloSoftball with live stats available on the schedule page. 

BYU Storylines

Five-Game Tournament. The Mary Nutter Classic is the second of four straight tournaments where BYU will play five games in a weekend. The other tournaments include the Boyd Gaming Rebel Classic, San Diego Classic and the UCLA/Long Beach State Invitational.  

Power at the Plate. BYU captain Libby Sugg returns for her final season at BYU. The two-time captain has been named to the USA Softball College Softball Player of the Year watch list and was named NFCA All-American Third Team after the 2018 season. 

Top 5 Team. This is the second tournament where BYU will face ranked opponents. They previously played against No. 9 South Carolina and beat No. 18 Baylor. However, the Cougars will face No. 4 Oklahoma, their first top 5 team of the season on Thursday, in Cathedral City. 

California Connections.  The Cougars have made the trip to Cathedral City every season since 2008. One of the top tournaments in the nation the tournament draws in the biggest talent in college softball. BYU will make six trips to California this season with the conference schedule, in addition to the two tournaments following the Mary Nutter Classic.  

Sweep WCC Awards. Rylee Jensen and sophomore pitcher Autumn Moffat were named West Coast Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, following their performance in Las Vegas. Jensen hit three homers and batted .800 in two games. Moffat allowed no earned runs, totaling 14 strikeouts.

Opponents Outlook 

Nebraska | Thursday, Feb. 21 | 10:30 a.m. PT 

• The Huskers finished the 2018 season with a 31-23 overall record finishing in the Big Ten 9-13.

• Nebraksa is coming off a 4-0 weekend at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with two wins each against NC State and Pitt.

•This is the 12th meeting between the two teams with Nebraska having the advantage 8-4. The two teams met last year in Tempe, Arizona.

•Head Coach Rhonda Revelle enters into her 27th season compiling a 968-537 record.

Missouri | Thursday, Feb. 12 | 1 p.m. PT 

• In 2018, the Tigers had a 30-29 overall record, going 6-17 in the SEC.

• Missouri holds the series with a 1-3 record. The two teams played against each other last year in the same tournament as Mizzou took the win 8-6.

• The Tigers advanced to an NCAA regional in 2018 but were eliminated by Oklahoma.

• Larissa Anderson is in her first season as head coach of the Tigers after coaching at Hofstra.

Northwestern | Friday, Feb. 22 | 12:30 p.m. PT 

• The Wilcats posted a 38-19 overall record during the 2018 season, including going 14-8 in the Big Ten, losing to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.

• Northwestern advanced to the 2018 NCAA Athens Regional but lost to No. 7 Georgia.

• Between the two teams, the series is tied 3-3. Last year, BYU took a win 8-0 at the Husky Classic.

• Kate Drohan starts the 18th season with the Wilcats recording a 570-345-1overall record. 

No. 4 Oklahoma | Friday, Feb. 22 | 3:30 p.m. PT 

• In 2018, the Sooners went 57-5 and a 18-0 mark in the Big 12.

• Oklahoma won the Big 12 title in 2018 and advanced all the way to the Women’s College World Series but lost to Washington in the first round. The Sooners have won the WCWS four times (‘00,‘13,’16,’17).

• This will be the sixth meeting between the two teams. They met last year in the Mary Nutter Classic and the Sooners took a 10-0 win.

• Patty Gasso enters her 24th season leading the Sooners compiling an overall record of 1364-386-3.

UCSB | Saturday, Feb. 23 | 3:00 p.m. PT 

• The Gauchos went 20-34 overall during the 2018 season, going 7-14 in the Big West.

• BYU holds the advantage over UCSB 8-2.

• Brie Galicinao enters her 12th season with an overall record of 291-309.