CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — BYU softball outlasted Long Beach State, 6-5 as its Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic competition concluded at the Big League Dreams Complex on Saturday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Beach out-hit the Cougars 11 to nine, with each team recording one error, but three two-run innings helped BYU (7-5, 0-0) slide past Long Beach State to close of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a win. 

Player Highlights

• Kaysen Korth: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 K
• Ailana Agbayani: 2-4, R, RBI
• Violet Zavodnik: 2-3, RBI
• Alexis Gilio: 2-3, R, RBI

LBSU opened the top of the first inning with a run, bringing one around to score after a walk, hit by pitch, flyout and single to take a 1-0 lead.

BYU answered in its half of the first, loading the bases with Maddie Bejarano drawing a leadoff walk, Ailana Agbayani slapping a single and Martha Epenesa earning a walk as well. Hailey Morrow singled up the middle to score Bejarano and Agbayani, putting the Cougars ahead 2-1.  

Alexis Gilio opened the second inning with a double to center field before Bejarano drew another walk. Zavodnik singled to left field, scoring Gilio, and Epenesa singled down the left field line to score Bejarano as BYU tacked on two runs to its lead, going in front 4-1.

A single, fielder's choice and double to right center helped the Beach plate one in the top of the third, cutting into the Cougar lead at 4-2. 

Both teams stranded a runner in the fourth inning before scoring two runs apiece in the fifth. Two singles, a walk and a flyout helped Long Beach State score two runs to tie the game at 4-4, but BYU quickly regained its two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Coming in as a pinch hitter, Emma Andrewjeski lined a single up the middle, with her pinch runner, Mallory Barber, moving to second as Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss reached on a bunt fielding error by the Beach.

A Tristen Turlington sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and Gilio roped a double off the outfield piping in right-center field to score Barber, with Agbayani singling to bring home Podhurcak-Foss, making it 6-4, Cougars.

Three Long Beach State singles helped the Beach get a run back in the top of the sixth, inching closer to BYU at 6-5. The Cougars stranded a potential insurance run in Zavodnik at second base in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Kaysen Korth made quick work of LBSU in the seventh, forcing two groundouts and a flyout to seal the 6-5 win for the BYU.

The Cougars will return to the state of Utah, heading to St. George next weekend for the Trailblazer Tournament. BYU will play Oregon State for a second time this season in the tournament-opening game on Thursday, March 2. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. MST, with the game being streamed on WAC International. 

PROVO, Utah — On a six-game win streak, BYU softball heads to Palm Springs to participate in the Mary Nutter Cathedral City Collegiate Classic this week. The Cougars are scheduled to face No. 21/24 Missouri, Texas A&M, San Diego State and Long Beach State in California.

All four games will be played at the Big League Dreams Park, with BYU’s Thursday and Friday games slated to be at Yankee Stadium and the Cougars’ Saturday matchup with Long Beach State at Pawtucket Field.

More information about the tournament, including ticket and parking information, can be found at the Mary Nutter Classic website.

Going 5-0 at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Arizona last week, including a 10-5 win over host and then No. 22 Arizona State, BYU swept the West Coast Conference’s weekly awards, with freshman Kaysen Korth earning Pitcher of the Week honors and senior third baseman Martha Epenesa being named Player of the Week.

The Cougars received one vote in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and 17 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll this week and will face one ranked team at Mary Nutter in Mizzou. Both Texas A&M (7/54) and San Diego State (10/7) also received votes in the two polls.

As a team, BYU ranks in the top-100 of a number of statistical categories, including No. 39 in home runs per game (1.00), No. 49 in hit batters (3), No. 62 in on-base percentage (.385), No. 70 in scoring (5.33), No. 72 in batting average (.294), No. 73 in slugging percentage (.434) and No. 74 in stolen bases per game (1.44).

The Cougars also rank in a handful of categories on an individual scale. Violet Zavodnik is 11th in hit by pitch average, at 0.56, and Epenesa averages a walk a game, ranking 25th. 

With 14 hits on the season, Maddie Bejarano ranks No. 34, with Huntyr Ava’s three home runs ranking No. 39. Epenesa also ranks in the top-50 in on-base percentage (.609), coming in at No. 42, while Korth’s 30 total strikeouts rank No. 49. 

• No. 24/21 Missouri
  • Missouri has started the season 9-2 and is also on a six-game win streak
  • Most notably, the Tigers have beaten No. 8 Northwestern and No. 20 UCF
  • Jenna Laird (.487), Alex Honnold (.480) and Maddie Snider (.467) lead Mizzou in batting average, all hitting above .400
  • Lauren Krings (24 innings pitched) and Cierra Harrison (17.2 innings pitched) pace the Tigers in the circle, posting 3.21 and 2.77 ERA's, respectively 
  • In five seasons as head coach at Missouri, Larissa Anderson is 143-73 (.662), with a 271-146-1 (.651) record for her career
• Texas A&M
  • Texas A&M has also began its 2023 season 9-2
  • The Aggies earned wins over No. 15 Arizona and No. 20 UCF last week
  • Amari Harper (.550) and Trinity Cannon (.519) lead Texas A&M with .500+ batting averages
  • Emiley Kennedy (0.36 ERA), Shaylee Ackerman (1.59 ERA), and Emily Leavitt (2.57 ERA) have all pitched 16 or more innings for the Aggies this season
  • Trisha Ford is in her first season as head coach at Texas A&M, going 9-2 (.818) thus far. For her coaching career, Ford is 406-228-1 (.640). 
• San Diego State
  • San Diego State is 8-2 to start the season
  • The Aztecs have wins over Notre Dame, LMU and Utah Valley, with losses to No. 22 Arizona State and No. 24 Oregon
  • Jillian Celis (.419) and Bella Espinoza (.400) are the two SDSU players batting .400 or better on the year
  • Dani Martinez (0.86 ERA), Dee Dee Hernandez (1.84 ERA), Sarah Legman (2.10 ERA) and Allie Light (2.44 ERA) have all pitched 14 or more innings for the Aztecs
  • Two seasons in as head coach at SDSU, Stacey Nuveman Deniz is 47-18 (.723)
• Long Beach State
  • Long Beach State is 4-6 to begin its 2023 campaign
  • LBSU has beaten Kansas, NC State and San Diego this season
  • Sarah Olson (.343), Carly Robbins (.333) and Cassi Camou (.308) lead the Beach with batting averages of .300 or better
  • Shannon Haddad (2.96 ERA), Eryka Gonzales (3.07 ERA) and Samantha Fowler (3.73 ERA) have each seen significant time in the circle for Long Beach this season
  • Kim Sowder has spent all 17 seasons of her coaching career at LBSU, posting a 500-336-1 (.598) record in that time

The Cougars will return to the state of Utah after the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, making the drive south to Utah Tech to play in the Trailblazer Tournament next week, beginning with a second matchup against Oregon State on Thursday, March 2.