OREM -- Playing its first home games of the year Wednesday at Utah Valley State College, the BYU softball team beat Utah State in both games of a doubleheader, 8-0 and 11-1, respectively. Both games were called after the top-of-the-fifth due to the eight-run rule.

In the first game, the Cougars (17-15) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when senior Becca Erickson hit a two-run triple, driving in Brooke Cadiente and Oli Keohohou. BYU tacked on six more runs in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach. Cadiente and Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston each singled to center field and both scored on an Angie Christiansen double. With the bases loaded, junior Liz Smith walked in a run and Kari Pringle doubled to drive in two more runs. Keohohou reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Smith to put the Cougars up 8-0. Pitcher Maryon DeWitt-Wallentine (8-9) went the distance, giving up no runs and no hits while striking out six.

"We're just playing well all-around and seem to be coming together both offensively and defensively," BYU coach Mary Kay Amicone said. "The pitching staff is coming together nicely and I'm very pleased."

Utah State (4-18) got on the board first in the second game when Casey Smith doubled and advanced to third on a passed ball. She then scored on a sacrifice fly by Shannon Acevedo. BYU, however, came right back and put eight runs on the board in its half of the first inning. Four of those runs came from an Erickson grand slam while Keohohou also knocked in two runs as the Cougars went up 8-1. A Keohohou home run in the second, measured at 393 feet, and a two-RBI double by Cadiente in the third put BYU up 11-1. Meghann Pricer (6-4) pitched four inning, giving up one run on one hit while striking out two.

With the wins, BYU improves to 17-15 on the year. The Cougars begin conference play March 29 with a doubleheader against Colorado State at 1 p.m. in Ft. Collins, Col.

The Automated ScoreBook
                          Utah State at Brigham Young
                    Mar 21, 2001 at Orem, Utah (UVSC Field)
Utah State 0 (4-17)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Smith cf.................  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
Rodriguez 2b.............  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  1   0
Acevedo rf...............  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Vasarhely 3b.............  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
BeJarnette dh............  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Nickle c.................  2  0  0  0   0  2  3  0   0
Curtis ss................  1  0  0  0   1  0  1  2   0
Conrad 1b................  1  0  0  0   0  0  7  0   0
Hopkins lf...............  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Hommel p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Ramirez p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 15  0  0  0   1  6 12  6   1
Brigham Young 8 (16-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HODGEN-KELLY,Lindsey cf..  3  1  1  0   0  1  1  0   0
SMITH, Liz lf............  2  1  0  1   1  0  1  0   0
PRINGLE, Kari 2b.........  3  0  2  2   0  0  1  0   0
KEOHOHOU, Oli rf.........  3  1  1  1   0  0  1  0   1
CADIENTE, Brooke dh......  2  2  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
BOYDSTON, Liz 1b.........  3  1  1  0   0  0  3  0   2
ERICKSON, Becca ss.......  2  0  1  2   0  1  1  3   0
CHRISTIANSEN, Angie c....  2  1  1  2   0  1  6  0   0
JOHNSON, M. 3b...........  2  1  0  0   0  0  1  2   1
DEWITT-WALLE p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 22  8  8  8   2  3 15  5   4
Score by Innings               R  H  E
--------------------------------------
Utah State.......... 000 00 -  0  0  1
Brigham Young....... 020 6X -  8  8  0
--------------------------------------
E - Curtis. LOB - Aggies 1; BYU 4. 2B - PRINGLE; CHRISTIANSEN. 3B -
ERICKSON.
Utah State             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Hommel..............  3.1  6  5  5  1  3 16 17
Ramirez.............  0.2  2  3  2  1  0  6  7
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
DEWITT-WALLE........  5.0  0  0  0  1  6 15 16
Win - DEWITT-WALLE (8-9).  Loss - Hommel (0-9).  Save - None.
PB - Nickle.
Umpires -
Start:   Time:   Attendance:
Game: BYU31
Game notes:
Game 1 of doubleheader
The Automated ScoreBook
                          Utah State at Brigham Young
                    Mar 21, 2001 at Orem, Utah (UVSC Field)
Utah State 1 (4-18)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Smith rf.................  2  1  1  0   0  0  3  1   0
Mansfield 2b.............  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  4   1
Acevedo lf...............  1  0  0  1   0  0  0  0   0
Vasarhely c..............  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  1   0
BeJarnette dh............  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Tarbet 1b................  2  0  0  0   0  0  5  0   0
Johnson 3b...............  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Andrews cf...............  2  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Curtis ss................  1  0  0  0   0  0  2  2   0
Spencer p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Ramirez p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 16  1  1  1   0  2 12  8   1
Brigham Young 11 (17-15)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
HODGEN-KELLY,Lindsey cf..  3  2  3  0   0  0  1  0   0
 FERNLEY, Emily cf.......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SMITH, Liz lf............  3  2  1  0   0  0  1  0   0
 HOLLAND, Laura lf.......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
PRINGLE, Kari 2b.........  2  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   1
KEOHOHOU, Oli rf.........  2  2  2  3   1  0  1  0   0
CADIENTE, Brooke dh......  2  1  2  2   1  0  0  0   0
BOYDSTON, Liz 3b.........  2  1  0  1   0  0  0  1   0
 FARLEY, Tracy 3b........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   2
HANSON, Mindy 1b.........  2  1  1  1   1  0  6  0   0
ERICKSON, Becca ss.......  2  1  1  3   0  0  3  1   0
 ROBERTS, Jill ph........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
CHRISTIANSEN, Angie c....  2  0  0  0   0  0  2  0   0
 POLK, Cynthia ph........  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 JOHNSON, J. c...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PRICER, Meghann p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 CAPRA, Ariel p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 24 11 10 10   5  1 15  4   6
Score by Innings               R  H  E
--------------------------------------
Utah State.......... 100 00 -  1  1  4
Brigham Young....... 812 0X - 11 10  1
--------------------------------------
E - Mansfield 2; Spencer; Ramirez; PRICER. LOB - Aggies 1; BYU 6. 2B -
Smith. HR - KEOHOHOU; ERICKSON. SF - Acevedo. SB - HODGEN-KELLY 3; SMITH. CS
- ERICKSON.
Utah State             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Spencer.............  1.1  4  7  5  3  1 10 13
Ramirez.............  2.2  6  4  4  2  0 14 16
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
PRICER, Meghann.....  4.0  1  1  1  0  2 13 14
CAPRA, Ariel........  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  3  3
Win - PRICER (6-4).  Loss - Spencer (4-6).  Save - None.
PB - CHRISTIANSEN.
Umpires -
Start:   Time:   Attendance:
Game: BYU32
Spencer faced 7 batters in the 1st.

The BYU softball team (15-15) will host its first home games of the season Wednesday in a doubleheader against Utah State beginning at 1:30 p.m. The games will be played at Utah Valley State College as Gail Miller Field is still not completed.

At Sacramento State Capital Classic

The Cougars won four straight games after losing their first two in pool play. They defeated Miami University 7-2 and Louisville 10-1 in bracket play after beating Mississippi 6-0 and San Jose State 5-0 in pool play. BYU lost its first two games of pool play, 2-1 to Iowa and a 5-4 loss to Texas Tech in eight innings.

BYU Probable Starters

•C -Angie Christiansen - R/R, Sr. (.213, 13 hits, 7 runs, 9 RBI)

•1B - Mindy Hanson - R/R, Sr. (.290, 20 hits, 8 runs, 15 RBI)

•2B - Kari Pringle - R/R, Jr. (.300, 18 hits, 8 runs, 3 RBI)

•SS - Becca Erickson - R/R, Sr. (.200, 15 hits, 11 runs, 4 HR, 16 RBI)

•3B - Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston - R/R, Jr. (.315, 29 hits, 16 runs, 19 RBI)

•CF -Lindsey Hodgen-Kelly - R/R, Sr. (.232, 16 hits, 15 runs, 3 RBI)

•RF - Oli Keohohou- R/R, Fr. (.451, 37 hits, 34 runs, 13 HR, 37 RBI)

•LF - Liz Smith- L/R, Jr. (.265, 22 hits, 13 runs, 1 RBI)

•DH - Brooke Cadiente - R/L, So. (.286, 26 hits, 19 runs, 4 HR, 22 RBI)

•P - Meghann Pricer - R/R, Sr. (5-4, 1.91 ERA, 57 SO)

Team Leaders

After 30 games, Oli Keohohou leads the team in batting average (.451), hits (34), home runs (13), RBI (37), runs scored (34), walks (22) and slugging percentage (1.037). Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston leads the team in at-bats (92) and doubles (7). Linsdsey Hodgen-Kelly leads the team in stolen bases (5) while four players are tied with three triples each.

Scouting Utah State

The Aggies come into the games with a 4-16 record. After a 3-3 start, they lost 11 straight games before last week's tournament. Utah St. opened the Kia Klassic in California with losses to national powers Notre Dame (0-6) and Oklahoma (0-8) before rebounding to upset No. 7 Fresno State (4-1). On the final day, the Aggies lost to Louisiana-Lafayette (2-4) and nationally-ranked Washington (0-1). Freshman Casey Smith leads Utah St. with a .268 batting average, including 15 hits and four RBI. Freshman pitcher Lisa Spencer is 4-5 with a 2.97 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 57.2 innings of work.

Coach Mary Kay Amicone

Mary Kay Amicone was named BYU's first-ever varsity softball coach on May 6, 1999, three months after the announcement was made to upgrade the softball team from club to varsity status. In her first season, she led the team to a 16-27 (.372), including a 7-13 conference record, good for fifth place. Prior to becoming the head coach at BYU, Amicone served as an assistant coach at the University of Utah (1991, '93-95, '98-99). During that time, the Utes finished fifth ('91) and seventh ('94) at the NCAA Women's College World Series and were regional participants in 1995. She is assisted by Gordon Eakin and Lisa Hall.

Coaches' Quotes

"It will be a good matchup for us. Their (Utah St.) record doesn't show how good they can be. They have played a tough schedule this season." - BYU coach Mary Kay Amicone.

Preseason Mountain West Conference Coaches' Poll

BYU was picked by the coaches in the Mountain West Conference to

finish fifth in the conference in the preseason poll released Jan. 25. In-state rival University of Utah, where BYU head coach Mary Kay Amicone played and was an assistant coach for seven years, was picked to finish first.

Mountain West Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Utah (5) 25

2. New Mexico (1) 20

3. San Diego State 15

4. Colorado State 11

5. BYU 10

6. UNLV 9

Player/Coach Interviews

Practices are held daily at 4:30 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse Annex. Player or Coach Amicone interviews may be arranged in advance through Shane Bevell, BYU Athletic Media Relations, at (801) 378-8999. Additional information may be obtained through e-mailing Shane at amr-3@byu.edu or by fax at (801) 378-3520.