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PROVO -- In its home opener against Boise State, the BYU softball team clawed its way over the Broncos with a 7-3 win, improving its record to 20-14 this season.

“I thought both teams competed hard,” said BYU head softball coach Gordon Eakin. “We got off to a slow start but fortunately they battled hard and broke out of that."

Senior Andrea Ramirez led the way for the Cougars, going 2-for-3 and scoring 3 runs, she was joined by freshman Coreen Lopez who went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Whitney Nix-Thomas, Stephanie Hopkins and Krista Hicks tallied marks on the scoreboard, each with one run.

After an uneventful first inning, the Cougars came out in the second trailing 2-0. It was junior leftfielder Jessica Dugas who finally got the momentum swinging for the Cougars with a bases-loaded walk bringing Ramirez home for BYU’s first run of the game. Two more solid runs paved the way for the Cougars’ 3-2 lead going into the third.

The third inning pulled the Cougars further ahead with back-to-back doubles that yielded a run. Boise State tried to level the playing field in the fourth, narrowing the gap with the only run of the inning When a fielding error brought in a Bronco run.

At the top of the fifth, the Cougars subbed in junior pitcher Christie Zinanti (9-7, 1.82) who quickly made her mark on the game striking out the side in consecutive order. This brought BYU into the fifth inning leading 4-3 at bat.

Holding the Broncos to a two-inning standstill, Kristin Delahoussaye took her turn at bat. With a strong hit, she sent Hopkins racing home scoring the third and final run of the fifth inning giving the Cougars a 7-3 lead.

Keeping its defense strong, BYU held Boise State at a standstill in the seventh, leaving the score untouched for a 7-3 win.

Sophomore pitcher Paige Affleck improves her record to 11-7 with a 1.62 EPA, while Zinanti earned her first save of the season.

"Christie came in a did a great job," Eakin said. "She changed the momentum of the game."

The Cougars will remain at home this week for practice as they prepare to host Idaho State at Miller Park Friday at 4 p.m. MT.

Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                       Boise State at Brigham Young Univ.
                Mar 24, 2009 at PROVO, Utah (Gail Miller Field)
Boise State 3 (16-10)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Hill, L. lf..............  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  0   1
Viers-Gordil 1b..........  4  0  0  1   0  0  4  0   0
Cox, K. 3b...............  3  0  1  0   1  0  1  3   4
Capobianco dp............  3  0  0  0   1  1  0  0   0
Hanna, J. 2b.............  4  0  0  0   0  1  2  1   3
Wyatt, L. rf.............  3  1  1  0   0  1  2  0   0
Straton, L. c............  1  1  0  0   2  1  6  0   0
Crump, A. p..............  2  1  1  0   0  0  0  1   0
Caplan, K. ss............  2  0  1  1   1  0  0  1   0
Suitos, M. cf............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 26  3  5  2   5  5 18  6   8
Brigham Young Univ. 7 (20-14)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  3  0  2  3   0  1  3  3   0
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dp..  2  0  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline cf.....  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   5
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  4  0  0  0   0  0  5  0   1
 WILLARD, Delaney pr.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ALLEN, Cydney c.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  3  2  0   1  1  6  0   0
LOPEZ, Coreen 3b.........  4  1  3  1   0  0  0  0   0
 NIX-THOMAS, Whitney pr..  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
HOPKINS, Stephanie rf....  4  1  1  1   0  1  0  0   1
HICKS, Krista ss.........  0  1  0  0   2  0  3  4   0
DUGAS, Jessica lf........  2  0  0  1   1  0  1  0   2
AFFLECK, Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 ZINANTI, Christie p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 26  7  9  6   5  5 21  9   9
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Boise State......... 020 100 0 -  3  5  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 031 030 X -  7  9  2
-----------------------------------------
E - Hill, L.(2); Cox, K.(8); Caplan, K.(4); DELAHOUSSAYE(7); AFFLECK(4). LOB
- BS 8; Cougars 9. 2B - RAMIREZ(8); LOPEZ(8). HBP - DELAHOUSSAYE. SH -
Crump, A.(2); MESSERSCHMID(8); HICKS(3).
Boise State            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Crump, A............  6.0  9  7  7  5  5 26 34
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK, Paige......  4.0  5  3  2  3  1 18 21
ZINANTI, Christie...  3.0  0  0  0  2  4  8 11
Win - AFFLECK (11-7).  Loss - Crump, A. (6-4).  Save - ZINANTI (1).
HBP - by Crump, A. (DELAHOUSSAYE).
Umpires - HP: Brett Higgins  1B: Steve Poulson  3B: Ray Meibos
Start: 4 p.m.   Time: 2:01   Attendance: 75
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 45 degrees
Game: livegame
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
               Boise State at Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
                Mar 24, 2009 at PROVO, Utah (Gail Miller Field)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Boise State......... 020 100 0 -  3  5  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 031 030 X -  7  9  2
-----------------------------------------
Boise State starters: 7/lf Hill, L.; 11/1b Viers-Gordil; 4/3b Cox, K.; 15/dp
Capobianco; 12/2b Hanna, J.; 6/rf Wyatt, L.; 16/c Straton, L.; 8/p Crump, A.;
3/ss Caplan, K.; 13/cf Suitos, M.;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 20/dp MESSERSCHMID; 33/cf
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 7/3b LOPEZ; 5/rf HOPKINS; 22/ss HICKS;
19/lf DUGAS; 12/p AFFLECK;
Boise State 1st - Hill, L. grounded out to ss. Viers-Gordil grounded out
to 2b. Cox, K. singled to right field. Capobianco walked; Cox, K. advanced to
second. Hanna, J. grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE struck out looking. MESSERSCHMID
grounded out to 3b. QUIOCHO struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Boise State 2nd - Wyatt, L. singled up the middle. Straton, L. walked;
Wyatt, L. advanced to second. Crump, A. singled, bunt; Straton, L. advanced to
third; Wyatt, L. advanced to third, scored on an error by 2b. Caplan, K.
singled to right field, RBI; Crump, A. advanced to second; Straton, L. scored.
Hill, L. popped up to 2b. Viers-Gordil reached on a fielder's choice; Caplan,
K. out at second 2b to ss; Crump, A. advanced to third. Cox, K. reached on a
fielder's choice; Viers-Gordil out at second ss to 2b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - PURCELL grounded out to 3b. RAMIREZ walked.
LOPEZ singled to second base; RAMIREZ advanced to second. HOPKINS flied out to
lf. HICKS walked; LOPEZ advanced to second; RAMIREZ advanced to third. DUGAS
walked, RBI; HICKS advanced to second; LOPEZ advanced to third; RAMIREZ scored.
DELAHOUSSAYE singled to shortstop, RBI; DUGAS advanced to second; HICKS
advanced to third, scored on an error by 3b; LOPEZ scored. MESSERSCHMID walked;
DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second; DUGAS advanced to third. QUIOCHO flied out to
rf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Boise State 3rd - Capobianco lined out to ss. Hanna, J. grounded out to
ss. Wyatt, L. grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - PURCELL grounded out to ss. RAMIREZ doubled to
center field. LOPEZ doubled to left field, RBI; RAMIREZ scored. HOPKINS flied
out to rf; LOPEZ advanced to third. HICKS walked. DUGAS flied out to lf. 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Boise State 4th - Straton, L. struck out swinging. Crump, A. reached on
an error by p. Caplan, K. walked; Crump, A. advanced to second. Hill, L.
singled to left field; Caplan, K. advanced to second; Crump, A. advanced to
third. Viers-Gordil reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Hill, L. out at second
ss unassisted; Caplan, K. advanced to third; Crump, A. scored, unearned. Cox,
K. grounded out to p. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - DELAHOUSSAYE hit by pitch. MESSERSCHMID out at
first 3b to 2b, SAC; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. QUIOCHO struck out
swinging. PURCELL grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Boise State 5th - ZINANTI to p for AFFLECK. Capobianco struck out
looking. Hanna, J. struck out looking. Wyatt, L. struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - RAMIREZ singled up the middle. LOPEZ singled
to left field, advanced to second on an error by lf; RAMIREZ advanced to third.
NIX-THOMAS pinch ran for LOPEZ. HOPKINS singled to left field, RBI; NIX-THOMAS
advanced to third; RAMIREZ scored. HICKS out at first p to 2b, SAC; HOPKINS
advanced to second. DUGAS lined out to 3b. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to right field,
2 RBI; HOPKINS scored; NIX-THOMAS scored. MESSERSCHMID singled, bunt;
DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. QUIOCHO flied out to cf. 3 runs, 5 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
Boise State 6th - LOPEZ to 3b for NIX-THOMAS. Straton, L. walked. Crump,
A. out at first p to 2b, SAC; Straton, L. advanced to second. Caplan, K. flied
out to cf. Hill, L. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - PURCELL reached on an error by ss. WILLARD
pinch ran for PURCELL. RAMIREZ struck out looking. LOPEZ popped up to c.
HOPKINS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Boise State 7th - ALLEN to c for WILLARD. Viers-Gordil flied out to cf.
Cox, K. walked. Capobianco flied out to lf. Hanna, J. fouled out to c. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

PROVO -- The BYU softball team opens its home season with a four-game homestand beginning Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Boise State at Miller Park.

The 19-14 Cougars concluded a 33-game road trip, where they faced nine top-25 opponents in a competitive non-conference schedule before opening their home schedule. BYU hosts the Broncos who are 16-9 on the season and 5-2 as visitors.

Following the BYU softball game, the Cougar baseball team will face Utah Valley University at 6 p.m. The head-to-head game marks the first of six where both teams will play at the unique Miller Park facilities, which features mirror image baseball and softball diamonds.

Following Tuesday’s game BYU will host Idaho State at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by a doubleheader against North Dakota on Saturday beginning at noon.