PALM SPRINGS -- The BYU softball team dropped game one on Thursday to the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, 6-0, before falling in an extra innings game to Ole Miss, 4-2.

With the losses, the Cougars drop to 6-7 on the season. It marks the first time the team has held a losing record since February of 2004, when the Cougars opened the season with three-straight losses. Four of the Cougars' seven losses in 2009 have come against top-25 teams, including Michigan, Washington, Tennessee and Alabama.

BYU stayed within three runs of the top-ranked team, before costly mistakes allowed three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. BYU junior Christie Zinanti received the loss for the Cougars, giving up five earned runs off of four hits over four-plus innings. Junior Andrea Ramirez led the team on offense, contributing two of BYU's five hits. BYU left nine runners on base during the course of the game, including two bases-loaded situations.

Alabama scored quickly, with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning to bring in the first run of the game. After a scoreless second inning, the Crimson Tide’s Charlotte Morgan blasted a two-run homer for a 3-0 lead.

BYU junior Angeline Quiocho answered back with a single to center field, Sophomore Jessica Purcell walked, followed by a single to right field from Ramirez to load the bases. With no outs and the bases loaded, the Crimson Tide struck out back-to-back batters before pinch-hitting freshman Delaney Willard popped out to end the inning.

Zinanti retired the side in the bottom of the fourth inning with three-straight outs, but ran into a jam in the fifth inning. Three-straight walks began the fifth before sophomore Paige Affleck came in to relieve Zinanti.

A single drove in two runs, and an error brought the third runner around the bases. Affleck followed by forcing three outs to end the inning surrendering a 6-0 Alabama lead.

In the top of the fifth Purcell walked, before Ramirez doubled and sophomore Caschjen Davis walked to load the bases. Again, the Crimson Tide managed to end the inning without allowing BYU a run.

In the top of the seventh, BYU had its last chance to score but three straight ground outs ended the Cougars final shot and gave Alabama a 6-0 victory.

Affleck started in the circle against Ole Miss. She threw three hitless innings, surrendering the first hit in the bottom of the fourth. Ole Miss got on the board with an RBI double in the fifth, and the Cougars answered with an RBI double from freshman Coreen Lopez in the top of the sixth.

With the score tied going into the bottom of the seventh, Ole Miss mounted a threat with a single and a hit batsman to put two runners on. A fielder’s choice got out the lead runner, before Affleck struck out a batter and forced a pop out to end the threat.

The international tiebreaker was enacted in the eighth inning, placing Quiocho on second base. Freshman Tiffany Messerschmidt executed a sacrifice bunt to advance Quiocho, who then scored when Ramirez singled to right field.

With a one-run lead, Affleck walked a runner to put two on, before Ole Miss’ Ashley Dowdy blasted a three-run homer to end the game in a heartbreaking manner.

Ramirez finished the day 4-for-7, while scoring a run and driving in another.

The Cougars continue play at the Cathedral City Classic with two games Friday. BYU will play Texas at 10 a.m. (PST) before taking on Kansas at 12:30 p.m. (PST), livestats for both game are available at www.byucougars.com

Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                         Brigham Young Univ. vs Alabama
              Feb 19, 2009 at Cathedral City, CA (Yankee Stadium)
Brigham Young Univ. 0 (6-6)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b/s  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  3   0
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa lf..  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
 NIX-THOMAS, Whitney lf..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  2  0  1  0   1  0  0  0   1
 ALLEN, Cydney ph........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  1  0  0  0   2  1  3  1   1
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  0  2  0   0  0  9  0   0
LOPEZ, Coreen dp/2b......  2  0  0  0   1  2  1  0   0
DAVIS, Caschjen rf.......  2  0  0  0   1  2  1  1   0
HICKS, Krista ss.........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  1   1
 WILLARD, Delaney ph/dp..  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   3
 PRICE, Amber dp.........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  0  1  0   0  0  2  0   3
ZINANTI, Christie p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 AFFLECK, Paige p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 24  0  5  0   5  9 18  6   9
Alabama 6 (9-0)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Rogers cf................  3  2  2  0   1  0  0  0   0
Boccia rf................  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 Fenton pr/rf............  1  1  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Morgan 1b................  1  1  1  2   2  0  7  0   0
 Elizondo pr.............  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Montalvo 3b..............  1  1  1  1   1  0  1  3   0
Parker 2b................  3  0  1  2   0  0  4  0   1
Eubanks ss...............  2  0  0  0   1  0  0  3   0
Locke dp.................  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
Larsen lf................  3  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   1
Holcombe c...............  3  0  0  0   0  1  9  1   1
Dunne p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
Totals................... 22  6  6  5   6  4 21 10   5
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 0 -  0  5  2
Alabama............. 102 030 X -  6  6  0
-----------------------------------------
E - NIX-THOMAS; PURCELL. LOB - Cougars 9; Crimson Tide 5. 2B - RAMIREZ. HR -
Morgan(2). SH - MESSERSCHMID. SF - Montalvo(2). SB - QUIOCHO; Rogers 2(8);
Montalvo(8).
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie...  4.0  4  5  5  5  1 15 21
AFFLECK, Paige......  2.0  2  1  0  1  3  7  8
Alabama                IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Dunne...............  7.0  5  0  0  5  9 24 30
Win - Dunne (4-0).  Loss - ZINANTI (3-4).  Save - None.
Umpires - HP: Dani Carson  1B: Brenda Terpstra  3B: Bobby Shelton
Start: 12:30 PM   Time: 2:17   Attendance: 127
Weather: Sunny/Warm
Game notes:
ID-736263
ZINANTI faced 2 batters in the 5th.
Game: UA
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                 Brigham Young Univ. vs Alabama - Play-by-Play
              Feb 19, 2009 at Cathedral City, CA (Yankee Stadium)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 0 -  0  5  2
Alabama............. 102 030 X -  6  6  0
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 20/lf MESSERSCHMID; 33/3b
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 7/dp LOPEZ; 9/rf DAVIS; 22/ss HICKS;
24/cf GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
Alabama starters: 8/cf Rogers; 18/rf Boccia; 34/1b Morgan; 10/3b Montalvo;
17/2b Parker; 16/ss Eubanks; 22/dp Locke; 20/lf Larsen; 6/c Holcombe; 0/p
Dunne;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to ss. MESSERSCHMID
struck out swinging. QUIOCHO walked. QUIOCHO stole second. PURCELL struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Alabama 1st - Rogers singled to shortstop. Rogers stole second. Boccia
grounded out to 2b; Rogers advanced to third. Morgan walked. Montalvo flied out
to cf, SF, RBI; Morgan advanced to second; Rogers scored. Parker grounded out
to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - RAMIREZ grounded out to ss. LOPEZ walked.
DAVIS struck out looking. HICKS struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Alabama 2nd - Eubanks flied out to cf. Locke struck out swinging. Larsen
singled up the middle. Holcombe flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - GONZALES grounded out to 3b. DELAHOUSSAYE
singled up the middle. MESSERSCHMID out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. DELAHOUSSAYE out at second c to 2b, picked
off. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Alabama 3rd - Rogers walked. Rogers stole second, advanced to third on
an error by c. Boccia fouled out to 1b. Morgan homered to left field, 2 RBI;
Rogers scored. Montalvo singled to right field. Montalvo stole second. Parker
flied out to lf. Eubanks walked. Locke grounded out to ss. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - QUIOCHO singled to center field. PURCELL
walked; QUIOCHO advanced to second. RAMIREZ singled to left field; PURCELL
advanced to second; QUIOCHO advanced to third. LOPEZ struck out looking. DAVIS
struck out swinging. WILLARD pinch hit for HICKS. WILLARD popped up to 2b. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Alabama 4th - DELAHOUSSAYE to ss. LOPEZ to 2b. WILLARD to dp. Larsen
grounded out to ss. Holcombe grounded out to ss. Rogers popped up to 2b. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - GONZALES singled, bunt. DELAHOUSSAYE struck
out swinging. MESSERSCHMID reached on a fielder's choice; GONZALES out at
second ss to 2b. QUIOCHO popped up to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Alabama 5th - NIX-THOMAS to lf for MESSERSCHMID. Boccia walked. Fenton
pinch ran for Boccia. Morgan walked; Fenton advanced to second. Elizondo pinch
ran for Morgan. AFFLECK to p for ZINANTI. Montalvo walked; Elizondo advanced to
second; Fenton advanced to third. Parker singled to left field, advanced to
second on an error by lf, advanced to third, 2 RBI; Montalvo scored, unearned;
Elizondo scored; Fenton scored. Eubanks popped up to 1b. Locke popped up to 1b.
Larsen struck out swinging. 3 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - Fenton to rf. Morgan to 1b for Elizondo.
PURCELL walked. RAMIREZ doubled to left center; PURCELL advanced to third.
LOPEZ struck out looking. DAVIS walked. PRICE to dp for WILLARD. PRICE struck
out swinging. GONZALES grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3
LOB.
Alabama 6th - Holcombe struck out looking, out at first c to 1b. Rogers
singled, bunt, out at second rf to ss. Fenton struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 3b. MESSERSCHMID
to lf for NIX-THOMAS. MESSERSCHMID grounded out to p. ALLEN pinch hit for
QUIOCHO. ALLEN grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
========================================================================
Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                        Brigham Young Univ. vs Ole Miss
             Feb 19, 2009 at Cathedral City, Ca (Big League Dreams)
Brigham Young Univ. 2 (6-7)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi ss..  4  0  1  0   0  2  3  0   0
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  3  1  0  0   1  0  0  4   3
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  2  0  1  0   0  0 10  2   1
 MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa pr.  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  4  1  2  1   0  0  4  2   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
LOPEZ, Coreen 2b.........  3  0  1  1   1  2  5  1   1
 HOPKINS, Stephanie pr...  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
VANCE, Amanda dp.........  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   3
DAVIS, Caschjen lf.......  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   2
AFFLECK, Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 30  2  8  2   3  6 22  9  10
Ole Miss 4 (6-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Hutcheson dp.............  3  0  0  0   0  3  0  0   1
 May dp..................  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
Conchos 2b...............  4  1  0  0   0  1  3  2   3
Grill ss/1b..............  4  0  0  0   0  1  7  0   0
Tramp c..................  1  1  1  0   3  0  6  1   0
 McGovern pr.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Dowdy 3b.................  2  1  1  3   1  1  1  2   0
Ghinaudo rf..............  3  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   3
Presswood 1b.............  1  0  1  0   2  0  1  0   0
 Torres pr...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Overbeck pr/ss..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Doornberg lf.............  1  1  1  0   0  0  2  0   0
Doubt cf.................  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
Nye p....................  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  3   0
Totals................... 23  4  5  4   6 10 24  8   7
Score by Innings                   R  H  E
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 001 01 -  2  8  0
Ole Miss............ 000 010 03 -  4  5  0
------------------------------------------
Note: 1 out, 0 runners LOB when the game ended.
LOB - BYU 10; UM 7. 2B - LOPEZ; May. HR - Dowdy. HBP - PURCELL; Doornberg.
SH - PURCELL; Dowdy; Doornberg. SB - QUIOCHO; Doornberg. CS - GONZALES;
McGovern.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK, Paige......  7.1  5  4  3  6 10 23 32
Ole Miss               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Nye.................  8.0  8  2  1  3  6 30 35
Win - Nye (5-2).  Loss - AFFLECK ().  Save - None.
HBP - by Nye (PURCELL); by AFFLECK (Doornberg). BK - Nye.
Umpires - HP: David Hardage  1B: Bobby Shelton  3B: Dani Carson
Start: 3:08 pm   Time: 2:12   Attendance:
Weather: 72 degrees, Sunny
Game: UMO1
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                 Brigham Young Univ. vs Ole Miss - Play-by-Play
             Feb 19, 2009 at Cathedral City, Ca (Big League Dreams)
Score by Innings                   R  H  E
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 001 01 -  2  8  0
Ole Miss............ 000 010 03 -  4  5  0
------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/ss DELAHOUSSAYE; 24/cf GONZALES; 33/3b QUIOCHO;
10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 11/rf WILLARD; 7/2b LOPEZ; 6/dp VANCE; 9/lf DAVIS;
12/p AFFLECK;
Ole Miss starters: 12/dp Hutcheson; 4/2b Conchos; 0/ss Grill; 8/c Tramp; 2/3b
Dowdy; 6/rf Ghinaudo; 15/1b Presswood; 24/lf Doornberg; 9/cf Doubt; 1/p Nye;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE struck out looking. GONZALES
walked. GONZALES out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. QUIOCHO walked.
QUIOCHO stole second. PURCELL flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Ole Miss 1st - Hutcheson struck out swinging. Conchos popped up to 2b.
Grill struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - RAMIREZ singled to third base. WILLARD
singled, bunt; RAMIREZ advanced to second. LOPEZ struck out swinging. VANCE
struck out looking. DAVIS flied out to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Ole Miss 2nd - Tramp walked. McGovern pinch ran for Tramp. Dowdy struck
out looking. Ghinaudo struck out swinging. McGovern out at second c to ss,
caught stealing. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - Tramp to c for McGovern. DELAHOUSSAYE struck
out swinging. GONZALES lined out to 2b. QUIOCHO grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Ole Miss 3rd - Presswood walked. Doornberg out at first 1b to 2b, SAC,
bunt; Presswood advanced to second. Torres pinch ran for Presswood. Doubt
struck out swinging. Hutcheson struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - Presswood to 1b for Torres. PURCELL singled
through the right side. RAMIREZ reached on a fielder's choice; PURCELL out at
second 2b to ss. WILLARD reached on a fielder's choice; RAMIREZ out at second p
to ss. LOPEZ struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Ole Miss 4th - Conchos grounded out to 3b. Grill grounded out to 3b.
Tramp singled to shortstop. Dowdy walked; Tramp advanced to second. Ghinaudo
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - VANCE struck out looking. DAVIS flied out to
lf. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to center field. GONZALES singled; DELAHOUSSAYE
advanced to second. QUIOCHO flied out to cf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Ole Miss 5th - Presswood walked. Doornberg singled to pitcher; Presswood
advanced to second. Doubt struck out swinging. May to dp for Hutcheson.
Presswood out at second c to 2b, picked off. Doornberg stole second. May
doubled to center field, RBI; Doornberg scored. Hutcheson to dp for May.
Conchos struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - PURCELL hit by pitch. MESSERSCHMID pinch ran
for PURCELL. RAMIREZ reached on a fielder's choice; MESSERSCHMID out at second
2b to ss. WILLARD fouled out to 3b. LOPEZ doubled to right center, RBI; RAMIREZ
scored. HOPKINS pinch ran for LOPEZ. VANCE lined out to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Ole Miss 6th - PURCELL to c for MESSERSCHMID. LOPEZ to 2b for HOPKINS.
Grill popped up to ss. Tramp walked. Dowdy out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
Tramp advanced to second. Ghinaudo grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - DAVIS singled through the right side.
DELAHOUSSAYE reached on a fielder's choice, bunt; DAVIS out at second 3b to ss.
GONZALES flied out to rf. QUIOCHO popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
Ole Miss 7th - Presswood singled to left field. Overbeck pinch ran for
Presswood. Doornberg hit by pitch; Overbeck advanced to second. Doubt reached
on a fielder's choice, bunt; Doornberg advanced to second; Overbeck out at
second 3b to ss. Hutcheson struck out swinging. Conchos popped up to 2b. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - Grill to 1b. Overbeck to ss. QUIOCHO placed on
second. PURCELL grounded out to 3b, SAC, bunt; QUIOCHO advanced to third.
RAMIREZ singled to right field, RBI; QUIOCHO scored. WILLARD popped up to p.
LOPEZ walked; RAMIREZ advanced to second on an illegal pitch. VANCE grounded
out to p. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Ole Miss 8th - Conchos placed on second. Grill grounded out to 2b;
Conchos advanced to third. Tramp walked. Dowdy homered to center field, 3 RBI;
Tramp scored; Conchos scored. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

PROVO -- The BYU women’s softball team (6-5) is set to face five teams, including No. 1 Alabama, at the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. beginning Thursday.

The Cathedral City Classic is one of the premiere Division I softball tournaments in the country, with 13 teams ranked in the top-25 participating.

The Cougars will play the nation’s leading team on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (PST) before facing Ole Miss at 3 p.m. (PST). It will be the first time that BYU will face the No.1 ranked team in the country, at the time of the ranking.

BYU will contest the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide (8-0), who competed at the Women’s College World Series in 2008. Ole Miss is 5-3 on the season and is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

Friday’s doubleheader brings games against Texas (5-3) at 10 a.m. (PST) and Kansas (4-5) at 12:30 p.m. (PST), before the Cougars finish out the Classic against Tennessee Tech at 10 a.m. (PST) on Saturday.

Livestats for the Cathedral City Classic are available at www.byucougars.com.