SACRAMENTO -- The BYU softball team blasted its way to a 9-2 over Sacramento State with eight extra-base hits to kick off play at the Capitol Classic on Thursday.

Sophomore Jessica Purcell led the slugfest going 4-for-4 from the plate with three doubles and one triple to bring in a total of two runs on the night. Seniors Stephanie Hopkins and Monica Gonzales added two hits, each a double and a single.

Christie Zinanti (9-6) went the distance going seven innings, allowing two runs off of seven hits with six strikeouts. With the win BYU is now 17-13 on the season.

The Cougars got to work quickly taking a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning. Sophomore Kristin Delahoussaye started the game with a leadoff walk. Purcell blasted a hard-hit ball to the left-center gap to bring in the baserunner.

In the top of the second inning, Hopkins doubled to center field and scored on fellow Gonzales’s double to left field. Following a misfire by the Sacramento State shortstop, Delahoussaye reached first and Gonzles advanced to third. On a pickoff attempt down the first base line, Gonzales reached home to give BYU a 3-0 lead.

Purcell added her second double in the third inning, and on a two-out single junior Andrea Ramirez singled on a line drive up the middle to bring in the run. In the top of the fourth inning BYU extended its lead when Gonzales made a steal attempt to second that allowed Krista Hicks to take home.

With a 5-0 Cougar lead going into the bottom half of the inning, Sacramento State came to life. Back-to-back leadoff singles and a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position, and a pair of back-to-back singles brought in both runners to come within three runs of BYU.

The Cougars answered back with two runs in the top of the fifth. Lopez hit an RBI doubled off the top of the centerfield wall to bring in Purcell who tripled to the right-center field gap, and Hopkins singled to centerfield to bring in Lopez from second.

BYU added two insurance runs in the sixth. With a ball just fair of the left field line, Quiocho’s two bagger brought in Gonzales followed by another double from Purcell to bring in Quiocho that extended BYU’s lead, 9-2.

Play at the Capitol Classic continues for the Cougars when they face No. 7/10 Cal at 11 a.m. PT. Livestats are available at www.byucougars.com.

Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                    Brigham Young Univ. at Sacramento State
                 Mar 19, 2009 at Sacramento, CA (Shea Stadium)
Brigham Young Univ. 9 (17-13)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  2  1  0  0   2  0  2  1   0
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dp..  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
QUIOCHO, Angeline lf.....  4  1  1  1   0  0  1  0   0
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  4  2  4  2   0  0  6  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  0  1  1   1  0  7  0   1
LOPEZ, Coreen 3b.........  4  1  1  1   0  0  1  3   2
HOPKINS, Stephanie rf....  4  1  2  1   0  0  1  0   0
HICKS, Krista ss.........  2  1  0  0   1  1  2  2   1
 WILLARD, Delaney ph.....  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  2  2  1   1  0  1  0   0
ZINANTI, Christie p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 30  9 11  7   5  2 21  7   6
Sacramento State 2 (10-16)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
LOOMIS, W. 2b............  4  0  0  0   0  2  2  2   4
MILES, R. 3b.............  3  0  0  0   1  1  1  1   0
BELTRAN, D. ss...........  4  0  2  0   0  0  3  2   0
CABRERA, I. lf...........  4  1  1  0   0  1  2  0   1
SCHLOREDT, J c...........  2  1  1  0   1  0  2  3   1
 NAVARRO, M. c...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BARTEE, J. rf............  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 SERRANO, J. rf..........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SCHAEFER, M. 1b..........  2  0  1  0   1  1  6  0   0
CLARK, S. dp.............  2  0  1  1   1  1  0  0   0
 ADKINS, A. pr...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
NORIEGA, A. cf...........  3  0  1  1   0  0  2  0   2
CLIFFORD, B. p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 VOELZ, S. p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
Totals................... 26  2  7  2   4  6 21  8   8
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 121 122 0 -  9 11  0
Sacramento State.... 000 200 0 -  2  7  2
-----------------------------------------
E - BELTRAN, D. 2. DP - Cougars 1. LOB - Cougars 6; Hornets 8. 2B - QUIOCHO;
PURCELL 3; LOPEZ; HOPKINS; GONZALES; BELTRAN, D.. 3B - PURCELL. SH -
MESSERSCHMID; BARTEE, J.. SB - DELAHOUSSAYE; HICKS; GONZALES. CS -
DELAHOUSSAYE; RAMIREZ; GONZALES.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie...  7.0  7  2  2  4  6 26 31
Sacramento State       IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
CLIFFORD, B.........  5.2 11  9  7  4  2 26 31
VOELZ, S............  1.1  0  0  0  1  0  4  5
Win - ZINANTI (9-6).  Loss - CLIFFORD, B. (2-6).  Save - None.
WP - ZINANTI. PB - NAVARRO, M. 2.
Umpires - HP: Dennis Hobart  1B: Bill Terrell  3B: Dave Maudsley
Start: 3:55 pm   Time: 2:05   Attendance: 163
Weather: Sunny, Clear
Game: SAC1
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
             Brigham Young Univ. at Sacramento State - Play-by-Play
                 Mar 19, 2009 at Sacramento, CA (Shea Stadium)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 121 122 0 -  9 11  0
Sacramento State.... 000 200 0 -  2  7  2
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 20/dp MESSERSCHMID; 33/lf
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 7/3b LOPEZ; 5/rf HOPKINS; 22/ss HICKS;
24/cf GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
Sacramento State starters: 12/2b LOOMIS, W.; 18/3b MILES, R.; 6/ss BELTRAN, D.;
10/lf CABRERA, I.; 16/c SCHLOREDT, J; 2/rf BARTEE, J.; 13/1b SCHAEFER, M.; 5/dp
CLARK, S.; 4/cf NORIEGA, A.; 21/p CLIFFORD, B.;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE walked. MESSERSCHMID out at first
3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. QUIOCHO grounded out to
ss. PURCELL doubled to left center, RBI; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. RAMIREZ flied out
to cf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Sacramento State 1st - LOOMIS, W. struck out swinging. MILES, R. walked.
BELTRAN, D. singled to second base; MILES, R. advanced to second. CABRERA, I.
grounded into double play 3b to 1b; BELTRAN, D. advanced to second; MILES, R.
out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - LOPEZ lined out to p. HOPKINS doubled to
center field. HICKS struck out swinging. GONZALES doubled to left center, RBI;
HOPKINS scored. DELAHOUSSAYE reached on a throwing error by ss; GONZALES
advanced to third. GONZALES stole home, unearned. DELAHOUSSAYE stole second.
DELAHOUSSAYE out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 0 LOB.
Sacramento State 2nd - SCHLOREDT, J walked. BARTEE, J. reached on a
fielder's choice; SCHLOREDT, J out at second 2b to ss. SCHAEFER, M. singled to
left field; BARTEE, J. advanced to second. CLARK, S. struck out looking.
NORIEGA, A. grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - MESSERSCHMID struck out swinging. QUIOCHO
flied out to cf. PURCELL doubled to right field. RAMIREZ singled to right
center, RBI; PURCELL scored. RAMIREZ out at second c to ss, caught stealing.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sacramento State 3rd - LOOMIS, W. grounded out to ss. MILES, R. popped
up to ss. BELTRAN, D. grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - LOPEZ popped up to 2b. HOPKINS flied out to
rf. HICKS walked. HICKS stole second. GONZALES singled to third base; HICKS
advanced to third. GONZALES advanced to second on a fielding error by ss,
caught stealing, assist by c; HICKS scored, unearned. DELAHOUSSAYE walked.
MESSERSCHMID grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Sacramento State 4th - CABRERA, I. singled to right field. SCHLOREDT, J
singled to center field; CABRERA, I. advanced to second. BARTEE, J. out at
first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; SCHLOREDT, J advanced to second; CABRERA, I.
advanced to third. SCHAEFER, M. struck out swinging. CLARK, S. singled to right
field, RBI; SCHLOREDT, J advanced to third; CABRERA, I. scored. NORIEGA, A.
singled to shortstop, RBI; CLARK, S. advanced to second; SCHLOREDT, J scored.
ADKINS, A. pinch ran for CLARK, S.. LOOMIS, W. struck out swinging. 2 runs,
4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - QUIOCHO popped up to ss. PURCELL tripled to
right center. RAMIREZ lined out to 3b. LOPEZ doubled to left center, RBI;
PURCELL scored. HOPKINS singled to center field, RBI; LOPEZ scored. HICKS flied
out to lf. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Sacramento State 5th - MILES, R. flied out to lf. BELTRAN, D. doubled to
left field. CABRERA, I. struck out swinging. SCHLOREDT, J flied out to cf. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - NAVARRO, M. to c for SCHLOREDT, J. SERRANO, J.
to rf for BARTEE, J.. GONZALES walked. DELAHOUSSAYE popped up to 1b.
MESSERSCHMID flied out to lf. GONZALES advanced to second on a passed ball.
QUIOCHO doubled down the lf line, RBI; GONZALES scored. PURCELL doubled down
the lf line, RBI; QUIOCHO scored. VOELZ, S. to p for CLIFFORD, B.. PURCELL
advanced to third on a passed ball. RAMIREZ walked. LOPEZ lined out to p. 2
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Sacramento State 6th - SERRANO, J. grounded out to ss. SCHAEFER, M.
walked. CLARK, S. to dp for ADKINS, A.. CLARK, S. walked; SCHAEFER, M. advanced
to second. NORIEGA, A. popped up to 2b. CLARK, S. advanced to second on a wild
pitch; SCHAEFER, M. advanced to third. LOOMIS, W. fouled out to rf. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - HOPKINS grounded out to 2b. WILLARD pinch hit
for HICKS. WILLARD grounded out to 1b unassisted. GONZALES grounded out to ss.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Sacramento State 7th - HICKS to ss for WILLARD. MILES, R. struck out
looking. BELTRAN, D. grounded out to 1b unassisted. CABRERA, I. grounded out to
p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

PROVO -- The BYU Softball team (16-13) closes its season-opening, 33-game road trip with four games at the Capitol Classic in Sacramento, Calif.

The Cougars have traveled as far as Tampa, Fla., and Long Beach State, Calif., on their roadstand that kept the team jumping from coast-to-coast.

At the Capitol Classic BYU will face its toughest competition against No. 7/10 Cal (21-4) on Friday. The two teams faced off earlier this season at the Bayer Cropsicence Classic. The competition ended with a 4-2 BYU loss.

BYU will first take on the host school, Sacramento State on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT. Sacramento State has struggled with a 9-15 overall record but has had a 5-5 showing in its last 10 games.

The Cougars will finish off the tournament with a matchup against Dartmouth at 9 a.m. on Saturday followed by Cal Poly (16-6) at 3 p.m. The red-hot Mustangs are on a 10-game win streak.

BYU opens it home season on March 24 again Boise State.