ST. GEORGE -- After three days of tournament play, BYU (5-0) continued its winning streak by beating Maine 9-1 and Tulsa 7-5 to claim the championship of the Red Desert Classic.

As the the first team to bat, the Cougars wasted no time establishing their offensive game. Kristin Delahoussaye was first on base after getting hit by a pitch.

Freshman centerfielder, Alexandra Hudson, bunted, got on base, and advanced Delahoussaye to second.

As soon as Angie Quiocho took her first pitch, both Delahoussaye and Hudson took off, steal third and second base respectively. Angie Quiocho was up next and sacrifice flied out to left field bringing Delahoussaye home to even the score 1-0.

The Black Bears answered with a run of it’s own in the bottom of the second thanks to a double from Stephanie George. The Bears loaded the bases with one out, but hit into a double play and ended the inning.

At the top of third, Quiocho took a crack at her first pitch and shot it down the left field line for a double. Immediately following, Jessica Purcell-Fitu blasted a double down the right field line, bringing Quiocho home. Andrea Ramirez advanced Purcell-Fitu to third after grounding out to shortstop.

At the beginning of the fifth inning, Hudson took a 1-0 count and then blasted the ball over the centerfield wall racking up her first collegiate home run of the season and her career. A couple of batters later, Purcell-Fitu tripled to right-center field, but after Willard popped out to short, the inning ended.

At the top of the seventh and final inning, BYU went on a scoring rampage started by Delahoussaye who doubled to left-center field. Hudson followed with a shot right up the middle which drove Delahoussaye home. (Jessica Dugas came in to pinch run for Hudson.)

Two batters later, Purcell-Fitu advances Dugas to third grounding out to first. Ramirez came to bat and powered a homer over the left field wall. Delaney Willard reached first on a fielding error, and then Amanda Vance-Kellum blasted a homer over the center field wall bringing the score to 9-1 BYU.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Hannah Howell, BYU’s freshman right-handed pitcher, came in to close up shop for the third game in a row.

With just a 30 minute break between games, the Cougars grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed back onto the field to face the University of Tulsa.

Tulsa was the first to score in the game after a double to left field followed by a sacrifice grounder and base hit to bring the runner home. Tulsa took that momentum and loaded the bases, but BYU's pitcher, Paige Affleck kept her composure and retired the side.

BYU quickly retaliated with a scoring drive of their own. Delahoussaye was first to bat, and after she walked, Clayton tapped a well-placed bunt down the left field line which advanced both runners. Quiocho stepped up next, and after Delahoussaye stole third, Quiocho smacked the ball to deep center field with a double which brought Delahoussaye and Clayton home.

Immediately following, Purcell-Fitu stepped to the plate and hit a homer over the right-center field making the score 4-1.

Within the next two innings later, Tulsa managed to chip away at the Cougars' lead, bringing the score to 4-3.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, and with BYU at bat, both Vance-Kellum and Delahoussaye homered to increase the Cougars' lead to 6-3. This coupled with a fifth-inning Hudson RBI basically sealed BYU's victory.

Although Tulsa was able to score two more runs in the remaining three innings, BYU stayed ahead and ended the game 7-5.

This final win against Tulsa gives the Cougars an overall record at 5-0.

The Cougars look to carry this momentum as they will next play in Las Vegas at the Louisville Slugger Competition. Their first game will be Thursday against Oregon at 5 p.m. PST.

GAME ONE
Brigham Young Univ. at U of Maine
Feb 13, 2010 at St. George (Canyons Softball Complex)
Brigham Young Univ. 9 (4-0)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE,Kristin 2b..  3  2  1  0   0  0  1  5   1
HUDSON, Alexandra cf.....  4  1  3  2   0  0  0  0   0
 DUGAS, Jessica pr/cf....  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
QUICHO, Angeline 3b......  3  1  1  1   0  1  4  1   0
PURCELL-FITU, Jess. c....  3  1  2  1   1  0  7  1   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea dh.......  4  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  4  1  0  1   0  1  1  0   3
VANCE-KELLUM, Amanda 1b..  4  1  1  2   0  0  7  0   1
HICKS, Krista ss.........  4  0  1  0   0  0  1  2   0
THOMAS, Whitney lf.......  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
AFFLECK, Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 HOWELL, Hannah p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 32  9 10  9   1  3 21 10   5
U of Maine 1 (0-4)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Whitney Spangler c.......  3  0  0  0   1  0  3  0   2
Kali cf..................  3  0  1  0   1  1  0  0   0
Terren Hall 3b...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  1   1
Kristen Calvetti ss......  3  0  0  0   0  1  3  2   2
Brynne Davis lf..........  3  0  1  0   0  2  2  0   0
Kirstin Allen dh.........  2  1  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
 Chelsea Soule pr........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Stephanie George 1b......  2  0  1  1   0  0 10  0   0
Cassie Hodgson rf........  2  0  0  0   1  1  2  0   0
Margaret Hilton 2b.......  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  3   2
Christine McGivney p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Beth Spoehr p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 24  1  4  1   4  7 21  6   8
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 102 010 5 -  9 10  1
U of Maine.......... 010 000 0 -  1  4  2
-----------------------------------------
E - QUICHO; Hilton 2. LOB - Cougars 5; Black Bears 8. 2B - DELAHOUSSAYE;
HUDSON; QUICHO; PURCELL-FITU; Burnham; Allen; George. 3B - PURCELL-FITU. HR
- HUDSON; RAMIREZ; VANCE-KELLUM. HBP - DELAHOUSSAYE; George; Hilton. SF -
QUICHO. SB - WILLARD; HICKS; Burnham.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK, Paige......  6.0  3  1  1  4  7 20 26
HOWELL, Hannah......  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  4  4
U of Maine             IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Christine McGivney..  6.0  8  6  5  1  2 26 29
Beth Spoehr.........  1.0  2  3  2  0  1  6  6
Win - AFFLECK (3-0).  Loss - McGivney ().  Save - None.
HBP - by McGivney (DELAHOUSSAYE); by AFFLECK (Hilton); by AFFLECK (George). PB -
Spangler.
Umpires - HP: Clair Mc Bride  1B: Dan Ringsby  3B: Rob Hough
Start: 1:28   Time: 2:04   Attendance: 54
Weather: Clear and sunny...55 degrees
McGivney faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE hit by pitch. HUDSON doubled to
left field; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. QUICHO popped up to rf, SAC, RBI;
DELAHOUSSAYE scored. PURCELL-FITU walked. RAMIREZ flied out to lf. WILLARD
struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
U of Maine 1st - Spangler walked. Burnham grounded out to 3b unassisted;
Spangler advanced to second. Hall grounded out to ss; Spangler advanced to
third. Calvetti grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - VANCE-KELLUM grounded out to 2b. HICKS singled
to right field. THOMAS struck out swinging. HICKS stole second. DELAHOUSSAYE
grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
U of Maine 2nd - Davis struck out swinging. Allen doubled to left field.
George doubled to center field, RBI; Allen scored. Hodgson walked. Hilton hit
by pitch; Hodgson advanced to second; George advanced to third. Spangler popped
up to 3b; Hilton out at first 3b to 1b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - HUDSON grounded out to 2b. QUICHO doubled to
left field. PURCELL-FITU doubled to right field, RBI; QUICHO scored. RAMIREZ
grounded out to ss; PURCELL-FITU advanced to third. WILLARD reached on an error
by 2b, RBI; PURCELL-FITU scored, unearned. WILLARD stole second. VANCE-KELLUM
infield fly to 1b. 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
U of Maine 3rd - Burnham struck out swinging. Hall grounded out to 2b.
Calvetti infield fly to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - HICKS grounded out to 2b. THOMAS grounded out
to 3b. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
U of Maine 4th - Davis struck out looking. Allen walked. Soule pinch ran
for Allen. George hit by pitch; Soule advanced to second. Hodgson reached on a
fielder's choice; George out at second 2b to ss; Soule advanced to third.
Hilton struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - HUDSON homered to center field, RBI. QUICHO
infield fly to ss. PURCELL-FITU tripled to right center. RAMIREZ flied out to
rf. WILLARD infield fly to ss. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
U of Maine 5th - Spangler grounded out to 2b. Burnham walked. Burnham
stole second. Hall struck out swinging. Calvetti struck out looking. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - VANCE-KELLUM fouled out to 1b. HICKS flied out
to lf. THOMAS lined out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
U of Maine 6th - Allen to dh for Soule. Davis singled to right field.
Allen infield fly to 3b. George reached on an error by 3b; Davis advanced to
second. Hodgson struck out swinging. Davis picked off, out at third c to 2b to
3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - DELAHOUSSAYE doubled to left center. HUDSON
singled to center field, RBI; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. Spoehr to p for McGivney.
DUGAS pinch ran for HUDSON. DUGAS advanced to second on a passed ball. QUICHO
struck out swinging. PURCELL-FITU grounded out to 1b unassisted; DUGAS advanced
to third. RAMIREZ homered to left field, 2 RBI; DUGAS scored. WILLARD reached
on an error by 2b. VANCE-KELLUM homered to center field, 2 RBI; WILLARD scored,
unearned. HICKS infield fly to 2b. 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
U of Maine 7th - DUGAS to cf. HOWELL to p for AFFLECK. Hilton grounded
out to 2b. Spangler grounded out to p. Burnham doubled to left field. Hall
flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
GAME TWO
Univ. of Tulsa at Brigham Young Univ.
Feb 13, 2010 at St. George (Canyons Softball Complex)
Univ. of Tulsa 5
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
LINDSAY, Lauren rf.......  5  2  5  2   0  0  0  0   0
COBB, Samantha ss........  4  0  2  0   0  0  1  3   0
BOWEN, Cassidy 3b........  4  0  0  1   0  0  0  0   2
VICE, Vanessa 1b.........  4  0  1  1   0  0  5  0   2
SWANSON, Skylar 2b.......  3  1  1  0   1  1  2  3   0
TIMMONS, Christian c.....  3  0  0  0   1  1  9  0   2
EVERETT, Caitlin cf......  4  0  1  0   0  1  1  0   3
STOELKE, Jessica lf......  4  2  3  1   0  1  0  0   0
CHAPMAN, Kelly dh........  4  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
LAWRENCE, Jackie p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 35  5 13  5   2  6 18  6  11
Brigham Young Univ. 7 (5-0)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE,Kristin 2b..  2  2  2  1   2  0  0  6   0
CLAYTON, J.C. ss.........  4  1  2  0   0  0  2  2   0
QUICHO, Angeline 3b......  4  1  2  2   0  1  0  1   2
PURCELL-FITU, Jess. c....  4  2  2  2   0  1  5  0   2
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  0  0  0   0  2 13  0   0
HUDSON, Alexandra cf.....  2  0  1  0   1  0  1  0   0
DAVIS-ATAGI,Caschjen lf..  3  0  0  1   0  2  0  0   1
VANCE-KELLUM, Amanda dh..  3  1  1  1   0  2  0  0   1
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
AFFLECK, Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 28  7 10  7   3  9 21 11   6
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Univ. of Tulsa...... 111 110 0 -  5 13  0
Brigham Young Univ.. 400 210 X -  7 10  1
-----------------------------------------
E - CLAYTON. LOB - Tulsa 11; Cougars 6. 2B - LINDSAY, L.; SWANSON, S.;
STOELKE, J.; QUICHO; HUDSON. HR - LINDSAY, L.; DELAHOUSSAYE; PURCELL-FITU;
VANCE-KELLUM. SB - DELAHOUSSAYE; CLAYTON 2; PURCELL-FITU.
Univ. of Tulsa         IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LAWRENCE, Jackie....  6.0 10  7  7  3  9 28 31
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK, Paige......  7.0 13  5  4  2  6 35 37
Win - AFFLECK.  Loss - LAWRENCE, J..  Save - None.
WP - AFFLECK.
Umpires - HP: Dan Ringsby  1B: Rob Hough  3B: Clair McBride
Start: 4:03   Time: 2:46   Attendance: 126
Weather: Sunny and Clear...around 55 degrees
Univ. of Tulsa 1st - LINDSAY, L. doubled to left field. COBB, S.
grounded out to 2b; LINDSAY, L. advanced to third. BOWEN, C. grounded out to p.
VICE, V. reached on an error by ss, RBI; LINDSAY, L. scored, unearned. SWANSON,
S. struck out, reached first on a wild pitch; VICE, V. advanced to second.
TIMMONS, C. walked; SWANSON, S. advanced to second; VICE, V. advanced to third.
EVERETT, C. popped up to ss. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE walked. CLAYTON singled, bunt;
DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. CLAYTON stole second; DELAHOUSSAYE stole
third. QUICHO doubled to left field, 2 RBI; CLAYTON scored; DELAHOUSSAYE
scored. PURCELL-FITU homered to right center, 2 RBI; QUICHO scored. RAMIREZ
struck out swinging. HUDSON infield fly to 1b. DAVIS-ATAGI struck out swinging.
4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 2nd - STOELKE, J. singled to left center. CHAPMAN, K.
struck out looking. LINDSAY, L. singled to center field; STOELKE, J. advanced
to second. COBB, S. singled to right field; LINDSAY, L. advanced to second;
STOELKE, J. advanced to third. BOWEN, C. reached on a fielder's choice, out at
first 3b to 1b, RBI; COBB, S. advanced to second; LINDSAY, L. advanced to
third; STOELKE, J. scored. VICE, V. grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 3 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - VANCE-KELLUM struck out swinging. WILLARD
grounded out to 2b. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to left field. CLAYTON singled to
second base; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. CLAYTON stole second. QUICHO
struck out looking. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 3rd - SWANSON, S. doubled to center field. TIMMONS, C.
struck out looking. EVERETT, C. struck out swinging. STOELKE, J. singled to
left field, RBI; SWANSON, S. scored. CHAPMAN, K. grounded out to ss. 1 run,
2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - PURCELL-FITU struck out swinging. RAMIREZ
flied out to cf. HUDSON doubled to left center. DAVIS-ATAGI struck out looking.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 4th - LINDSAY, L. homered to left center, RBI. COBB, S.
grounded out to ss. BOWEN, C. grounded out to 2b. VICE, V. singled to left
field. SWANSON, S. walked; VICE, V. advanced to second. TIMMONS, C. grounded
out to 2b. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - VANCE-KELLUM homered to center field, RBI.
WILLARD struck out swinging. DELAHOUSSAYE homered to left field, RBI. CLAYTON
grounded out to 2b. QUICHO infield fly to ss. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 5th - EVERETT, C. grounded out to 1b unassisted. STOELKE,
J. doubled to left field. CHAPMAN, K. flied out to cf; STOELKE, J. advanced to
third. LINDSAY, L. singled to left field, RBI; STOELKE, J. scored. COBB, S.
singled to right field; LINDSAY, L. advanced to second. BOWEN, C. grounded out
to 2b. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - PURCELL-FITU singled, bunt. PURCELL-FITU stole
second. RAMIREZ struck out swinging. HUDSON walked. DAVIS-ATAGI reached on a
fielder's choice, RBI; HUDSON out at second ss to 2b; PURCELL-FITU scored.
VANCE-KELLUM struck out swinging. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 6th - VICE, V. lined out to 1b. SWANSON, S. grounded out
to 2b. TIMMONS, C. grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - WILLARD grounded out to 2b. DELAHOUSSAYE
walked. CLAYTON reached on a fielder's choice; DELAHOUSSAYE out at second ss to
2b. QUICHO singled to left field; CLAYTON advanced to second. PURCELL-FITU
grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Tulsa 7th - EVERETT, C. singled, bunt, advanced to second on
the throw advanced to second on the error. STOELKE, J. struck out swinging.
CHAPMAN, K. struck out swinging. LINDSAY, L. singled to shortstop; EVERETT, C.
out at second ss unassisted. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

PROVO -- On Thursday BYU's season debut in softball begins as it hosts the 11-team Red Desert Classic in St. George.

"We are very excited and the team has been preparing hard," said Angie Quiocho, a senior from Walnut, Calif. "This is where we first hit the dirt, and we are anxious to see how we do."

The Cougars face off against San Jose State for the first game on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. Joining BYU in the tourney are Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley, Idaho State, Maine, Seattle, Tulsa, UC Santa Barbara, Northern Colorado and San Jose State.

"Our coaching staff has really been supportive and they constantly motivate us to reach our greatest potential as a team," said Tiffany Messerschmidt, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, Calif. "We, as a team, make every practice game-like by hitting against our pitchers which are the best in the conference. I know that we have prepared ourselves well for St. George."

BYU has opened their fourth-straight season by hosting the tournament at the Canyons Softball Complex.

On Friday the Cougars compete back-to-back against Seattle at 1:30 p.m., and then Santa Barbara at 4 p.m.

BYU plays its second doubleheader of the season on Saturday against Maine and Tulsa at 1:30 and 4 p.m. respectively.

With eight starters returning to the team, including both pitchers and All-American Jessica Pucell-Fitu, the Cougars hope to remain a force to be reckoned with.

In 2009 the Cougars finished the season 40-18, 12-2 MWC, competing in the fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Red Desert Classic is the first of seven tournaments for the Cougars, who return to St. George on April 2-3 for the Pre- Conference Tournament.

All Red Desert Classic games are listed below and will be updated during the tournament.

Red Desert Classic
Thu, Feb 11
BYU (5)         vs. San Jose St.   9-5 (BYU)
UCSB (5)        vs. No. Colorado   6-3 (UCSB)
Maine (1)       vs. Idaho St.      6-5 (Idaho State)
  
Fri, Feb 12
No. Colo.(5)    vs. Seattle       8-7 (Northern Colorado)
Maine (1)       vs. Utah St.      7-6 (Utah State)
Utah (4)        vs. San Jose St.  8-0 (Utah...in 5 innings)
Tulsa (3)       vs. Idaho St      8-0 (Tulsa)
Seattle (5)     vs. BYU           3-2 (BYU)
Utah Valley (1) vs. Maine         10-8 (UVU)
Utah St. (4)    vs. Idaho St.     9-0 (Utah State)
Tulsa (3)       vs. UCSB          3-1 (UCSB)
BYU (5)         vs. UCSB          13-3 (BYU)
San Jose St.(1) vs. Utah Valley   7-3 (San Jose State)
Utah (4)        vs. No. Colorado  6-5 (Utah)
  
Sat, Feb 13
UCSB (5)        vs. Maine         3-2 (UCSB)
Idaho St. (1)   vs. Utah          5-3 (Utah)
San Jose St.(4) vs. No. Colorado  15-8 (San Jose State)
Tulsa (3)       vs. Utah St.      8-1 (Tulsa)
Maine (5)       vs. BYU           9-1 (BYU)
Utah Valley (1) vs. Idaho St.     10-4 (UVU)
San Jose St.(4) vs. Seattle       7-3 (San Jose State)
No. Colo. (3)   vs. Utah St.      7-3 (Utah State)
BYU (5)         vs. Tulsa         7-5 (BYU)
UCSB (1)        vs. Utah Valley   4-2 (UCSB)
Seattle (4)     vs. Utah          9-1 (Utah)
Sun, Feb 14
Utah (5)        vs. Tulsa         6-5 (Utah)
Seattle (1)     vs. Utah St.      4-3 (Utah State)
Final Standings
BYU          5-0
Utah         5-0
UCSB         4-1
Utah St.     4-1
San Jose St. 3-1
Tulsa        2-3
UVU          2-2
Idaho St.    1-4
N. Colo.     1-4
Maine        0-5
Seattle      0-5