CATHEDRAL -- Hanging close in both games, No. 25 BYU softball ultimately couldn't pull of an upset in its two games on Friday, losing 4-3 to No. 18 Nebraska before falling 4-1 to No. 8 Tennessee at the Cathedral City Classic.

"We played better today," said BYU head coach Gordon Eakin. "We're playing against top-level competition where you have to play very good softball to come out on top."

In the first game of the day, BYU tied the game at two runs apiece in the third inning before taking the lead on Nebraska when senior Caschjen Atagi homered to center field, putting the Cougars ahead, 3-2.

But the Cougars couldn't hold on. Multiple short hits by the Cornhuskers brought around two runs. Senior Paige Affleck avoided further damage, drawing the last out on a grounder with the bases loaded to get out of the inning.

Needing one run to at least force extra innings, JC Clayton, Jessica Dugas and Kristin Delahoussaye helped BYU load the bases for senior Jessica Fitu, who came into the game batting over .500 on the season. Fitu got a bat on the ball, but the pop fly was caught in right field to give Nebraska the win.

"We played a lot better today than we have in our other losses this year in terms of pitching, fielding and hitting," Eakin said, "we just couldn't get the big hit at the right time with runners on base to pull through."

Game 2

BYU rattled Tennessee for seven hits but could only earn one run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Freshman Madisen Robb had one hit and one RBI. Fitu and Clayton contributed two hits apiece.

Sophomore Hannah Howell started for the first time this season and third time in her career, holding down the Volunteers through the first three innings. Tennessee found a rhythm in the fourth, scoring three of its runs in the top of the inning.

The Cougars kept it close, scoring a run to answer, but that was all BYU could muster. Fitu doubled to center and Atagi put two runners in scoring position with a double. Robb followed with a bunt, enabling Fitu to score, but Tennessee forced the final out before BYU could add any more runs.

BYU closes out the Classic against Ohio State at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday.

#18 Nebraska vs #25 BYU
Feb 25, 2011 at Cathedral City, Cali (Big League Dreams)
Nebraska 4 (11-1)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Haget cf.................  2  0  0  0   3  1  1  0   5
Brechtel 2b..............  4  0  0  0   0  1  2  1   3
Edwards, Tay c...........  3  1  1  0   1  0  8  0   0
 Wright, S. pr...........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Guile dh.................  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   1
 McCann pr...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Edwards, Tat 1b..........  3  2  2  0   1  0  4  0   0
Thomason rf..............  4  0  2  2   0  0  1  0   0
Foland 3b................  4  0  2  2   0  0  1  1   0
Southworth lf............  3  0  0  0   1  1  1  1   3
Banda ss.................  2  0  0  0   2  2  3  2   0
Hagemann p...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 28  4  7  4   9  5 21  6  12
BYU 3 (6-7)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  4  0  2  0   0  1  3  3   0
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  2  0  0  1   2  1  1  0   0
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  3  0  0  0   1  0  1  1   1
FITU,Jessica c...........  4  0  0  0   0  1  6  1   5
ATAGI,Caschjen lf........  3  1  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
 HUDSON,Alexandra lf.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MANUMA, Katie 1b.........  3  0  0  0   0  2  8  0   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  2  0  0  0   1  2  0  0   0
 DUCKWORTH,Carly rf......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
ROBB, Madisen 3b.........  2  1  1  0   1  1  0  3   1
 MILLETT,Lacey pr........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
GRAHAM, Stacie dh........  2  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
AFFLECK,Paige p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 25  3  5  2   5  8 21 10   7
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Nebraska............ 011 000 2 -  4  7  1
BYU................. 002 001 0 -  3  5  1
-----------------------------------------
E - Foland(3); CLAYTON. DP - Huskers 1. LOB - Huskers 12; Cougars 7. 2B -
CLAYTON. HR - ATAGI. SH - GRAHAM. SB - Haget(5); Edwards, Tat(1); DUGAS. CS
- Haget(2).
Nebraska               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Hagemann............  7.0  5  3  1  5  8 25 31
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK,Paige.......  7.0  7  4  4  9  5 28 37
Win - Hagemann (8-1).  Loss - AFFLECK (3-5).  Save - None.
WP - AFFLECK 3.
Umpires - HP: David Hardage  1B: Christina Drumm  3B: Dave Long
Start: 10:25 am   Time: 2:28   Attendance:
Nebraska starters: 55/cf Haget; 6/2b Brechtel; 12/c Edwards, Tay; 5/dh Guile;
21/1b Edwards, Tat; 18/rf Thomason; 2/3b Foland; 0/lf Southworth; 77/ss Banda;
8/p Hagemann;
BYU starters: 16/ss CLAYTON; 19/cf DUGAS; 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 10/c FITU; 9/lf
ATAGI; 31/1b MANUMA; 28/rf WILLARD; 33/3b ROBB; 21/dh GRAHAM; 12/p AFFLECK;
Nebraska 1st - Haget walked. Brechtel struck out swinging. Haget stole
second. Edwards, Tay out at first p to 2b to 1b; Haget advanced to third. Guile
grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 1st - CLAYTON struck out swinging. DUGAS walked. DELAHOUSSAYE flied
out to lf. DUGAS stole second. FITU flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Nebraska 2nd - Edwards, Tat singled to third base. Edwards, Tat stole
second. Thomason grounded out to 3b. Foland singled to center field, RBI;
Edwards, Tat scored. Southworth walked; Foland advanced to second. Banda struck
out swinging. Haget struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 2nd - ATAGI popped up to 2b. MANUMA struck out swinging. WILLARD
struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Nebraska 3rd - Brechtel lined out to ss. Edwards, Tay singled through
the left side. Edwards, Tay advanced to second on a wild pitch. Wright, S.
pinch ran for Edwards, Tay. Guile walked. McCann pinch ran for Guile. McCann
advanced to second on a wild pitch; Wright, S. advanced to third on a wild
pitch. Edwards, Tat walked. Thomason singled to left field, RBI; Edwards, Tat
advanced to second; McCann advanced to third; Wright, S. scored. Foland reached
on a fielder's choice; Thomason advanced to second; Edwards, Tat advanced to
third; McCann out at home ss to c. Southworth grounded out to 3b. 1 run, 2
hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 3rd - Edwards, Tay to c for Wright, S.. Guile to dh for McCann. ROBB
walked. GRAHAM singled to third base; ROBB advanced to second. CLAYTON reached
on a fielder's choice; GRAHAM advanced to second; ROBB advanced to third on a
fielding error by 3b, assist by ss. DUGAS walked, RBI; CLAYTON advanced to
second; GRAHAM advanced to third; ROBB scored, unearned. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded
into double play 2b to 1b; DUGAS out on the play; CLAYTON advanced to third;
GRAHAM scored, unearned. FITU struck out swinging. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Nebraska 4th - Banda struck out swinging. Haget walked. Haget out at
second c to ss, caught stealing. Brechtel grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - ATAGI popped up to ss. MANUMA struck out looking. WILLARD
walked. ROBB struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Nebraska 5th - Edwards, Tay popped up to ss. Guile flied out to lf.
Edwards, Tat grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 5th - GRAHAM popped up to ss. CLAYTON doubled down the lf line.
DUGAS struck out looking. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Nebraska 6th - Thomason singled up the middle. Foland popped up to 2b.
Southworth struck out swinging. Thomason advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Banda walked. Haget walked; Banda advanced to second; Thomason advanced to
third. Brechtel flied out to lf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
BYU 6th - FITU grounded out to 3b. ATAGI homered to center field, RBI.
MANUMA popped up to ss. WILLARD struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Nebraska 7th - HUDSON to lf for ATAGI. DUCKWORTH to rf for WILLARD.
Edwards, Tay walked. Guile flied out to cf. Edwards, Tat singled to shortstop;
Edwards, Tay advanced to second, advanced to third on a throwing error by ss.
Thomason reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Edwards, Tat advanced to second;
Edwards, Tay scored. Foland singled down the lf line, RBI; Thomason advanced to
second; Edwards, Tat scored. Southworth grounded out to ss; Foland advanced to
second; Thomason advanced to third. Banda walked. Haget grounded out to p. 2
runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
BYU 7th - ROBB singled through the left side. MILLETT pinch ran for
ROBB. GRAHAM grounded out to p, SAC; MILLETT advanced to second. CLAYTON
singled to shortstop. DUGAS reached on a fielder's choice; CLAYTON advanced to
second; MILLETT out at third lf to 3b. DELAHOUSSAYE walked; DUGAS advanced to
second; CLAYTON advanced to third. FITU flied out to rf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
  #8 Tennessee Lady Vols vs BYU
             Feb 25, 2011 at Cathedral City, CA (Big League Dreams)
Tennessee Lady Vols 4 (12-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
R. Chavanne lf...........  4  0  2  0   0  0  0  0   1
 C. O'Connor lf..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
K. Grieve cf.............  4  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   2
K. Dotson rf.............  4  1  1  1   0  1  0  0   2
 H. Baker rf.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
S. Burchell 1b...........  4  0  1  0   0  2  7  0   0
L. Gibson 2b.............  3  0  0  0   1  2  0  2   0
J. Spigner 3b............  3  1  1  0   0  1  1  2   1
 M. Brown 3b.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
M. Shipman ss............  2  1  0  0   1  1  2  2   1
A. Andrews c.............  2  1  1  1   1  0 11  0   0
T. Lewis dh..............  1  0  1  1   2  0  0  0   0
E. Renfroe p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 I. Renfroe p............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 27  4  8  3   5  8 21  7   7
BYU 1
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  4  0  2  0   0  1  3  1   0
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  3  0  1  0   1  1  2  0   0
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  4  0  0  0   0  1  3  0   2
FITU,Jessica c...........  3  1  2  0   0  1  7  2   0
 DUCKWORTH,Carly pr......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
ATAGI,Caschjen lf........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   2
MANUMA, Katie dh.........  2  0  0  0   1  2  0  0   0
ROBB, Madisen 3b.........  3  0  1  1   0  0  0  1   0
HUDSON,Alexandra rf......  3  0  0  0   0  3  2  0   3
GRAHAM, Stacie 1b........  2  0  0  0   0  1  4  0   1
 WILLARD, Delaney ph.....  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
HOWELL,Hannah p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
 ALMOND,Tori p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 28  1  7  1   2 11 21  7   8
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Tennessee Lady Vols. 000 310 0 -  4  8  0
BYU................. 000 100 0 -  1  7  0
-----------------------------------------
LOB - Lady Vols 7; Cougars 8. 2B - K. Grieve(1); FITU. HR - K. Dotson(3). SB
- A. Andrews(1); T. Lewis(2). CS - A. Andrews(1).
Tennessee Lady Vols    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
E. Renfroe..........  4.0  4  1  1  1  6 16 17
I. Renfroe..........  3.0  3  0  0  1  5 12 13
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
HOWELL,Hannah.......  4.0  6  3  3  2  3 18 20
ALMOND,Tori.........  3.0  2  1  1  3  5  9 12
Win - E. Renfroe (5-1).  Loss - HOWELL ().  Save - I. Renfroe (1).
Umpires - HP: John Bennett  1B: Ken Buchmiller  3B: Christina Drumm
Start: 1:10 pm   Time: 2:14   Attendance: 401
Tennessee Lady Vols starters: 88/lf R. Chavanne; 2/cf K. Grieve; 33/rf K.
Dotson; 28/1b S. Burchell; 27/2b L. Gibson; 9/3b J. Spigner; 44/ss M. Shipman;
22/c A. Andrews; 7/dh T. Lewis; 13/p E. Renfroe;
BYU starters: 16/ss CLAYTON; 19/cf DUGAS; 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 10/c FITU; 9/lf
ATAGI; 31/dh MANUMA; 33/3b ROBB; 5/rf HUDSON; 21/1b GRAHAM; 11/p HOWELL;
Tennessee Lady Vols 1st - R. Chavanne grounded out to p. K. Grieve
grounded out to p. K. Dotson struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
BYU 1st - CLAYTON singled to third base. DUGAS walked; CLAYTON advanced
to second. DELAHOUSSAYE reached on a fielder's choice; DUGAS advanced to
second; CLAYTON out at third ss to 3b. FITU struck out swinging. ATAGI grounded
out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 2nd - S. Burchell singled up the middle. L. Gibson
reached on a fielder's choice; S. Burchell out at second p to ss to 2b. J.
Spigner struck out looking. M. Shipman popped up to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - MANUMA struck out swinging. ROBB singled to right field.
HUDSON struck out swinging. GRAHAM grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 3rd - A. Andrews popped up to 2b. T. Lewis walked.
R. Chavanne singled to pitcher, bunt; T. Lewis advanced to second. K. Grieve
grounded out to 3b; R. Chavanne advanced to second; T. Lewis advanced to third.
K. Dotson flied out to rf. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - CLAYTON fouled out to ss. DUGAS struck out swinging.
DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 4th - S. Burchell flied out to cf. L. Gibson struck
out looking. J. Spigner singled to left field. M. Shipman walked; J. Spigner
advanced to second. A. Andrews singled down the lf line, RBI; M. Shipman
advanced to second; J. Spigner scored. T. Lewis singled up the middle, RBI; A.
Andrews advanced to third; M. Shipman scored. T. Lewis stole second; A. Andrews
stole home. R. Chavanne flied out to cf. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
BYU 4th - FITU doubled to left center. ATAGI singled up the middle; FITU
advanced to third. MANUMA struck out swinging. ROBB grounded out to 1b
unassisted, bunt, RBI; ATAGI advanced to second; FITU scored. HUDSON struck out
swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 5th - K. Grieve doubled to right center. ALMOND to p
for HOWELL. K. Grieve out at second 2b unassisted, runner left early. K. Dotson
homered to right field, RBI. S. Burchell struck out swinging. L. Gibson walked.
J. Spigner reached on a fielder's choice; L. Gibson out at second ss
unassisted. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - I. Renfroe to p for E. Renfroe. GRAHAM struck out swinging.
CLAYTON singled down the lf line. DUGAS grounded out to 3b; CLAYTON advanced to
second. DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 6th - M. Shipman struck out swinging, out at first c
to 1b. A. Andrews walked. A. Andrews out at second c to ss, caught stealing. T.
Lewis walked. R. Chavanne singled to left field; T. Lewis advanced to second.
K. Grieve struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - C. O'Connor to lf for R. Chavanne. M. Brown to 3b for J.
Spigner. FITU singled through the right side. DUCKWORTH pinch ran for FITU.
ATAGI reached on a fielder's choice; DUCKWORTH out at second ss unassisted.
MANUMA walked; ATAGI advanced to second. ROBB grounded out to ss; MANUMA
advanced to second; ATAGI advanced to third. HUDSON struck out swinging. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Tennessee Lady Vols 7th - FITU to c for DUCKWORTH. K. Dotson flied out
to rf. S. Burchell struck out swinging. L. Gibson struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - WILLARD pinch hit for GRAHAM. WILLARD struck out swinging. H.
Baker to rf for K. Dotson. CLAYTON struck out swinging. DUGAS singled to
shortstop. DELAHOUSSAYE struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.

No. 25 BYU softball is traveling to Cathedral City, Calif., to participate in the Cathedral City Classic on Feb. 24-26, facing Florida State, Virginia, No. 18 Nebraska, No. 8 Tennessee and Ohio State.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU is a combined 6-13 all-time against this week’s Cathedral City Classic opponents.

— BYU holds a 1-2 record against ranked teams thus far on the year, defeating No. 19 Texas A&M, 7-2, and losing 3-2 to No. 14 Oregon and 7-4 to No. 18 Stanford. The Cougars will face two more ranked teams, No. 18 Nebraska and No. 8 Tennessee, both on Friday, Feb. 25.

— Senior catcher Jessica Fitu was named the MWC Player of the Week after hitting .750 last week, including a 5-for-5 performance against Cal State Northridge, including the fourth grand slam of her career, a BYU record.

— Sophomore Hannah Howell was also named MWC Pitcher of the Week after winning two games versus SIUE and Cal Poly. Howell held opponents to zero runs and 15 strikeouts in 11.1 innings.

— BYU currently leads the MWC in batting average, on base percentage, runs, hits, RBI, doubles, total bases and walks.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

BYU and Florida State have faced off just twice, splitting a doubleheader in Provo in 2005. FSU has won five of its last six games and is lead by Kelly Hensley with a .421 average, including eight hits and two home runs. Tiffani Brown leads the team with 14 hits, including three triples, while Sarah Hamilton has 53 strikeouts for FSU, sporting a 3-3 record and 1.34 ERA.

This will be the fourth meeting in the last five years between BYU and Virginia, with the Cougars holding a current two-game win streak. The Cavaliers will play their first games outside of North Carolina this weekend after going 3-2 last week. Virginia’s Stephanie Harris has 12 hits and Taylor Williams has

11 to pace the Cavaliers with Melanie Mitchell starting all but two games this year, currently sitting at a 4-2 record and 2.61 ERA.

Nebraska has a long history with the Cougars, leading BYU in the series, 5-3. However, BYU has won three of the last four, including a 5-1 win last season. The Cornhuskers have started off hot this season with a 10-1 record, their only loss coming to Arizona. Taylor Edwards has had a huge year so far, recently breaking an NCAA record by hitting a home run in seven-straight games. She is batting .405 with 15 hits and 19 RBI. Pitcher Ashley Hagemann boasts a team-high 1.51 ERA and 7-1 record, including 62 strikeouts in nine overall appearances.

Tennessee has never lost to BYU in three tries, including a 4-0 win last time the two teams met in 2009. Like BYU this season, the Lady Volunteers have defeated Cal Poly, Boise State and SIUE while losing to Stanford. Seven Tennessee starters are hitting at least .400 led by Shelby Burchell’s .565 average and four home runs. Cat Hosfield has a 0.60 ERA in five appearances.

BYU is also looking for its first win against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have won just two of their last six games. Alicia Herron leads the team with 15 hits and eight RBI. Kasie Kelly has pitched 36.0 innings for OSU and has a 3.50 ERA and 2-1 record.

GRAND RECORD

Senior catcher Jessica Fitu hit the fourth grand slam of her career last weekend against Cal State Northridge, setting a new BYU record for most grand slams in a career and tying for third place all-time in the NCAA record books.