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PROVO -- In the first home game of the 2011 season the BYU softball team dominated Weber State, winning 9-1 in five innings on Thursday.

Freshman Carly Duckworth led the Cougars at the plate, recording a home run and three RBI. Jessica Fitu had one hit in three at-bats and recorded two RBI.

The combination of pitchers Paige Affleck, Hannah Howell and Tori Almond recorded nine strikeouts while holding the Wildcats to two hits in the game.

Both offenses struggled to start off the game with neither team getting a hit through the first two-and-a-half innings. Stacie Graham singled early in the third inning to give the Cougars their first base runner.

Graham’s hit sparked a third inning rally for BYU (16-14) that led to six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Fitu drove in two runners with a single to left to start the scoring and Caschjen Atagi followed Fitu with an RBI double.

Duckworth finished off the rally with her third-career home run. The homer brought in three runs and extended the BYU lead to 6-0.

The Cougar scoring continued into the fourth inning as Kristin Delahoussaye and JC Clayton drove in one run each to stretch the lead to 8-0.

Weber State (3-16) snagged their first hits of the day in the bottom of the fifth inning and scored their first run on a two-out single to left. The Cougars finished the game in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Graham to push the lead back to eight and end the game early.

BYU will be back at home on Tuesday, March 29 as they face off against the Utah State Aggies. The game begins at 4:00 pm MT and can be heard on BYU Radio.

Weber State at BYU
Mar 24, 2011 at PROVO, Utah (Gail Miller Field)
Weber State 1 (3-16)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
RIVERS, Shaila lf........  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
JAMES, Erika cf..........  2  0  0  0   0  1  4  0   0
MINNIEAR, Symbree ss.....  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
MINNICH, Lyndsey 3b......  1  0  0  0   1  1  1  2   0
HARDINE, Britinie dh/p...  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
CHRISTOPHER, Brandi c/p..  1  1  0  0   1  1  0  1   0
JACKSON, Heather 2b/ph...  2  0  1  0   0  1  3  2   1
 SILVA, Brooke 2b/rf.....  1  0  1  1   0  0  0  0   0
CLARKE, London rf........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
VALLIES, Kelsie p/dh.....  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   1
HUDDLESTON, Ashley 1b....  0  0  0  0   0  0  5  0   0
Totals................... 15  1  2  1   3  9 14  5   2
BYU 9 (16-14)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b..  2  2  0  1   1  0  1  0   0
DUGAS,Jessica cf.........  0  0  0  0   2  0  1  0   0
 WILLARD, Delaney cf/rf..  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
CLAYTON, JC ss...........  2  1  1  1   1  0  1  0   0
FITU,Jessica c...........  3  1  1  2   0  0  9  2   0
ATAGI,Caschjen dh........  2  1  1  1   1  0  0  0   2
DUCKWORTH,Carly lf/cf....  2  1  1  3   1  0  1  0   0
HICKS, Krista 3b.........  2  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   1
 ROBB, Madisen ph........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
MANUMA, Katie 1b.........  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 MILLETT,Lacey pr/lf.....  1  2  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
GRAHAM, Stacie rf/1b.....  3  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
AFFLECK,Paige p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 HOWELL,Hannah p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ALMOND,Tori p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 20  9  8  8   7  0 15  3   4
Score by Innings               R  H  E
--------------------------------------
Weber State......... 000 01 -  1  2  1
BYU................. 006 21 -  9  8  1
--------------------------------------
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - RIVERS, S.; DUGAS. DP - Weber State 1. LOB - Weber State 2; BYU 4. 2B
- ATAGI. HR - DUCKWORTH. SB - MILLETT 2. CS - MINNIEAR, S.; DUGAS.
Weber State            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
VALLIES, Kelsie.....  2.1  1  2  2  6  0  5 11
HARDINE, Britinie...  2.1  7  7  6  1  0 15 16
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK,Paige.......  2.0  0  0  0  2  3  5  7
HOWELL,Hannah.......  2.0  0  0  0  0  4  6  6
ALMOND,Tori.........  1.0  2  1  1  1  2  4  5
Win - HOWELL (3-2).  Loss - HARDINE, B. (2-1).  Save - None.
PB - CHRISTOPHER; FITU.
Umpires - HP: Ray Meibos  1B: Brett Higgins  3B: Jason Bluemel
Start: 4:05 pm   Time: 1:34   Attendance: 225
Weather: Cloudy, 45 degrees
Weber State starters: 3/lf RIVERS, S.; 5/cf JAMES, E.; 18/ss MINNIEAR, S.;
23/3b MINNICH, L.; 8/dh HARDINE, B.; 6/c CHRISTOPHER; 1/2b JACKSON, H.; 13/rf
CLARKE, L.; 10/p VALLIES, K.; 14/1b HUDDLESTON; BYU starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 19/cf DUGAS; 16/ss CLAYTON; 10/c FITU; 9/dh ATAGI; 3/lf DUCKWORTH; 22/3b HICKS; 31/1b MANUMA; 21/rf GRAHAM; 12/p AFFLECK;
Weber State 1st - RIVERS, S. walked. JAMES, E. popped up to p; RIVERS, S. advanced to second on a passed ball. RIVERS, S. out at second c to ss. MINNIEAR, S. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 1st - DELAHOUSSAYE grounded out to 2b. DUGAS walked. DUGAS out at second c to 3b, caught stealing. CLAYTON walked. CLAYTON left early, out at first 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Weber State 2nd - MINNICH, L. walked. HARDINE, B. flied out to lf. CHRISTOPHER struck out looking. JACKSON, H. struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 2nd - FITU flied out to cf. ATAGI walked. DUCKWORTH walked; ATAGI advanced to second. HICKS grounded into double play 2b to 1b; DUCKWORTH out on the play. ATAGI out at second 2b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Weber State 3rd - HOWELL to p for AFFLECK. CLARKE, L. struck out swinging. VALLIES, K. struck out swinging. RIVERS, S. flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 3rd - MANUMA grounded out to 1b unassisted. GRAHAM singled to second base. GRAHAM advanced to second, advanced to third on a passed ball. DELAHOUSSAYE walked. DUGAS walked; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. VALLIES, K. to dh. HARDINE, B. to p. DUGAS out at second 2b unassisted. CLAYTON reached on a fielder's choice. FITU singled down the lf line, 2 RBI; CLAYTON advanced to second; DELAHOUSSAYE scored; GRAHAM scored. ATAGI doubled to left field, RBI; FITU advanced to third; CLAYTON scored. DUCKWORTH homered to left field, 3 RBI; ATAGI scored; FITU scored. HICKS popped up to cf. 6 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Weber State 4th - JAMES, E. struck out swinging. MINNIEAR, S. reached on an error by cf. MINNIEAR, S. advanced to second. MINNIEAR, S. out at third c to 3b, caught stealing. MINNICH, L. struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 4th - MANUMA walked. MILLETT pinch ran for MANUMA. MILLETT stole second. GRAHAM flied out to cf; MILLETT advanced to third. DELAHOUSSAYE reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; MILLETT scored. WILLARD singled to right field; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. CLAYTON singled to center field, RBI; WILLARD advanced to second; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. FITU flied out to cf. ATAGI flied out to ss. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Weber State 5th - WILLARD to rf. MILLETT to lf for DUCKWORTH. DUCKWORTH to cf for MILLETT. GRAHAM to 1b. ALMOND to p for HOWELL. HARDINE, B. struck out swinging. JACKSON, H. pinch hit for CHRISTOPHER. SILVA, B. to 2b for JACKSON,
H.. CHRISTOPHER to p for HARDINE, B.. HARDINE, B. to p for CHRISTOPHER. CHRISTOPHER pinch hit for JACKSON, H.. JACKSON, H. to 2b for SILVA, B. SILVA, B. to rf for CLARKE, L.. CHRISTOPHER walked. JACKSON, H. singled to left field;
CHRISTOPHER advanced to third. SILVA, B. singled to left field, RBI; JACKSON,
H. out at second lf to 2b; CHRISTOPHER scored. VALLIES, K. struck out swinging.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - CHRISTOPHER to c. DUCKWORTH to cf for MILLETT. ROBB pinch hit for HICKS. MILLETT to lf for DUCKWORTH. DUCKWORTH grounded out to 3b. ROBB singled to left field. MILLETT reached on a fielder's choice; ROBB out at second 3b to 2b. MILLETT stole second. GRAHAM singled to left field; MILLETT advanced to third, scored on a throwing error by lf, unearned. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

BYU softball is hosting its first home opener on Thursday, Mar. 24, against Weber State before facing Utah State on Tuesday, Mar. 29, at Gail Miller Field.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU senior catcher Jessica Fitu was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season after earning Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament MVP last weekend. Fitu had eight hits, five runs, 10 RBI and 18 total bases, including two doubles, a triple and two home runs to lead the Cougars to a 5-1 record last weekend.

— Senior pitcher Paige Affleck was listed under the week’s Top Performance by the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association after going 4-0 with two shutouts and wins over three ranked teams last weekend at the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament. Affleck had a career-high 13 strikeouts in the Cougars’ first game against No. 16 Hawaii and became the MWC’s all-time career wins leader in a win over No. 9 California. For her efforts, Affleck was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Pitcher.

— Sophomore JC Clayton, senior Kristin Delahoussaye and freshman Carly Duckworth were named to the Spring Fling All-Tournament team.

— BYU won three games over ranked opponents in one weekend for the first time in program history, defeating No. 16 Hawaii twice and No. 9 California once on its way to winning the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament championship.

— BYU received nine votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, placing the team tied for the 28th-most votes.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

Weber State has never faced BYU despite its campus resting 80 miles north of Provo in Ogden. The Wildcats have had a rough go through the early part of 2011, coming into their game with BYU with a 3-15 record. Like BYU, Weber State has lost games to Oregon and Sacramento State while also falling twice to Hawaii, a team BYU defeated twice last week. Erika James is one of two Wildcats to have started every game this season. James leads the team with a .294 batting average and 15 hits. Weber State utilizes four pitchers in its lineup with Britinie Hardine leading the way with a 2.36 ERA.

BYU and Utah State have a long history dating back to the Cougar softball program’s first year in 2000. The Cougars won the first 19 games of the series before the Aggies recorded their first win in Logan in 2005. BYU has outscored Utah State 36-6 in its current four- game win streak, including a 9-1 victory in Logan last season. Kassandra Uchida has the team’s highest batting average at .329 with 23 hits while Kelley Kaneshiro has team highs of 11 runs and five home runs. In the circle, Mandy Harmon leads the Aggies with a 5.47 ERA and four wins in 21 appearances. Utah State is on a 10-game losing streak.

ALL-TIME CONFERENCE WINS LEADER

Already the record holder in all BYU career pitching categories, senior Paige Affleck became the winningest pitcher in Mountain West Conference history on Mar. 19, winning the 74th game of her career over No. 9 California in the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament championship game.

TAKING MORE

BYU has 12 players with at least one stolen base so far this year, including seven steals by junior Jessica Dugas. The Cougars have 36 stolen bases overall, with eight players totaling three or more. Against Florida State and Iona, BYU combined for a season-high four stolen bases.

GOTTA SCORE

BYU is 10-0 when scoring at least six runs and 12-0 when leading after five innings. In addition, 11 of BYU’s 14 losses have come by three runs or less.