SAN DIEGO - Junior pitcher Hannah Howell scattered four hits and one walk in the first complete game of her career, but the BYU softball team couldn't provide run support, losing to San Diego State 1-0 on Thursday.

Howell held the Aztecs at bay before a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh gave San Diego State the walk-off win.

The Cougars set themselves up to possibly play the role of heartbreakers in the top of the seventh inning before the Aztec walk off. Junior outfielder Alexandra Hudson started the inning with a single, then advanced to second and finally to third on a grounder by freshman Shelbi Everett. 

Junior Bailie Hicken walked to set up BYU (9-7) with runners on the corners with still only one out, but a fly out and a ground out ended the Cougars' scoring chances.

Hudson led BYU, going 2 for 3, while sophomore Katie Manuma had the Cougars' other extra base hit, a double.

BYU loaded the bases early in the first inning with two outs before going down on strikes to end the inning. In the second inning, Hudson led off the frame with a double down the left line to set up the inning only to watch the next three batters go down.

Stacie Toney and Katie Manuma got as far as second base in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, but Aztec pitcher Rebecca Arbino held the Cougars scoreless. Arbino finished with eight strikeouts.

BYU continues play on Friday at 11:30 a.m. PT against Cal State Northridge, a team the Cougars defeated 11-1 earlier this season. The second game of the day will be at 4 p.m. PT against Saint Joseph's. 

 

The BYU softball team travels to its fourth tournament of the season, this time in San Diego, to face San Diego State on Thursday, Cal State Northridge and Saint Joseph's on Friday, and Long Beach State and Charlotte on Saturday.

San Diego State
Thurs., Mar. 1
7 p.m. PT
SDSU Softball Stadium

Cal State Northridge
Fri., Mar. 2
11:30 a.m. PT
Santee Complex Field 3

Saint Joseph's
Fri., Mar. 2
4 p.m. PT
Santee Complex Field 1

Long Beach State
Sat., Mar. 3
11:30 a.m. PT
Santee Complex Field 2

Charlotte
Sat., Mar. 3
6:30 p.m. PT
Santee Complex Field 1

Visit the San Diego Classic web page for the complete game schedule, team information, directions and other information.

COUGAR QUICK HITS
— The Cougars face their first former Mountain West Conference opponent since joining the Western Athletic Conference beginning this season when they face San Diego State. BYU will also play two opponents for the first time in program history this weekend in Saint Joseph’s (Philadelphia, PA) and Charlotte (Charlotte, NC).
— Senior right fielder Delaney Willard leads the Cougars with a .558 batting average and 1.186 slugging percentage. She is 24 of 43 on the year with seven homers, six doubles, 15 runs, 24 RBI and eight walks compared to just five strikeouts. Willard is also currently on an 11-game hitting streak.
— BYU’s record of 9-6 through its first 15 games under coach Gordon Eakin is par for the course in the Cougars’ last nine seasons. Under Eakin, BYU has averaged 9.1 wins and 5.8 losses through its first 15 games. BYU also started 9-6 in 2003, 2004 and 2007 and were 7-8 through 15 games last year.
— Last season at an SDSU-sponsored tournament, BYU went 1-4, with a win against Cal Poly and losses to No. 25 Houston, Long Beach State, No. 23 Fresno State and No. 6 UCLA.

OPPONENT NOTES

SAN DIEGO STATE
• BYU has won 4 of its last 5 against San Diego State
• Neither team in the series has scored more than five runs at SDSU Stadium. BYU has averaged 1.75 runs per game there in its last eight games dating back to 2008, but has won six of those eight games while losing the other two after being shut out each time
• Last season, BYU and SDSU had two 1-0 duels that went into an extra inning with BYU pitcher Paige Affleck and SDSU ace Bailey Micetich going head-to-head in both games. Micetich is still with the Aztecs and is 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 57 strikeouts this year.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
• BYU and CS Northridge have faced off already with this season with BYU winning, 11-1. BYU’s Delaney Willard hit her second career grand slam in the game while freshman pitcher Caroline Umphlett was one pitch away from throwing a perfect game
• CSUN has a 1-14 record, but eight of those losses have come to teams that were or are ranked this season. Its one win was a 1-0 victory over Iowa last week in eight innings.
• The Matadors have followed in the Cougars’ footsteps this season, having also played in the Kajikawa, Desert and Cathedral City classics.

SAINT JOSEPH’S
• Saint Joseph’s is traveling outside of the NC/VA area for the first time this season
• The Hawks have only two players batting .250 or above. Rochelle Christman leads Saint Joseph’s batting .333 with seven hits and four RBI

LONG BEACH STATE
• LBSU has lost six of its last seven
• About half of the 49ers’ hits are for extra bases, but LBSU has allowed 6.7 runs per game in its last eight
• Among common opponents with BYU, the 49ers are 2-2 (wins vs. Indiana & Memphis, losses to Portland State and Long Island) while the Cougars are 4-0

CHARLOTTE
• After beginning the season with 14-straight home games, Charlotte is traveling to San Diego for its lone road trip outside the East Coast
• Also the 49ers, Charlotte is batting .298 as a team and is led by Alex Rogers with 16 hits and 11 runs. Briana Gwaltney is the big bat with four of Charlotte’s five home runs

LAST TIME OUT
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - The BYU softball team finished 2-3 at the toughest regular season tournament in the country, the Cathedral City Classic.
The Cougars defeated Pacific and LIU Brooklyn but couldn’t quite find a way in losses to three ranked teams, falling to No. 21 Oklahoma State, 3-2, after leading 2-1 in the top of the sixth before the Cowgirls answered in the bottom of the inning.
Down 3-0 vs. No. 1 Florida, BYU had the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth but couldn’t score a run and against No. 14 Texas A&M, Stacie Toney’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh tied the ball game to send it into extra innings, but the Aggies scored six in the top of the eighth to pull out the win.
Stacie Toney had a triple and a home run vs. Texas A&M, Carly Duckworth had a pair of doubles vs. LIU Brooklyn and Katie Manuma hit a home run in each of BYU’s last two games in the Cougars’ highlight performances.

HOME RUN HITTER
BYU’s Delaney Willard hit a home run in seven of the Cougars’ first 10 games, including a streak of four-straight games from Feb. 11-17. Willard also hit a home run in four straight in early April last year. The two marks tie the senior for the third-longest such streak in NCAA history and make her the only person in NCAA history to have two streaks of four games or more in a career. Former BYU outfield Stephanie Platt Hopkins is the only other Cougar with four consecutive games with a home run, accomplishing the feat in April 2008, her junior year.

GRAND OLE TIME
BYU senior Stacie Toney hit her first career grand slam against No. 14 Texas A&M at the Cathedral City Classic, a bomb that tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. Toney is the 15th Cougar to hit a grand slam in BYU history and one of two players on the current roster to have done so along
with Delaney Willard, who has two career slams, including one this year.

SCORING ALL AT ONCE
Playing Cal State Northridge on Feb. 17, the Cougars scored all of their 11 runs in the fourth inning, giving them their second-highest run total in team history for a single inning. The BYU record for most runs in an inning is 12 at Southern Utah on March 25, 2008.

KEEPING THEM ON THEIR TOES
In 15 games this season BYU has yet to have the same batting order or exact starting lineup. Four different players have played at shortstop and center field while five have started in left field. Senior Stacie Toney has played three different positions, including first base, catcher and second base.