OREM, Utah –The BYU women's softball team split a doubleheader with conference foe Utah Valley University Friday night at Wolverine Field.

The Cougars (15-19, 5-1 PCSC) won in the eighth inning in game one and the Wolverines (23-13, 6-4 PCSC) won game two on a walk-off, two-run homerun in the seventh inning.

Game 1

Ashlee Brawley Robinson went 3 for 4 in the game and singled in the winning run in the eighth inning to lead the Cougars to a 2-1 victory over UVU in game one of the doubleheader.

Alexandra Hudson Shamo drew a walk to start off the eighth and Lacey Millett was brought on as a pinch runner. Bailie Hicken laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Millett to second. A grounder to the pitcher by Jenna Goar moved Millett to third with two outs. Robinson then stroked her single to right to score Millett and give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, Katie Manuma was brought on in relief for starter Hannah Howell. After two quick groundouts, UVU hit a double to left to get into scoring position. Manuma kept her composure and struck out the final batter to earn her fourth save of the year.

Howell (6-12) scattered six hits over seven innings to earn the win.

In a defensive struggle early on, BYU got on the board first in the second inning. With two outs, Coco Taualii was hit by a pitch and Robinson singled up the middle to put Tauali’i into scoring position. Anna Hudson smacked a single up the middle for just her second hit of the season to score Taualii and give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

The Wolverines tied the game two innings later in the fourth when Jamie North singled up the middle with two outs to score Dynasty Lauvai. 

After the fourth inning, both teams locked down on defense and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base until the final frame of the game.

In the sixth and seventh innings, each side was retired in order to set up Robinson's heroics in the extra inning.

Game 2

A three-run rally in the top of the seventh fell short as the BYU softball team was defeated by UVU 6-4 in the second game of a twin bill.

Debra Lovell hit a walk-off, two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh after the Cougars had tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the inning.

Gordy Bravo tied the game in the top of the seventh inning on a two-out three-run homerun to centerfield. The home run was the first of the season for Bravo and the first of her career.

Goar singled to left to start the rally. Hicken was sent in as a pinch runner for Goar. Millett reached on a throwing error by the UVU shortstop and the two runners were both able to advance a base. Bravo stepped up to the plate and smacked the 0-1 pitch over the wall to send the game into extra innings for the second straight game.

Manuma (1-1) was credited with the loss after relieving Carly Duckworth in the seventh.

With two outs in the third inning, two UVU singles sandwiched two doubles as the Wolverines scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead.

The Cougars responded in the top of the fourth, adding one run and cutting the lead to 3-1. Manuma smacked a leadoff double to left center. Shamo was walked on four-straight pitches and a single from Duckworth loaded the bases. Taualii stroked a sac fly to left field to score Manuma.

The Wolverines answered in the bottom of that same inning to take a three-run advantage and set up the game for  another exciting finish.        

BYU and UVU return to action tomorrow for another doubleheader at Wolverine Field. The first game begins at 1 p.m. MDT and the second game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. MDT. 

PROVO, Utah--The BYU softball team will play Utah Valley in a conference series on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Logan on Wednesday for a matchup against in-state rival Utah State. 

Utah Valley

Fri.-Sat., Apr. 5-6, 2013

2 & 4 p.m. MDT, 1 & 3 p.m. MDT

Wolverine Field

Utah State

Wed., Apr. 10, 2013

4 p.m. MDT

Johnson Softball Field

BYU QUICK HITS

• BYU is 25-1 overall against UVU and 30-2 overall against Utah State. The Cougars have a 17-game win streak against the Wolverines and a 10-game win streak against the Aggies.
• Gordy Bravo highlighted the offensive effort for BYU in its three losses against Houston. She hit .500 (4x8) with two doubles, two RBI and one run scored.
• Senior shortstop JC Clayton broke the all-time hit record at BYU in the team’s four-game series against USD. Clayton has 274 career hits and a team- and conference-leading 49 hits this season. Clayton has been named PCSC Player of the Week three times this year.
• The Cougars started conference play with a sweep at San Diego to lead the conference standings with a 4-0 record. UVU is in close second with a 5-3 record in its two conference series so far.

OPPONENT NOTES

UTAH VALLEY

Utah Valley is 20-12 on the season and 5-3 in the PCSC standings. The team’s .279 average is good for second-highest in the PCSC. The Wolverines lead the conference in triples with eight and are second in home runs (16), total bases (341) and doubles (33). The team has four batters hitting over .300 so far this season in junior Amanda Robinson, senior Krystin Jachim, freshman Morgan Summers and senior Kylee Brinkerhoff. Batting a .394 clip, Robinson leads the team in hits (39), home runs (4), total bases (56) and slugging percentage (.566). Jachim is not far behind with a .393 average and leads the team in conference statistics, batting .417 with 10 hits. Freshman Dynasty Lauvai has brought in the most runs for UVU with 21 RBI alongside eight extra-base hits. The mound has been occupied by senior Tiffany Mills (117.0) and sophomore Josi Summers (67.2). Mills sports a 1.97 ERA alongside 90 strikeouts and a .218 opponent average. She also has a 1.58 ERA in conference play. Summers is 7-5 for the Wolverines and has compiled 72 strikeouts and given up just 30 earned runs on the season. She has a team-leading 0.78 ERA in conference play. The Wolverines will play Weber State in a doubleheader on Wednesday before playing the Cougars in a four-game conference series on Friday and Saturday.

UTAH STATE

USU returned eight starters from last year's squad, but had a rough start to the season with a 20-game losing streak before snatching up their first win against Weber State on March 13. After that win, the team went on to a five-game winning streak, but have since lost eight straight to fall to 5-28. The Aggies will face Idaho State on Wednesday, UTSA on Friday and Saturday and Utah Valley on Tuesday before returning home to face the Cougars on Wednesday. The team is led by senior infielder Christine Thomsen, who is hitting a .320 clip. Junior Kassandra Uchida leads the team with 24 hits, while sophomore Nicole Arata provides power in the lineup with a team-leading two home runs. Senior Mandy Harmon, freshman Noelle Johnson and senior Shelbi Tyteca have all found time on the mound this year. Harmon has pitched the most innings at 83.2 and has given up 62 earned runs on a .307 opponent batting average. Johnson leads the pitching staff with 69 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched. Tyteca has a 2-1 record in her 44 innings pitched and has given up 36 earned runs on 53 hits. The Aggies are 0-6 in Western Athletic Conference play.

IN-STATE RIVALRY

BYU is scheduled to play four of the six in-state softball teams this season in Utah Valley, Utah State, Southern Utah and Utah. The Cougars have an overall record of 126-22 (.851) against in-state teams and last year went 10-0 with four wins against SUU, three against UVU and three against USU. BYU has a current win streak of 17 games against UVU and outscored the Wolverines 157-28 in those games. The last time UVU beat BYU was at Wolverine Field on May 2, 2006. The Cougars are currently on a 10-game winning streak against the Aggies and outscored them 87-22 in those 10 games. The last time BYU was defeated by USU was at Gail Miller Field on Apr. 4, 2006. 

WHERE TO WATCH

Every game will be available to follow via live stats. Check the schedule for updated information as it becomes available.