Record day for freshmen gets No. 25 BYU two wins in doubleheader

LAS VEGAS – Freshmen ruled the day as No. 25 BYU swept its doubleheader over Texas State and Nevada, winning 5-3 and 8-0, respectively, on Friday in the DeMarini Desert Classic.

“We played well today,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “Our pitching was outstanding. We got some big hits at key times and played solid defense. It’s doing the little things that makes us good right now.”

BYU improves to 5-2 on the year after the two wins today. After a close defeat of Texas State (4-2, 0-0 Sun Belt), the run-rule victory over Nevada (3-3, 0-0 Mountain West) was the first shutout win for the Cougars this year.  As a team, BYU hit four home runs on the day.

Freshman outfielder Rylee Jensen had five doubles on the day, hitting a combined 5 for 8 with three RBI and one run. Her three doubles against Nevada tied a single-game BYU record for doubles in a game with five other players. Freshman pitcher Kerisa Viramontes threw a no-hitter in her collegiate debut against Nevada. It was just the second no-hitter by a BYU freshman, the other coming from Paige Affleck in May 2008.

“Good team pitching effort,” BYU pitching coach Pete Meredith said. “Kerisa threw well. Starting her collegiate career with a no-hitter is pretty special. It was a solid team effort.”

Game one

In the first game of the doubleheader, BYU escaped a late rally in the seventh inning to defeat Texas State 5-3. McKenna Bull pitched 6.2 innings, striking out seven batters and giving up just one earned run. Arianna Paulson came into the seventh inning to earn her first career save. Ashley Thompson led the offense with three RBI on 2 of 3 hitting with two home runs.

The Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the first. With Lauren Bell on first base, Thompson drilled a home run over right field. Her first homer of the year put BYU up 2-0 over Texas State after one inning.

With runners on second and third in the bottom of the second, Jensen hit a double to left field, bringing in both baserunners. That extended the lead to 4-0 heading into the third.

The Bobcats responded in the top of the third, scoring one off a single down the left field line to make it 4-1. However, Thompson got the four-run advantage back in the bottom frame with a solo shot over right center, pushing the lead up to 5-1.

For the third time in the game, the Cougars faced a bases-loaded situation with two outs, this time at the top of the seventh. After coming out empty the first two times in this situation, the Bobcats were able to capitalize, scoring two runs off of walks with the bases loaded. Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge caught a line drive to end the late rally and take the 5-3 win.

BYU vs. Texas State Box Score

Game two

Viramontes threw a no-hitter in her college debut and Jensen had three doubles to tie a school record to defeat Nevada 8-0 in five innings in the second game of the doubleheader.

In the first game of her college career, Viramontes threw a no-hitter in five innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Jensen had three doubles, including two in the fifth inning alone. BYU’s five doubles as a team is fifth all-time in the school’s history.

The second game got off to a slow start with BYU earning the only hit of the first two innings. The two pitchers earned a strikeout each in that time frame.

Jensen got the third inning started with a lead-off double to right field. The Cougars loaded up the bases, but a fly out left them scoreless.

Leading off in the top of the fifth, Jensen once again hit a double to left field, sparking some offense into BYU. Tarrow hit her first career home run over centerfield to bring in two runs. After a triple from Alldredge scored three more runs, Allie Hancock hit her first career homer, bringing her and Alldredge home. Starting over at the top of the lineup, Jensen hit her second double in the same inning to score Brooke Vander Heide. The Cougars ended up scoring eight runs to take a commanding 8-0 lead.

Viramontes threw two strikeouts in the bottom of the fifth to complete the no-hitter and run-rule the Wolf Pack in five innings.

BYU vs. Nevada Box Score

BYU concludes the DeMarini Desert Classic with a doubleheader on Saturday against San Jose State and Northern Iowa. Live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.