BYU falls to No. 11 Tennessee and Mizzou

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – BYU softball dropped games to No. 11 Tennessee and Missouri, 13-0 and 8-6, respectively, in the first day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Thursday.

Tennessee (11-1) took the victory over BYU (4-8) in five innings, due to the NCAA eight-run rule.

Mizzou (7-5) broke away from a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning for the win.

Game one

Tennessee scored 13 runs on 13 hits while holding BYU to three hits.

The Lady Vols struck early in the first inning on a two-run dinger to left center for a 2-0 lead.

In the second, Tennessee scored twice on two errors and five runs in the third frame for a 9-0 advantage.

The Lady Vols scored four more on two-run dingers in both the fourth and fifth innings for the win.

BYU vs. No. 11 Tennessee Box Score

Game two

Five Cougars scored against Mizzou, behind two runs from Tarrow. Rylee Jensen and Lexi Tarrow both went 2 for 3 and while Libby Sugg also had two hits against Mizzou.

The Tigers got on the board first, as a single to left field allowed the runner on second to advance on the throw and score.

In the top of the third, Tarrow sent a three-run homer to centerfield on the first pitch of her second at-bat. Brooke Vander Heide and Erin Miklus also came across as the Cougars took a 3-1 lead.

Mizzou responded in the fourth frame with another run to make it 3-2 on a single to right field.

The Tigers regained the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to left field.  

Sugg singled down left field in the top of the sixth inning. Ashley Godfrey then came in to pinch run for Sugg. Bridget Fleener hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Godfrey to score and even the score, 4-4.

An offensive outburst gave Mizzou scored four runs on five hits in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-4 advantage.

Sugg and Strid hit back-to-back singles to left field in the seventh frame, bringing Jensen and Tarrow in for a final score of 8-6.

BYU vs. Mizzou Box Score

The Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic continues for BYU on Friday against No. 4 Oklahoma at 3 p.m. PT and CSUN at 8 p.m. PT. Links to the FloSoftball stream and live stats will be available on the softball schedule page while the full tournament schedule can be found on the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic website.