Cougar bats top Portland State, narrowly fall to No. 11 Alabama

SEATTLE – Solid hitting lifted BYU softball over Portland State 11-2 but came up short against No. 11 Alabama 7-6 on the first day of the Husky Classic Friday.

BYU (7-10) scored 11 runs on nine hits against Portland State (2-8) in five innings, due to the NCAA eight-run rule.

The Cougars scored the most runs by any Alabama (11-2) opponent all season in the extra-inning loss.

Game one

Eight different Cougars scored, with Briielle Breland, Lexi Tarrow and Brooke Vander Heide scoring two runs apiece. Tarrow went a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate while Bridget Fleener and Vander Heide both went 2 for 3. Additionally, Tarrow and Fleener both hit their third home runs of the season.

Freshman pitcher Autumn Moffat earned her first win of the season and held the Vikings to just two hits.

Portland State got on the board first for a 2-0 lead, scoring on a fielder’s choice and another came in on a hit batter with the bases loaded. 

To lead off the bottom of the first, Rylee Jensen walked and Breland was hit by a pitch. Lexi Tarrow then bunted and Jensen scored on a throwing error by the third baseman to trail 2-1. Libby Sugg singled as Breland crossed the plate to even the score 2-2. Caitlyn Alldredge hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Tarrow to score as the Cougars took a 3-2 advantage.

Brooke Vander Heide singled up the middle and later stole second to start the second frame. Jensen walked and Tarrow was hit by a pitch as Vander Heide and Jensen also advanced. Vander Heide came home on a passed ball to extend BYU’s lead, 4-2.

Bridget Fleener homered to centerfield in the bottom of the third to make it 5-3.

Caitlyn Alldredge doubled down the line in left to lead off the fifth. Fleener singled up the middle and advanced to second on the throw before Erin Miklus came in as a pinch runner. Allie Hancock then walked. Vander Heide singled to right field, bringing both Alldredge and Miklus home to go up 7-2. Hancock stayed at third, Vander Heide stole second and Breland was hit by another pitch before Tarrow hit a grand slam to right field for the 11-2 win.

BYU vs. Portland State Box Score

Game two

Five Cougars scored, led by Tarrow’s two runs. Jensen, Sugg, Miklus and Vander Heide also scored. Sugg went 2 for 3 at the plate while Alexa Strid had two RBI.

In the top of the first, both Jensen and Tarrow walked. Sugg singled up the middle and Jensen scored to take a 1-0 lead.

The Crimson Tide responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the second as an Alabama batter singled through the right side and the runner on third scored to even it 1-1.

The Cougars scored two more runs in the third inning to go up 3-1. Tarrow led off and singled through the right side. Sugg then doubled down the line as Tarrow advanced to third. Strid singled and advanced to second on a throwing error as Sugg ran to third and Tarrow came across for a 2-1 advantage. Alldredge hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Sugg home to make 3-1.

In the fourth inning, Vander Heide walked and Tarrow reached on a fielder’s choice. Sugg walked before Strid singled to center field to score Tarrow and Sugg, making it 5-1.

Alabama tied it up 5-5 in the fifth with a grand slam to left field.

In the top of the eighth inning, Miklus, a pinch runner for Hancock, was placed on second base, due to the NCAA extra inning rule. Miklus advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Vander Heide and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Breland to go up 6-5.

The Crimson Tide answered by scoring on a Cougar fielding error in the bottom half of the inning. A single to centerfield then brought in the final run.

BYU vs. No. 11 Alabama Box Score

The Husky Classic continues for BYU on Saturday against Northwestern at 12:30 p.m. PT and No. 1 Washington at 7:15 p.m. PT. Links to live stats, the Pac-12 stream and radio broadcast for the Washington game will be available on the BYU softball schedule page. The full tournament schedule can be found on the Husky Classic website.