BYU downed by Liberty 13-3 on day two of Puerto Vallarta Challenge

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Despite Ashley Godfrey’s two-run homer, BYU dropped its game against Liberty 13-3 Friday morning on the second day of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

"We didn't compete today in any area," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "Our pitching was off, our defense was poor and our energy level was down. As coaches we need to do a better job preparing our team for these high level games on back-to-back days. We won't beat good teams if we don't show up and compete."

BYU vs. Liberty Final Box Score

The Cougars (1-2, 0-0 WCC) struggled to contain Liberty's (0-0, 0-0 Big South) bats in the Flames' season opener as big innings put the game out of reach.

Godfrey went 2 for 2 at the plate and recorded three RBI and her first dinger of the season. BYU used all three of its starting pitchers and Olivia Sanchez got some work in the top of the seventh. Arissa Paulson recorded three strikeouts with only two earned runs in the three innings she was in the circle.

Errors plagued BYU as Liberty scored three runs in the top of the first inning. The Flames tacked on three more runs in the top of the third to make the score 6-0 followed by a home run in the top of the fourth pushing their lead to 7-0.

BYU got on the board after four scoreless innings in the bottom of the fifth. Vander Heide bunted to get on first base before Godfrey went to the plate and smacked a ball over the fence. The two-run homer was Godfrey’s first of the season and made the score 8-2.  

Liberty tacked on a run in the top of the sixth and then a five run inning in the top of the seventh put the score at 13-2.

A single from Godfrey in the bottom of the seventh sent in Allie Hancock who had reached on a Liberty error to give BYU one more run. The Flames lead was too much for the Cougars and they came out with the win 13-3.

BYU finishes up the Puerto Vallarta Challenge Saturday afternoon against North Carolina. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CST with a live broadcast on FloSoftball and live stats on the schedule page.