BYU falls to Santa Clara in extras

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – With the West Coast Conference title and an NCAA regional bid already locked up, the BYU softball team dropped its final game of the regular season 4-3 in nine innings on Saturday afternoon.

After seven innings, the two teams were tied at 3-3. Both teams went scoreless until the bottom of a ninth. With runners on second and third, a Santa Clara base hit to center field scored the winning run as the Broncos took the win 4-3.

Game Highlights:

• BYU tallied five doubles in the game from four different players including Allie Hancock, Libby Sugg, Rylee Jensen, and Marissa Chavez.
• Libby Sugg hit her 47th career double in the first inning increasing her No. 2 BYU all-time record. She also posted an RBI on the play moving into the No. 2 spot for career RBI at BYU with 209.
• In the top of the sixth, Lexi Tarrow hit her second triple of the season, taking the No. 7 BYU all-time record for career triples with seven.

Player Highlights:

• Allie Hancock: 2-3, 1R, 2 2B,
• Ashley Godfrey: 2-2, 1BB, 1HBP
• Libby Sugg: 1-3, 1RBI, 2B

The Cougars started strong as Jensen doubled off the left field fence on the first pitch of the game. Sugg followed with another double to score Jensen to give BYU the lead 1-0.

The Broncos evened the score in the bottom of first and put up two more runs in the bottom of the third to increase their lead to 3-1.

The Cougars clawed their way back in the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, Hancock doubled, followed by a Tarrow triple to left field to score Hancock. Chavez then doubled to score Tarrow, tying the game at 3-3.

Neither team was able to score a run in the seventh inning so the game went into extras. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when a walk-off single gave the Broncos a 4-3 victory.

The Cougars now await their seed for the NCAA Regionals which will be announced on Sunday, May 12 at 7 p.m. MT.