BYU goes 4-0 at Stanford Invitational, defeats Seattle 5-2

STANFORD, Calif. — BYU softball defeated Seattle University 5-2 on Saturday morning in the Stanford Invitational, going 4-0 at the tournament and extending its winning streak to eight consecutive wins.

"Today's win was amazing," said BYU's pitcher and team captain Autumn Moffat-Korth. "As a pitcher, I couldn't ask for a better defense behind me. We are so excited to make some noise, and I can't wait to have the best season with each of my teammates."

Player Highlights

• Autumn Moffat-Korth: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 K
• Mallory Barber: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 2 RBI

Game Highlights

• Four consecutive walks by Seattle’s pitcher in the top of the seventh allowed the Cougars to score two runs to up their lead by three.

The first hit for either team occurred in the bottom of the first, with a single by Seattle’s outfielder Olivia Viggiano through the left side. Seattle also snagged the first run of the day in the bottom of the third, when Viggiano grounded out to second base and sophomore Jasmine Wehn scored an unearned run.

Without much action in innings one through four for the Cougars, Epenesa got some momentum going with a single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth. Then, freshman Lauren Flanders pinch hit for Macy Simmons, with a key sacrifice bunt allowing Epenesa to advance to second. Next, starting second baseman Mallory Barber doubled to right center, sending home Epenesa to even the score at 1-1. Next up, Alexis Gilio singled a perfectly-placed ball near Seattle’s shortstop for Barber to score and take BYU’s first lead of the day at 2-1.

In the top of the sixth inning more of BYU’s offense shined through, with a play by Simmons who reached first on a fielder's choice to shortstop, Epenesa advanced to second on a fielding error, and Brooke Hill-Barrington advanced to third to load the bases with only one out. Shortly following, Taryn Lennon singled through the right side to bring home Hill-Barrington for a 3-1 lead for the Cougars.

Seattle closed part of the gap in the bottom of the sixth when junior Madison Kahwaty scored, bringing the game to a close score of 3-2.

To kickoff the seventh inning, Zavodnik sent the ball just inside the line in deep right field for a double. Then, a wild pitch allowed Zavodnik to advance to third while Chavez was at bat. Huntyr Ava stepped up to the plate with two outs, and was walked. Zavodnik attempted to steal home off another wild pitch thrown at Epenesa, but ran back swiftly to third base to avoid an out. Epenesa was then also walked, loading the bases. Simmons had an opportunity to tack on some insurance for the Cougars, and Seattle’s freshman pitcher Grace Luderer sent another wild pitch which allowed Zavodnik to finally score, and Simmons walked to first. A fourth consecutive walk enabled Ava to score, upping BYU’s lead to 5-2.

Seattle went three up, three down in the bottom of seventh to cap the game at 5-2 for a BYU victory.

Up Next

BYU will travel to Palm Springs, California for its third tournament of the season at the Marry Nutter Collegiate Classic from February 24-26. The Cougars will play four games and face Bethune Cookman, Tennessee, California Baptist and Long Beach State.