Cougars Sweep Past Rams in Close Games

FORT COLLINS -- The BYU women's softball team swept the Colorado State Rams 1-0, 2-1 in a doubleheader, Thursday. The Cougars improve to 29-19, 6-8 while the Rams drop to 17-29, 4-13. BYU will play at New Mexico in a doubleheader on Saturday to finish the regular season.

In game one, Milli Jones provided the only run of the game on a sacrifice fly by freshman Lauren Watson. The run came in the fourth inning when Liz Boydston walked to start off the inning. Sophomore Oli Keohohou singled to advance Boydston to second before Jones stepped in to pinch run. Brooke Cadiente made an excellent sacrifice bunt to advance Jones to third. Watson finished the score with a fly ball to center field.

Pitching and defense were the keys to the game. Freshman Niki Andersen (8-8) picked up the shutout win, striking out five while giving up only three hits. Melanie Mahoney of CSU gave up only four hits in the loss. Neither team committed an error.

In the second game, the Cougars were down 0-1 heading into the sixth inning. Leading off the inning, Keohohou blasted a solo home run to left center to tie the game at one run a piece. The All-American from Newbury Park, Calif. hit her 18th home run of the season. She is only three home runs away from matching her total of 21 from last season. After two costly errors by the Rams, Watson was able to score the winning run.

Junior Cynthia Fallowfield (12-6) went the full seven innings to win for the Cougars. Both teams committed three errors in the game.

BYU is now a half-game behin fourth-place New Mexico. The Lobos will play Utah tomorrow in a doubleheader. If BYU sweeps New Mexico and UNLV splits of gets swept at first-place San Diego State on Saturday, the Cougars can jump all the way up to the third seed heading into the Mountain West Conference Tournament next week. Brackets will be announced Monday after the conclusion of the MWC regular season Sunday.

The MWC Tournament will take place at Gail Miller Park in Provo, May 9-11. The cost for a three-day pass is 15 dollars for adults and 10 dollars for students, seniors, and children under 18 years of age. For a one-day pass the cost is eight dollars for adults and five dollars for students, seniors, and children under 18.