BYU Sweeps USU 7-1, 9-8 at Home

PROVO -- Playing in only their second home game of the season, the BYU women's softball team swept in-state rival Utah State 7-1, 9-8 at Gail Miller Field, Wednesday. The Cougars improve to 21-11, winning nine of their last 10 games. Utah State drops to 3-25 on the season.

In the first game, freshman Niki Andersen (5-3) picked up her fifth consecutive win, giving up only one run and striking out eight batters. After trailing 0-1, freshman Lauren Watson stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning to smash a three-run triple over the center fielder's head. Sophomore Oli Keohohou went 1-1 with a two-run double in the sixth inning with two intentional walks.

"It's a whole different ball game coming from high school to Division 1," said Andersen. "I'm just blessed to have great catchers and good defense behind me."

In game two of the doubleheader, Ariel Capra (7-2) picked up the win in three innings on the mound. After trailing 6-1 in the middle of the fourth inning, the Cougars came back to take the lead 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth. The Aggies scored in the seventh to tie the game and send it into extra innings. Utah State took a 8-7 lead after the top of the innings, but the Cougars were able to score two runs off an error by the third baseman to seal the victory.

Senior Kari Pringle went 2-2 with two RBI and two walks. Sophomore transfer Kate Walker went 2-4 with a solo home run in the third inning. Keohohou went 2-2 with three walks.

"Our recent confidence is pulling us through even when we get ourselves into tough positions," said head coach Mary Kay Amicone. "Watson is really coming along strong. She's a feisty freshman five-footer."

The Cougars will travel to Las Vegas on Friday to open conference play against UNLV starting at 1 p.m. PST. The Cougars then finish their road trip against San Diego State on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST.

Utah State Aggies at Brigham Young Cougar (Game 1)
               Mar 27, 2002 at BYU PROVO UTAH (GAIL MILLER FIELD)
Utah State Aggies 1 (3-24)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Curtis, Heather ss.......  4  0  0  0   0  1  0  2   1
Rodriguez, Danielle 2b...  4  1  2  0   0  1  1  2   1
Vasarhely, S 3b..........  3  0  2  1   0  0  3  3   0
Smith, Breanne c.........  3  0  1  0   0  2  3  0   1
Leos, Kelly 1b...........  2  0  0  0   1  1  9  0   0
Neff, Marcie dh..........  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
Johnson, Aimee C. lf.....  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
Smith, Casey cf..........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Andrews, Marnie rf.......  3  0  2  0   0  0  2  0   2
Ramirez, Xochitl p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
 Janssen, Lindsay p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 28  1  8  1   1  8 18 10   7
Brigham Young Cougar 7 (20-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
VANDERLINDEN, Liz cf.....  4  1  2  1   0  0  1  0   0
WALKER, Kate ss..........  3  1  1  0   0  1  0  2   3
 ROBERTS, Jill pr........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BOYDSTON, Elizabeth 1b...  2  1  0  0   1  0  9  0   0
KEOHOHOU, Oli 3b.........  1  1  1  2   2  0  1  1   0
CADIENTE, Brooke rf......  2  1  0  0   1  1  1  0   0
WATSON, Lauren lf........  3  1  1  3   0  0  0  1   0
FALLOWFIELD, Cynthia dh..  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   1
PRINGLE, Kari 2b.........  3  0  0  1   0  0  3  2   0
LAYNS, Arron c...........  3  0  0  0   0  1  6  2   0
ANDERSEN, Niki p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
Totals................... 24  7  6  7   4  3 21 11   4
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Utah State Aggies... 001 000 0 -  1  8  1
Brigham Young Cougar 000 304 X -  7  6  0
-----------------------------------------
E - Rodriguez, D. DP - USU Aggies 1; BYU Cougars 1. LOB - USU Aggies 7; BYU
Cougars 4. 2B - Rodriguez, D; Vasarhely, S; KEOHOHOU. 3B - WATSON. HBP -
WALKER.
Utah State Aggies      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Ramirez, Xochitl....  5.0  4  7  6  4  2 18 23
Janssen, Lindsay....  1.0  2  0  0  0  1  6  6
Brigham Young Cougar   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ANDERSEN, Niki......  7.0  8  1  1  1  8 28 29
Win - ANDERSEN (5-3).  Loss - Ramirez, X. (1-5).  Save - None.
WP - ANDERSEN. HB - Ramirez, X..
Umpires - Home:MICAH YOBALOWSKI  1st:T.J BREWSTER  3rd:RAY MYBUS
Start: 2:00   Time: 2:06   Attendance:
Game: USU2
Game notes:
game 1 of 2
 Utah State Aggies at Brigham Young Cougar (Game 2)
               Mar 27, 2002 at BYU PROVO UTAH (GAIL MILLER FIELD)
Utah State Aggies 8 (3-25)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Carlson, Amanda c........  5  2  2  1   0  0  6  0   0
Andrews, Marnie rf.......  4  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
Vasarhely, S dh..........  4  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   1
Curtis, Heather ss.......  4  0  2  1   0  0  1  3   2
Foster, Kara 1b..........  4  0  0  0   0  2 11  0   5
Hatch, Candice 3b........  4  0  0  0   0  0  0  7   0
Smith, Casey cf..........  4  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
Johnson, Aimee C. lf.....  4  2  2  1   0  0  1  0   0
Neff, Marcie 2b..........  2  1  1  0   1  0  2  0   0
Hommel, Kristin p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  3   0
Totals................... 35  8 10  5   2  2 21 13   8
Brigham Young Cougar 9 (21-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
VANDERLINDEN, Liz cf.....  4  1  0  0   1  1  3  1   0
WALKER, Kate ss..........  4  1  2  1   0  1  0  2   0
BOYDSTON, Elizabeth 1b...  4  0  0  0   1  0  8  3   1
 ROBERTS, Jill pr........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DODDS, Debbie pr........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
KEOHOHOU, Oli lf.........  2  1  2  0   3  0  0  0   0
CADIENTE, Brooke rf......  5  1  0  2   0  0  3  0   3
WATSON, Lauren c.........  3  1  1  0   1  0  3  0   0
FALLOWFIELD, Cynthia p/dh  4  0  2  0   0  1  0  2   0
PRINGLE, Kari 2b.........  2  0  2  2   2  0  7  2   0
 JONES, Milli pr.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
JOHNSON, Megan 3b........  4  1  0  1   0  1  0  0   7
CAPRA, Ariel dh/p........  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  2   0
Totals................... 32  9  9  6   8  4 24 12  12
Score by Innings                   R  H  E
------------------------------------------
Utah State Aggies... 001 500 11 -  8 10  3
Brigham Young Cougar 001 303 02 -  9  9  5
------------------------------------------
Note: None out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.
E - Foster, K.; Hatch, C. 2; WALKER 2; FALLOWFIELD; PRINGLE; CAPRA. LOB -
USU Aggies 8; BYU Cougars 12. 2B - Carlson, A.; Smith, C.; WATSON; PRINGLE.
HR - WALKER. SH - Vasarhely, S; Neff, M.; WALKER. SB - Vasarhely, S 2;
VANDERLINDEN; KEOHOHOU; JOHNSON M. 2.
Utah State Aggies      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Hommel, Kristin.....  7.0  9  9  6  8  4 32 41
Brigham Young Cougar   IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
FALLOWFIELD, Cynthia  4.2  6  6  1  2  0 22 25
CAPRA, Ariel........  3.1  4  2  1  0  2 13 14
Win - CAPRA (7-2).  Loss - Hommel, K. (1-9).  Save - None.
Umpires - Home:T.J. BREWSTER  1st:RAY MYBUS  3rd:MICAH YOBALOWSKI
Start: 4:42   Time: 3H02M   Attendance: 394
Game: USU3
Game notes:
GAME 2 OF 2
BYU WINS GAME 1 7-1
BYU WINS GAME 2 9-8
Hommel, K. faced 2 batters in the 8th.