Six Home Runs Equal Two BYU Wins

LAS -- The BYU softball team (8-2) came away from Las Vegas rolling after beating Cal Poly (4-2) 7-1 and Illinois (5-3) 11-9 in its final day of the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. Saturday's victories give the Cougars a three-game winning streak heading into the Palm Springs Classic on Thursday.

"We got a little tired in the last game, and that caused some defensive miscues that let Illinois back in the game," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "But it does feel good to finish the tournament on a three-game winning streak and come home 8-2."

In the early game, BYU rediscovered the offense that propelled it to five straight victories in St. George, Utah last week. Dani Urincho and Stephanie Platt both hit solo home runs in the second inning, which erased an early 1-0 deficit. With Cortney Nix-Clark and Tracee Hoch on base, Emi Snow hit one out of the park giving BYU a 5-1 lead heading into the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fourth, it was Nix-Clark's turn to go deep. The senior who went 2-for-2 against the Mustangs homered to center field, driving in Jennifer Whiteley for the 7-1 final. Christie Zinanti bounced back from Friday's loss to Cal State Northridge by allowing just one earned run in a complete game. The freshman also struck out four on the day.

Illinois struck first in the afternoon game with a two-run homer by Makenzie Smith in the bottom of the second inning. Christina Gwyn responded to the blast by striking out the next two batters.

The Cougars got on the board in the third inning when a Jodi Norton single sent Tracee Hoch to third base. A throwing error by Illinois catcher Brittany Koester allowed Hoch to go all the way for the score. That set the stage for Snow to send her second multi-run homer of the day into orbit, and just like that BYU was ahead 3-2.

Illini pitcher Vicky Brown hit the next batter, Urincho, and Angeline Quiocho followed that play with the Cougars' second two-run shot of the inning. Illinois got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third, however. With runners at first and third and two outs, Kisten Martin doubled to left center bringing in Hope Howell.

The score remained at 5-3 until the fifth inning when Whiteley doubled to right center, scoring Quiocho and advancing Andi Ramirez to third. A fielding error by pitcher Ashley Wright on the next play sent Ramirez home. After Ramirez drove in Jana Anderson in the top of the sixth, Whiteley hit a single to center field scoring Ramirez and Quiocho.

Illinois clawed its way back into the game in the bottom of the sixth when Gwyn loaded up the bases with three straight walks. Molly Lawhead hit a sacrifice fly that scored Howell and Sarah Bryers, and Lawhead also reached because of a fielding error on Whiteley. Eakin replaced Gwyn with Zinanti who swiftly surrendered a three-run homer to Angelena Mexicano, cutting the BYU lead to 10-8. Three batters later, Smith went yard to right center for her second long ball of the game. Zinanti stopped Illinois' run just in time by striking out Bryers for the final out of the inning.

Nix-Clark's lead-off home run in the top of the seventh capped the scoring for the day. Gwyn, who has been battling the flu, struck out six in her fifth victory of the season.

BYU stays on the road, this time traveling to California for the Palm Springs Classic. The Cougars face Loyola Marymount on Thurs., Feb. 22 at 5:30 PST and then take on Virginia the same day at 8 p.m. PST.

Cal Poly vs Brigham Young
                        Feb 17, 2007 at Las Vegas, Nev.
Cal Poly 1 (4-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Modglin cf...............  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   2
Lee 3b...................  4  0  1  0   0  0  0  4   3
Iwata dh.................  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Cary rf..................  2  0  0  0   1  0  1  0   1
Brooks 1b................  2  0  0  0   1  1 10  1   0
 Rogers pr...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Pura ss..................  3  1  2  1   0  1  1  2   0
Gehrke-Jones c...........  3  0  2  0   0  1  4  1   0
Tam 2b...................  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  2   1
Comstock lf..............  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Maiden p.................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 Pena p..................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 26  1  6  1   2  4 18 12   7
Brigham Young 7 (7-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NIX-CLARK, Cortney c.....  2  2  2  2   2  0  4  0   0
HOCH, Tracee 2b..........  4  1  1  0   0  1  3  0   0
NORTON, Jodi ss..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  3  2   0
SNOW, Emi rf.............  3  1  2  3   0  0  0  0   1
URINCHO, Daniela 1b......  3  1  2  1   0  1  7  0   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  3  0  1  0   0  0  2  4   0
PLATT, Stephanie lf......  2  1  1  1   0  0  1  0   1
 RAMIREZ, Andrea ph......  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
WHITELEY, Jennifer dh....  2  1  0  0   1  0  0  0   2
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
ZINANTI, Christie p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 26  7  9  7   3  5 21  7   4
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Cal Poly............ 010 000 0 -  1  6  0
Brigham Young....... 023 200 X -  7  9  1
-----------------------------------------
E - NORTON. DP - Cal Poly 1; BYU 1. LOB - Cal Poly 7; BYU 4. 2B - Pura;
SNOW; URINCHO; QUIOCHO. HR - Pura(4); NIX-CLARK; SNOW; URINCHO; PLATT. HBP -
Modglin. SB - NIX-CLARK.
Cal Poly               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Maiden..............  2.1  4  5  5  2  3 11 13
Pena................  3.2  5  2  2  1  2 15 16
Brigham Young          IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie...  7.0  6  1  1  2  4 26 29
Win - ZINANTI (3-1).  Loss - Maiden (2-2).  Save - None.
WP - ZINANTI. HBP - by ZINANTI (Modglin).
Umpires - HP: Wynn Garrett  3B: Bob Marcellus
Start: 9 a.m.   Time: 1:55   Attendance: 100
Game: CPSB07
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                    Cal Poly vs Brigham Young - Play-by-Play
                        Feb 17, 2007 at Las Vegas, Nev.
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Cal Poly............ 010 000 0 -  1  6  0
Brigham Young....... 023 200 X -  7  9  1
-----------------------------------------
Cal Poly starters: 22/cf Modglin; 23/3b Lee; 6/dh Iwata; 33/rf Cary; 19/1b Brooks;
10/ss Pura; 14/c Gehrke-Jones; 11/2b Tam; 9/lf Comstock; 16/p Maiden;
Brigham Young starters: 10/c NIX-CLARK; 4/2b HOCH; 8/ss NORTON; 18/rf SNOW; 22/1b
URINCHO; 33/3b QUIOCHO; 5/lf PLATT; 3/dh WHITELEY; 24/cf GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;
Cal Poly 1st - Modglin popped up to 2b. Lee singled. Iwata struck out
looking. Cary grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 1st - NIX-CLARK walked. HOCH struck out swinging. NORTON struck
out looking. NIX-CLARK stole second. SNOW grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Cal Poly 2nd - Brooks struck out looking. Pura homered to right center, RBI.
Gehrke-Jones singled through the left side. Tam flied out to cf. Comstock singled to
shortstop; Gehrke-Jones advanced to second, advanced to third on an error by ss.
Modglin hit by pitch; Comstock advanced to second. Lee reached on a fielder's
choice; Modglin advanced to second; Comstock out at third 3b unassisted. 1 run, 3
hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young 2nd - URINCHO homered to right center, RBI. QUIOCHO grounded
out to 3b. PLATT homered to left center, RBI. WHITELEY grounded out to 2b. GONZALES
grounded out to p. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Cal Poly 3rd - Iwata grounded out to 3b. Cary walked. Brooks hit into double
play p to ss to 1b; Cary out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 3rd - NIX-CLARK walked. HOCH singled to center field; NIX-CLARK
advanced to second. NORTON struck out swinging. SNOW homered to center field, 3 RBI;
HOCH scored; NIX-CLARK scored. Pena to p for Maiden. URINCHO doubled. QUIOCHO
grounded out to 3b. PLATT flied out to cf. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Cal Poly 4th - Pura doubled to right center. Gehrke-Jones singled to left
field. Tam popped up to 2b. Gehrke-Jones advanced to second on a wild pitch; Pura
advanced to third on a wild pitch. Comstock lined out to 3b. Modglin lined out to
ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young 4th - WHITELEY walked. GONZALES grounded out to 3b; WHITELEY
advanced to second. NIX-CLARK homered to center field, 2 RBI; WHITELEY scored. HOCH
grounded out to p. NORTON grounded out to 3b. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Cal Poly 5th - Lee flied out to lf. Iwata popped up to 1b. Cary popped up to
2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young 5th - SNOW doubled to left field. URINCHO struck out looking.
QUIOCHO doubled to left field; SNOW advanced to third. RAMIREZ pinch hit for PLATT.
RAMIREZ struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. WHITELEY flied out to rf. 0
runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Cal Poly 6th - PLATT to lf for RAMIREZ. Brooks walked. Rogers pinch ran for
Brooks. Pura struck out swinging. Gehrke-Jones struck out swinging. Tam popped up to
ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young 6th - Brooks to 1b for Rogers. GONZALES out at first 1b to 2b.
NIX-CLARK singled to third base. HOCH hit into double play 2b to ss to 1b; NIX-CLARK
out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Cal Poly 7th - Comstock grounded out to 3b. Modglin grounded out to 3b. Lee
grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU vs Illinois
                 Feb 17, 2007 at Henderson,Nev. (SL Craig Park)
BYU 11 (8-2)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Clark, Cortney c.........  3  1  1  1   2  0  9  0   0
Hoch, Tracee 2b..........  5  1  1  0   0  2  1  4   3
Norton, Jodi ss..........  4  1  1  0   1  0  0  2   0
Snow, Emi rf.............  4  1  2  2   1  0  1  0   0
Snow, Dani 1b............  4  1  1  0   0  2  8  0   3
 Anderson, Jana pr.......  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Quicocho, Angeline 3b....  3  3  2  2   1  0  1  1   0
Ramirez, Andrea dp.......  4  2  2  1   0  0  0  0   0
Whiteley, Jennifer lf....  3  0  2  3   0  0  0  0   0
Gonzales, Monica cf......  4  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   3
Gwyn, Christina p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 Zinanti, Christine p....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 34 11 12  9   5  5 21  7   9
Illinois 9 (5-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Diller, Shanna 3b........  3  1  1  0   2  1  1  4   0
Lawhead, Molly 2b........  4  1  0  1   0  0  3  0   2
Mexicano, Angelena ss....  4  1  1  3   1  1  0  1   0
Martin, Kisten 1b........  5  0  1  1   0  0  5  2   0
 Gaitros, Katie pr.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Armstrong, Lana dp.......  4  1  1  0   1  2  0  0   3
Smith, Makenzie lf.......  4  2  3  3   0  0  1  0   3
Brown, Vicky p...........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
 Wright, Ashley p........  1  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   0
 Behrens, Bailey ph......  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   2
 Christopoulo p..........  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
 DeVreese, Claire p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Bryers, Sarah cf.........  2  1  0  0   1  2  1  0   1
 Lisy, Sydney ph.........  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
Howell, Hope rf..........  2  2  1  0   2  0  3  0   0
Koester, Brittany c......  0  0  0  0   0  0  6  0   0
Totals................... 33  9  9  8   7  8 21  7  11
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 005 023 1 - 11 12  4
Illinois............ 021 006 0 -  9  9  4
-----------------------------------------
E - Hoch 2; Norton; Whiteley; Diller(3); Mexicano(4); Wright(2); Koester(1).
LOB - BYU 9; ILL 11. 2B - Hoch; Snow, E; Quicocho; Whiteley; Martin(2);
Armstrong(1); Smith(3); Howell(1). HR - Clark; Snow, E; Quicocho;
Mexicano(3); Smith 2(2). HBP - Snow, D. SH - Whiteley; Lawhead(2). SB -
Quicocho; Ramirez.
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Gwyn, Christina.....  5.0  5  7  5  6  6 22 29
Zinanti, Christine..  2.0  4  2  1  1  2 11 12
Illinois               IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Brown, Vicky........  2.1  4  5  5  3  1 11 15
Wright, Ashley......  2.2  3  2  0  1  1 12 14
Christopoulo........  1.0  5  4  4  0  1  8  8
DeVreese, Claire....  1.0  0  0  0  1  2  3  4
Win - Gwyn (5-1).  Loss - Brown (2-1).  Save - None.
WP - Gwyn 2. HBP - by Brown (Snow, D). PB - Koester(4).
Umpires - HP: Linda Bates  1B: Steve Arnold  3B: Christie Cornwell
Start: 12:00 pm   Time: 3:06   Attendance: 245
Game notes:
ID-491505
Game: livegame
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                         BYU vs Illinois - Play-by-Play
                 Feb 17, 2007 at Henderson,Nev. (SL Craig Park)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 005 023 1 - 11 12  4
Illinois............ 021 006 0 -  9  9  4
-----------------------------------------
BYU starters: 10/c Clark; 4/2b Hoch; 8/ss Norton; 18/rf Snow, E; 22/1b Snow, D;
33/3b Quicocho; 31/dp Ramirez; 3/lf Whiteley; 24/cf Gonzales; 11/p Gwyn;
Illinois starters: 3/3b Diller; 13/2b Lawhead; 9/ss Mexicano; 24/1b Martin;
25/dp Armstrong; 7/lf Smith; 11/p Brown; 22/cf Bryers; 1/rf Howell; 2/c
Koester;
BYU 1st - Clark walked. Hoch grounded out to 1b unassisted; Clark
advanced to second. Norton walked. Snow, E popped up to 3b. Snow, D struck out
swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Illinois 1st - Diller struck out looking. Lawhead grounded out to 2b.
Mexicano grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - Quicocho walked. Ramirez flied out to cf. Quicocho stole
second. Whiteley lined out to rf; Quicocho advanced to third. Gonzales flied
out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Illinois 2nd - Martin grounded out to 1b unassisted. Armstrong doubled
to left center. Smith homered to left field, 2 RBI; Armstrong scored. Brown
struck out swinging. Bryers struck out swinging. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
BYU 3rd - Clark out at first 1b to 2b, bunt. Hoch doubled to left
center. Norton singled to center field, advanced to second on the throw; Hoch
advanced to third, scored on an error by c. Snow, E homered to left center, 2
RBI; Norton scored. Snow, D hit by pitch. Quicocho homered to left center, 2
RBI; Snow, D scored. Wright to p for Brown. Ramirez singled to shortstop.
Whiteley out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Ramirez advanced to second. Gonzales
flied out to lf. 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Illinois 3rd - Howell walked. Diller flied out to rf. Lawhead reached on
a fielder's choice; Howell advanced to second on a throwing error by ss.
Mexicano reached on a fielder's choice; Lawhead out at second ss to 2b; Howell
advanced to third. Martin doubled to left center, RBI; Mexicano advanced to
third; Howell scored, unearned. Gaitros pinch ran for Martin. Armstrong walked.
Smith grounded out to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 3 LOB.
BYU 4th - Martin to 1b for Gaitros. Clark grounded out to ss. Hoch
struck out looking. Norton lined out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Illinois 4th - Lisy pinch hit for Bryers. Wright grounded out to ss.
Lisy struck out swinging. Howell doubled to left field. Howell advanced to
third on a wild pitch. Diller walked. Lawhead grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 5th - Bryers to cf for Lisy. Snow, E grounded out to 3b. Snow, D
lined out to rf. Quicocho doubled to right center. Ramirez reached on a
fielding error by 3b; Quicocho advanced to third. Whiteley doubled to right
center, RBI; Ramirez advanced to third; Quicocho scored, unearned. Gonzales
reached on a fielding error by p; Whiteley advanced to third; Ramirez scored,
unearned. Clark walked; Gonzales advanced to second. Hoch lined out to rf. 2
runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 3 LOB.
Illinois 5th - Mexicano struck out swinging. Martin reached on a
fielding error by 2b. Armstrong struck out swinging. Smith doubled to left
center; Martin advanced to third. Behrens pinch hit for Wright. Behrens
grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - Christopoulo to p for Behrens. Norton grounded out to 3b.
Snow, E doubled down the lf line. Snow, D singled to right field; Snow, E
advanced to third. Anderson pinch ran for Snow, D. Anderson advanced to second
on a passed ball. Quicocho reached on a fielder's choice; Anderson advanced to
third; Snow, E out at home 3b to c. Ramirez singled, RBI; Quicocho advanced to
second, advanced to third on a throwing error by ss; Anderson scored. Ramirez
stole second. Whiteley singled to center field, 2 RBI; Ramirez scored; Quicocho
scored. Gonzales struck out looking. 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Illinois 6th - Bryers walked. Snow, D to 1b for Anderson. Howell walked;
Bryers advanced to second. Howell advanced to second; Bryers advanced to third
on a wild pitch. Diller walked. Lawhead reached on a fielding error by lf, SAC,
RBI, advanced to second; Diller advanced to third; Howell scored; Bryers
scored. Zinanti to p for Gwyn. Mexicano homered to center field, 3 RBI; Lawhead
scored, unearned; Diller scored. Martin popped up to c. Armstrong flied out to
cf. Smith homered to right center, RBI, unearned. Christopoulo singled to
second base. Bryers struck out swinging. 6 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 7th - Clark homered to left center, RBI. DeVreese to p for
Christopoulo. Hoch struck out looking. Norton grounded out to 3b. Snow, E
walked. Snow, D struck out looking. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Illinois 7th - Howell grounded out to 2b. Diller singled to right field.
Lawhead reached on a fielder's choice; Diller advanced to second on an error by
2b. Mexicano walked; Lawhead advanced to second; Diller advanced to third.
Martin fouled out to 3b. Armstrong struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1
error, 3 LOB.