Cougars Come Away From Capital Classic With Momentum

SACRAMENTO -- The BYU softball team (15-11) finished the Capital Classic on a positive note with a 10-1 win over Mercer (5-22) and a 6-5 victory over Santa Clara (6-27).

The Cougars finally found the offense it had been struggling to recapture, scoring more runs against Mercer than it had scored in its last four games combined. BYU scored in every inning against the Bears except the third.

"The two wins today are nice," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "I'm really proud of the way the team hung with it."

Facing a 1-0 deficit in the first inning, senior Jodi Norton's two-run swat in the bottom of the first got the Cougars going, giving them an early 2-1 lead. An RBI-single from Stephanie Platt and a two-RBI double from Cortney Nix-Clark in the second inning put three more on the board for BYU. Platt and Nix-Clark would once again come up big later in the game.

In the fourth inning Platt knocked a two-run homer to right field, driving in sophomore Andi Ramirez to extend the Cougars' lead. Nix-Clark put the game out of reach for good with a two-run blast of her own to left field. Nix-Clark went 2-for-3 and had a game-high four RBI against the Bears.

Winning pitcher Dani Urincho allowed just one hit in five innings of play. On the other side of the plate, Urincho went 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Trailing 5-1 heading into the seventh and final inning against Santa Clara, BYU rallied behind Urincho's and Jennifer Whiteley's clutch hitting to score five runs and take the 6-5 nail-biter. Urincho hit a two-RBI double while Whiteley chipped in a single that scored Jana Anderson in the comeback. Whiteley and Platt scored the game-tying and game-winning runs, respectively, thanks to a throwing error by the Broncos' shortstop.

"The way we won the last game, I think, is a building block to gaining momentum towards the rest of the season," Eakin said. "It showed a lot of heart. That's something that we haven't put together lately, but we're so capable of doing."

BYU travels to Tempe, Arizona for the Diamond Devil Invitational, March 22-24. First up will be host Arizona State on Thursday at 7 p.m. (MST). The game, which will be broadcast through live stats, will start an hour earlier than normal Mountain Standard Time because Arizona does not participate in daylight-saving time.

Mercer vs BYU
           Mar 17, 2007 at Sacramento, Calif. (Sac Softball Complex)
Mercer 1 (5-22)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
OGLESBEE, Holly lf.......  0  1  0  0   2  0  0  0   0
BRETSCHER, Kelley 2b.....  2  0  0  0   0  0  4  1   1
MADRUGA, Jamie 1b........  3  0  1  0   0  0  4  1   1
ANDERSON, Ashley dh......  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
MARTIN, C.J. ss..........  2  0  0  0   0  0  3  0   1
PERSONS, Laura c.........  2  0  0  0   0  2  1  0   0
 TALAMANTES, Kristin c...  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
CONDRA, Stacey 3b........  3  0  1  0   0  0  0  2   3
ELLIS, Jena rf...........  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
CONDRA, Crystal cf.......  1  0  0  0   1  0  2  0   0
BYLAK, Nikki p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ROSSMAN, Stephanie p....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 18  1  2  0   4  3 15  4   6
BYU 10 (14-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf....  2  2  0  0   2  0  1  0   0
NIX-CLARK, Cortney c.....  3  1  2  4   0  0  2  2   0
HOCH, Tracee 2b..........  3  0  0  0   0  0  5  1   1
NORTON, Jodi ss..........  3  1  1  2   0  0  2  2   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  3  1  1  0   0  0  1  2   0
SNOW, Emi cf.............  1  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   0
 JENKINS, Shaylyn cf.....  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
URINCHO, Daniela p/1b....  3  1  2  1   0  0  2  3   1
RAMIREZ, Andrea dh.......  2  2  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
PLATT, Stephanie rf......  3  2  2  3   0  0  1  0   2
GWYN, Christina 1b.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  4  0   0
 ZINANTI, Christie p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 24 10 10 10   4  0 18 10   4
Score by Innings                R  H  E
---------------------------------------
Mercer.............. 100 000 -  1  2  0
BYU................. 230 212 - 10 10  2
---------------------------------------
E - HOCH; NORTON. DP - Cougars 1. LOB - Bears 6; Cougars 4. 2B - NIX-CLARK;
QUIOCHO. HR - NIX-CLARK; NORTON; PLATT. HBP - BRETSCHER, K. SH - OGLESBEE,
H.; MARTIN, C.; NIX-CLARK. CS - CONDRA, S..
Mercer                 IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
BYLAK, Nikki........  3.0  6  7  7  3  0 14 18
ROSSMAN, Stephanie..  2.0  4  3  3  1  0 10 11
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
URINCHO, Daniela....  5.0  1  1  1  3  3 14 20
ZINANTI, Christie...  1.0  1  0  0  1  0  4  5
Win - URINCHO (3-1).  Loss - BYLAK, N. (1-6).  Save - None.
WP - URINCHO. HBP - by URINCHO (BRETSCHER, K).
Umpires - HP: C. Aguillio  1B: F. Moreno  3B: J. Diaz
Start: 3:01 pm   Time: 1:42   Attendance:
BYLAK, N. faced 2 batters in the 4th.
ROSSMAN, S. faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Game: MERBYU
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings                R  H  E
---------------------------------------
Mercer.............. 100 000 -  1  2  0
BYU................. 230 212 - 10 10  2
---------------------------------------
Mercer starters: 10/lf OGLESBEE, H.; 12/2b BRETSCHER, K; 15/1b MADRUGA, J.; 7/dh
ANDERSON, A.; 13/ss MARTIN, C.; 11/c PERSONS, L.; 5/3b CONDRA, S.; 24/rf ELLIS, J.;
2/cf CONDRA, C.; 20/p BYLAK, N.;
BYU starters: 3/lf WHITELEY; 10/c NIX-CLARK; 4/2b HOCH; 8/ss NORTON; 33/3b QUIOCHO;
18/cf SNOW; 22/p URINCHO; 31/dh RAMIREZ; 5/rf PLATT; 11/1b GWYN;
Mercer 1st - OGLESBEE, H. walked. BRETSCHER, K hit by pitch; OGLESBEE, H.
advanced to second. MADRUGA, J. popped up to p. ANDERSON, A. grounded out to p;
BRETSCHER, K advanced to second; OGLESBEE, H. advanced to third. BRETSCHER, K
advanced to third; OGLESBEE, H. scored on a wild pitch. MARTIN, C. grounded out to
ss. 1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 1st - WHITELEY walked. NIX-CLARK out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt;
WHITELEY advanced to third. HOCH popped up to 2b. NORTON homered to left field, 2
RBI; WHITELEY scored. QUIOCHO flied out to cf. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Mercer 2nd - PERSONS, L. struck out. CONDRA, S. singled to right field.
ELLIS, J. struck out. CONDRA, S. out at second c to 2b, caught stealing. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 2nd - SNOW grounded out to 3b. URINCHO singled to shortstop. RAMIREZ
singled to right center; URINCHO advanced to third. PLATT singled, bunt, RBI;
RAMIREZ advanced to second; URINCHO scored. WHITELEY grounded out to 1b unassisted;
PLATT advanced to second; RAMIREZ advanced to third. NIX-CLARK doubled to right
center, 2 RBI; PLATT scored; RAMIREZ scored. HOCH lined out to ss. 3 runs, 4
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Mercer 3rd - CONDRA, C. reached on a fielding error by ss. OGLESBEE, H. out
at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; CONDRA, C. advanced to second. BRETSCHER, K reached on
a fielder's choice; CONDRA, C. out at third p to 3b. MADRUGA, J. reached on a
fielder's choice; BRETSCHER, K out at second ss to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
BYU 3rd - NORTON flied out to cf. QUIOCHO popped up to 1b. SNOW walked.
URINCHO popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Mercer 4th - ANDERSON, A. reached on a fielding error by 2b. MARTIN, C. out
at first p to 2b, SAC, bunt; ANDERSON, A. advanced to second. PERSONS, L. struck
out, out at first c to 1b. CONDRA, S. flied out to rf to right center. 0 runs, 0
hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - RAMIREZ walked. PLATT homered to right field, 2 RBI; RAMIREZ
scored. ROSSMAN, S. to p for BYLAK, N.. WHITELEY fouled out to c, bunt. NIX-CLARK
popped up to ss. HOCH out at first 1b to 2b. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Mercer 5th - JENKINS to cf for SNOW. ELLIS, J. fouled out to lf. CONDRA, C.
walked. OGLESBEE, H. walked; CONDRA, C. advanced to second. BRETSCHER, K grounded
into double play 2b to 1b; OGLESBEE, H. out on the play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 5th - TALAMANTES,K to c for PERSONS, L.. NORTON flied out to rf. QUIOCHO
doubled down the lf line. JENKINS singled up the middle; QUIOCHO advanced to third.
URINCHO singled to left field, RBI; JENKINS advanced to second; QUIOCHO scored.
RAMIREZ reached on a fielder's choice; URINCHO out at second 2b to ss; JENKINS
advanced to third. PLATT grounded out to 1b unassisted. 1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors,
2 LOB.
Mercer 6th - URINCHO to 1b. ZINANTI to p for GWYN. MADRUGA, J. singled to
right field. ANDERSON, A. popped up to ss. MARTIN, C. grounded out to 3b; MADRUGA,
J. advanced to second. TALAMANTES,K walked. CONDRA, S. lined out to ss. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 6th - WHITELEY walked. NIX-CLARK homered to left field, 2 RBI; WHITELEY
scored. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
                       BYU vs Santa Clara
           Mar 17, 2007 at Sacramento, Calif. (Sac Softball Complex)
BYU 6 (15-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
NIX-CLARK, Cortney c.....  4  0  0  0   0  1  8  2   2
WHITELEY, Jennifer lf/cf.  4  1  1  1   0  0  1  0   0
HOCH, Tracee 2b..........  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  3   0
NORTON, Jodi ss..........  4  0  1  0   0  1  2  3   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  4  1  1  1   0  1  1  0   3
SNOW, Emi cf/lf..........  1  1  1  0   2  0  0  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea dh.......  3  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   0
URINCHO, Daniela 1b......  3  0  1  2   0  1  6  0   0
 ANDERSON, Jana pr.......  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
PLATT, Stephanie rf......  2  1  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
 JENKINS, Shaylyn ph.....  1  0  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
GWYN, Christina p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 ZINANTI, Christie p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 29  6  8  4   2  7 21  9   5
Santa Clara 5 (6-27)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
KALAMAHA, Alyc ss........  2  1  1  2   1  1  2  3   0
KAMADA, Nori lf..........  4  0  0  1   0  1  1  0   0
KABANUCK, Angela cf......  4  1  1  2   0  0  0  0   2
BLIER, Ashley 3b.........  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  1   0
NETTO, Breann 1b.........  3  0  1  0   0  1  9  0   2
 PASSAFUIME, Lauren pr...  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
CHAVEZ, Meghan 2b........  2  1  0  0   1  0  2  3   0
GODFREY, Maggie dh.......  2  1  0  0   1  1  0  0   1
GROVE, Ashley c..........  2  1  1  0   0  0  7  1   0
 PICARD, Nicole ph.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
SANFORD, Britney rf......  2  0  1  0   0  1  0  0   0
MORALES, Jackie p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 CASTAGNO, Jerrica p.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 24  5  6  5   4  5 21  9   5
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 010 000 5 -  6  8  1
Santa Clara......... 020 300 0 -  5  6  1
-----------------------------------------
E - SNOW; KALAMAHA, A.. DP - Cougars 1; Broncos 1. LOB - Cougars 5; Broncos
5. 2B - URINCHO. HR - QUIOCHO; KABANUCK, A.. HBP - HOCH. SH - KALAMAHA, A.;
PICARD, N.; SANFORD, B.. CS - SANFORD, B..
BYU                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
GWYN, Christina.....  4.0  6  5  5  4  3 16 23
ZINANTI, Christie...  3.0  0  0  0  0  2  8  8
Santa Clara            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
MORALES, Jackie.....  6.0  6  4  4  2  5 23 26
CASTAGNO, Jerrica...  1.0  2  2  0  0  2  6  6
Win - ZINANTI (4-5).  Loss - CASTAGNO, J. (2-9).  Save - None.
HBP - by MORALES, J. (HOCH).
Umpires - HP: F. Moreno  1B: J. Diaz  3B: C. Aguillio
Start: 5:30 pm   Time: 2:07   Attendance: 873
GWYN faced 1 batter in the 5th.
MORALES, J. faced 3 batters in the 7th.
Game: BYUSCU
Play-by-Play
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
BYU................. 010 000 5 -  6  8  1
Santa Clara......... 020 300 0 -  5  6  1
-----------------------------------------
BYU starters: 10/c NIX-CLARK; 3/lf WHITELEY; 4/2b HOCH; 8/ss NORTON; 33/3b QUIOCHO;
18/cf SNOW; 31/dh RAMIREZ; 22/1b URINCHO; 5/rf PLATT; 11/p GWYN;
Santa Clara starters: 11/ss KALAMAHA, A.; 2/lf KAMADA, N.; 7/cf KABANUCK, A.; 10/3b
BLIER, A.; 1/1b NETTO, B.; 20/2b CHAVEZ, M.; 14/dh GODFREY, M.; 23/c GROVE, A.; 3/rf
SANFORD, B.; 22/p MORALES, J.;
BYU 1st - NIX-CLARK struck out. WHITELEY out at first p to 2b, bunt. HOCH
struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Santa Clara 1st - KALAMAHA, A. singled up the middle. KAMADA, N. struck out
looking. KABANUCK, A. fouled out to lf; KALAMAHA, A. advanced to second. BLIER, A.
walked. NETTO, B. struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 2nd - NORTON lined out to 2b. QUIOCHO homered to left field, RBI. SNOW
walked. RAMIREZ grounded into double play ss to 1b; SNOW out on the play. 1 run,
1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Santa Clara 2nd - CHAVEZ, M. walked. GODFREY, M. walked; CHAVEZ, M. advanced
to second. PICARD, N. pinch hit for GROVE, A.. PICARD, N. out at first p to 2b, SAC,
bunt; GODFREY, M. advanced to second; CHAVEZ, M. advanced to third. SANFORD, B.
reached on a fielder's choice, SAC, bunt. KALAMAHA, A. walked, RBI; SANFORD, B.
advanced to second; GODFREY, M. advanced to third; CHAVEZ, M. scored. KAMADA, N.
grounded out to 2b, RBI; KALAMAHA, A. advanced to second; SANFORD, B. advanced to
third; GODFREY, M. scored. KABANUCK, A. fouled out to c. 2 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
BYU 3rd - GROVE, A. to c for PICARD, N.. URINCHO grounded out to 2b. PLATT
grounded out to 1b unassisted. NIX-CLARK grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.
Santa Clara 3rd - BLIER, A. singled to center field. NETTO, B. grounded out
to 1b unassisted; BLIER, A. advanced to second. CHAVEZ, M. flied out to rf. GODFREY,
M. struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
BYU 4th - WHITELEY grounded out to 2b. HOCH flied out to lf. NORTON singled
up the middle. QUIOCHO grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Santa Clara 4th - GROVE, A. singled to right center, advanced to third on a
throwing error by cf. WHITELEY to cf. SNOW to lf. SANFORD, B. singled to pitcher.
KALAMAHA, A. reached on a fielder's choice, SAC, bunt, RBI; SANFORD, B. advanced to
third; GROVE, A. scored. KALAMAHA, A. advanced to second; SANFORD, B. out at home c
to ss to c, caught stealing. KAMADA, N. grounded out to ss; KALAMAHA, A. advanced to
third. KABANUCK, A. homered to left center, 2 RBI; KALAMAHA, A. scored. BLIER, A.
lined out to ss. 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
BYU 5th - SNOW singled to right field. RAMIREZ singled to left center,
advanced to second on the throw; SNOW advanced to third. URINCHO struck out. PLATT
struck out. NIX-CLARK grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Santa Clara 5th - NETTO, B. singled through the right side. ZINANTI to p for
GWYN. PASSAFUIME L pinch ran for NETTO, B.. CHAVEZ, M. grounded out to 2b;
PASSAFUIME L advanced to second. GODFREY, M. popped into double play c to ss;
PASSAFUIME L out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 6th - NETTO, B. to 1b for PASSAFUIME L. WHITELEY grounded out to c
unassisted. HOCH hit by pitch. NORTON struck out looking. QUIOCHO popped up to ss.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Santa Clara 6th - GROVE, A. grounded out to ss. SANFORD, B. struck out
looking. KALAMAHA, A. struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
BYU 7th - SNOW walked. RAMIREZ singled to right field; SNOW advanced to
second. URINCHO doubled to right field, 2 RBI; RAMIREZ scored; SNOW scored.
CASTAGNO, J. to p for MORALES, J.. ANDERSON pinch ran for URINCHO. JENKINS pinch hit
for PLATT. JENKINS singled to center field; ANDERSON advanced to third. PLATT to rf
for JENKINS. NIX-CLARK grounded out to ss; PLATT advanced to second. WHITELEY
singled to shortstop, RBI; ANDERSON scored. HOCH struck out. NORTON reached on a
throwing error by ss, advanced to second; WHITELEY scored, unearned; PLATT scored,
unearned. QUIOCHO struck out, out at first c to 1b. 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
Santa Clara 7th - URINCHO to 1b for ANDERSON. KAMADA, N. fouled out to 3b.
KABANUCK, A. grounded out to 2b. BLIER, A. popped up to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 0 LOB.