Pitchers Toss Extra-Inning No Hitter

FRESNO -- Jessica Purcell hit a line-drive triple with two runners to give the BYU softball team a 2-0 win over Fresno State, as the BYU pitching staff combined in a 10-inning no-hitter against NO. 21 Fresno State. With the win the Cougars increase to 11-10 on the season.

Junior Christie Zinanti (5-5, 1.72) got the start for the Cougars but received no decision as sophomore Paige Affleck (6-5, 1.73) finished the game. Zinanti tossed four innings, recording seven strikeouts and Affleck worked the corners of the plate, striking out eight Fresno State batters in six complete innings.

Purcell, a sophomore from Walnut, Calif., was a home run shy of the cycle, as she went 3-for-5 on the night. Purcell’s cousin, junior Angeline Quiocho, recorded BYU’s only other hit of the night. The Cougars struggled against Bulldog pitcher Morgan Melloh, who struck out 14 batters on the night.

The battle between the pitchers became evident in the first inning. Melloh retired the side in order, as Zinanti worked her way out a jam after walking two batters.

Purcell led off the second inning with a well-hit double to the right field gap. After junior Andrea Ramirez walked the Fresno State catcher caught Purcell between second and third. With Ramirez on base, both sophomore Caschjen Davis and junior Amanda Vance struck out ending the scoring opportunity.

Melloh continued to fool BYU batters with back-to-back strikeouts to lead off the top of the third. Senior lefty Monica Gonzales managed to jump on base when her speed beat out a fielding error.

Freshman Tiffany Messerschmidt’s and Quiocho’s patience at the plate paid off as they were both awarded a base on balls to juice the bases for Purcell. She managed to make contact, but lined out to third base to retire the side.

Purcell led off the sixth with a single to left field. Ramirez laid a sacrifice bunt down the first base line to advance Purcell to second. With Purcell in scoring position, the Cougars were unable to capitalize and left her stranded after a strike out and a ground out.

With the game scoreless heading into the seventh inning, junior Whitney Nix-Thomas pinch ran for freshman Coreen Lopez after she walked. Freshman Krista Hicks struck out on a botched sacrifice bunt to record the first out. Gonzales walked to put two runners on before Messerschmidt reached on a fielder’s choice that stopped the lead runner from advancing to third.

Quiocho rocketed a hit between shortstop and third base, and Monica Gonzales looked to grab an extra base as she headed toward home. She was called out at home as the catcher blocked the plate on the throw from the leftfielder.

After recording back-to-back outs in the bottom half of the inning, Affleck walked Haley Perkins, who collided with Hicks as she stole second base.

Despite, giving Fresno State a runner in scoring position Affleck fooled Haley Gilleland with her off-speed finesse to record the strikeout and force extra innings.

Even with the international tie-breaker placing a base runner on second base and the heart of the BYU lineup batting, the Cougars were unable to bring in Quiocho as Melloh recorded a 1-2-3 inning.

In the bottom half of the eighth, a sacrifice bunt put the runner on third, leaving Fresno State one bag away from the win, without recording a hit. BYU’s defense came up big to protect Affleck as the lead runner was tagged out on a ground-ball double play to end the inning.

Vance executed the sacrifice bunt to put the given baserunner, Davis, on third base at the top of the ninth. Lopez reached first on an error that kept Davis at third. Yet, Melloh kept the Cougars at bay by striking out both Hicks and Gonzales to end the Cougar at-bat.

Affleck continued to dominate over Fresno State, retiring the side in consecutive order to give BYU another shot at bringing in a run. Messerschmidt led off the 10th with a walk, and she and the lead runner advanced a base as Quiocho hit a sacrifice bunt down the first base line.

With two runners in scoring position, Purcell came up big with a two-RBI triple to score the only runs of the night. Melloh answered with back-to-back strikeouts, ending the top of the inning with a 2-0 BYU lead.

Three outs stood between BYU and a victory. Affleck forced a ground out and struck out a batter before a hit batsman and a walk juiced the bases. The righthander kept her composure, despite Gilleland’s long foul balls, and managed to end the inning on a called third strike.

BYU continues play at the Bayer Cropscience Classic with two games on Saturday. The Cougars face Providence at noon (PST) before finishing the day against Northern Illinois at 5 p.m. (PST). Livestats for both games are available at www.byucougars.com.

Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                    Brigham Young Univ. at #21 Fresno State
                Mar 05, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Brigham Young Univ. 2 (11-10)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
GONZALES, Monica cf......  4  1  0  0   1  1  0  0   2
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa lf..  3  1  0  0   2  2  0  0   0
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  3  0  1  0   1  0  0  2   1
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  5  0  3  2   0  0 17  1   3
 WILLARD, Delaney pr.....  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  0  0  0   1  2  9  3   0
DAVIS, Caschjen rf.......  4  0  0  0   1  3  0  0   2
VANCE, Amanda dp.........  3  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   2
LOPEZ, Coreen 2b.........  3  0  0  0   1  2  2  4   1
 NIX-THOMAS, Whitney pr..  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
HICKS, Krista ss.........  4  0  0  0   0  3  2  2   0
ZINANTI, Christie p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 AFFLECK, Paige p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 32  2  4  2   7 14 30 12  13
Fresno State 0 (8-7)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Perkins, H 2b............  2  0  0  0   2  1  5  1   0
Gilleland, H ss..........  2  0  0  0   2  1  3  0   1
Stiglich, C c............  4  0  0  0   0  2 14  2   4
Moses, M 1b..............  3  0  0  0   1  2  6  2   1
Petersen, R dp...........  3  0  0  0   1  0  0  0   2
 Pollard, K pr...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Angene, N 3b.............  2  0  0  0   2  1  1  4   0
Coronado, L rf...........  4  0  0  0   0  3  1  0   2
Melloh, M p..............  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  2   1
 Lujan, A ph.............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Perkins, M lf............  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   1
 Badorine, J ph..........  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  1   0
Phipps, B cf.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 27  0  0  0   8 15 30 12  12
Score by Innings                      R  H  E
---------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 000 2 -  2  4  0
Fresno State........ 000 000 000 0 -  0  0  3
---------------------------------------------
E - Gilleland, H; Moses, M; Angene, N. DP - BYU 1. LOB - BYU 13; FRESNO 12.
2B - PURCELL. 3B - PURCELL. HBP - Perkins, H; Badorine, J. SH - QUIOCHO;
RAMIREZ; VANCE; Gilleland, H; Stiglich, C. SB - GONZALES; Perkins, H. CS -
PURCELL.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie...  4.0  0  0  0  5  7 12 17
AFFLECK, Paige......  6.0  0  0  0  3  8 15 22
Fresno State           IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Melloh, M........... 10.0  4  2  1  7 14 32 42
Win - AFFLECK (6-5).  Loss - Melloh, M (5-5).  Save - None.
WP - ZINANTI. HBP - by AFFLECK (Badorine, J); by AFFLECK (Perkins, H).
Umpires - HP: Tanya Garig  1B: Matt Jacks  3B: Fred Barker
Start: 7:05 pm   Time: 2:42   Attendance: 1022
Weather: Clear and Cold
Game: FSU
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
             Brigham Young Univ. at #21 Fresno State - Play-by-Play
                Mar 05, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Score by Innings                      R  H  E
---------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 000 000 000 2 -  2  4  0
Fresno State........ 000 000 000 0 -  0  0  3
---------------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 24/cf GONZALES; 20/lf MESSERSCHMID; 33/3b
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 9/rf DAVIS; 6/dp VANCE; 7/2b LOPEZ; 22/ss
HICKS; 14/p ZINANTI;
Fresno State starters: 7/2b Perkins, H; 11/ss Gilleland, H; 3/c Stiglich, C;
25/1b Moses, M; 40/dp Petersen, R; 14/3b Angene, N; 18/rf Coronado, L; 21/p
Melloh, M; 13/lf Perkins, M; 8/cf Phipps, B;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - GONZALES grounded out to 3b. MESSERSCHMID
struck out swinging. QUIOCHO grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Fresno State 1st - Perkins, H walked. Gilleland, H reached on a
fielder's choice; Perkins, H out at second 2b to 1b to ss. Gilleland, H
advanced to second on a wild pitch. Stiglich, C struck out looking. Moses, M
walked. Petersen, R fouled out to c. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - PURCELL doubled to right field. RAMIREZ
walked. PURCELL out at second c to ss, caught stealing. DAVIS struck out
swinging. VANCE struck out swinging. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Fresno State 2nd - Angene, N walked. Coronado, L struck out swinging.
Melloh, M struck out swinging. Perkins, M struck out looking. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - LOPEZ struck out looking. HICKS struck out
swinging. GONZALES reached on an error by 1b. MESSERSCHMID walked; GONZALES
advanced to second. QUIOCHO walked; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second; GONZALES
advanced to third. PURCELL lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 3
LOB.
Fresno State 3rd - Perkins, H grounded out to ss. Gilleland, H walked.
Stiglich, C grounded out to 2b; Gilleland, H advanced to second. Moses, M
struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - RAMIREZ struck out swinging, out at first c to
1b. DAVIS walked. VANCE fouled out to 2b. LOPEZ struck out swinging. 0 runs,
0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Fresno State 4th - Petersen, R grounded out to 3b. Angene, N walked.
Coronado, L struck out swinging. Melloh, M struck out looking. 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - HICKS lined out to ss. GONZALES reached on an
error by ss. GONZALES stole second. MESSERSCHMID struck out swinging. QUIOCHO
grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Fresno State 5th - AFFLECK to p for ZINANTI. Badorine, J pinch hit for
Perkins, M. Badorine, J hit by pitch. Perkins, H struck out swinging.
Gilleland, H out at first c to 2b, SAC, bunt; Badorine, J advanced to second.
Stiglich, C lined out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - Badorine, J to lf. PURCELL singled to left
field. RAMIREZ out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; PURCELL advanced to second.
DAVIS struck out looking. VANCE grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.
Fresno State 6th - Moses, M struck out looking. Petersen, R walked.
Angene, N grounded out to 1b unassisted; Petersen, R advanced to second.
Pollard, K pinch ran for Petersen, R. Coronado, L struck out swinging. 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - LOPEZ walked. NIX-THOMAS pinch ran for LOPEZ.
HICKS struck out swinging. GONZALES walked; NIX-THOMAS advanced to second.
MESSERSCHMID reached on a fielder's choice; GONZALES advanced to second;
NIX-THOMAS out at second 3b to ss. QUIOCHO singled; MESSERSCHMID advanced to
second; GONZALES advanced to third, out at home lf to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 2 LOB.
Fresno State 7th - LOPEZ to 2b for NIX-THOMAS. Melloh, M grounded out to
2b. Badorine, J struck out swinging. Perkins, H walked. Perkins, H stole
second. Gilleland, H struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 8th - QUIOCHO placed on second. PURCELL fouled out
to 2b. RAMIREZ flied out to rf. DAVIS grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Fresno State 8th - Gilleland, H placed on second. Petersen, R to dp for
Pollard, K. Stiglich, C out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Gilleland, H advanced
to third. Moses, M hit into double play 2b to 1b to c; Gilleland, H out on the
play. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 9th - DAVIS placed on second. VANCE out at first p
to 2b, SAC, bunt; DAVIS advanced to third. LOPEZ reached on an error by 3b.
HICKS struck out swinging. GONZALES struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1
error, 2 LOB.
Fresno State 9th - Moses, M placed on second. Petersen, R grounded out
to 3b. Angene, N struck out swinging. Coronado, L grounded out to 1b
unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 10th - GONZALES placed on second. MESSERSCHMID
walked. QUIOCHO out at first 1b to 2b, SAC, bunt; MESSERSCHMID advanced to
second; GONZALES advanced to third. PURCELL tripled down the rf line, 2 RBI;
MESSERSCHMID scored; GONZALES scored, unearned. WILLARD pinch ran for PURCELL.
RAMIREZ struck out swinging. DAVIS struck out swinging. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Fresno State 10th - PURCELL to c for WILLARD. Lujan, A pinch hit for
Melloh, M. Coronado, L placed on second. Lujan, A grounded out to ss. Badorine,
J struck out looking. Perkins, H hit by pitch. Gilleland, H walked; Perkins, H
advanced to second; Coronado, L advanced to third. Stiglich, C struck out
looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.