No. 9 Cal Comes Back to Overthrow Cougars

FRESNO -- The BYU softball team fell at the hands of No. 9 Cal, 4-2, after leading through four innings of play at the Bayer Cropscience Classic. Earlier in the day the Cougars defeated Northern Illinois 10-1, leaving BYU 14-1 on the season.

The Cougar offense generated six hits to Cal’s five, but left six batters stranded on base. Both sophomore Jessica Purcell and junior Andrea Ramirez had an RBI to their names. Purcell led the team going 2-for-3 with a double.

Ramirez brought in the first run of the game in the top of the first inning and the Cougars extended their lead in the third inning when Purcell doubled to center field to bring in freshman Tiffany Messerschmidt.

Junior pitcher Christie Zinanti, who started the game for BYU, worked into a jam in the bottom half of the frame. After a batter reached on an error Zinanti walked two batters to load the bases, but she struck out two to end the scoring threat.

A solo homer to right field got Cal on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but a big fifth inning surrendered the lead. Zinanti gave up two hits and a walk to juice the bases, giving way to a bases-clearing single.

The Cougars were unable to generate a hit in the top of the sixth. Freshman Delaney Willard led off the seventh with a double, giving BYU its last hope at coming back. Despite having a runner in scoring position, Cal managed to retired the side without giving up a hit to end the game.

Zinanti (6-6, 1.86) received the loss on the game after allowing four runs off of five hits in 4.1 innings. Sophomore Paige Affleck finished the game, tossing 1.2 perfect innings.

Earlier in the day Affleck (8-5, 1.53) started the game against Northern Illinois, striking out nine Northern Illinois batters, giving up one run on two hits.

The Cougar freshman led the team from the batters box. Willard was 2-for-2 with 3 RBI, Coreen Lopez was also 2-for-2 with two double and Krista Hicks added a double.

Ramirez added to the effort with a three-run homer, as did Jessica Purcell with a two-shot long ball.

The Cougars got on the board first with a three-run second inning. Willard hit an RBI single, while Hicks doubled to bring in two runs.

A four-run fourth inning gave the Cougars a 7-0 over Northern Illinois. Purcell homered with junior Angeline Quiocho on base, Lopez doubled to bring in a run and Willard hit another RBI single.

In the top of the fourth Affleck gave up an unearned run when Northern Illinois recorded both of its hits. The Cougars managed to stop one run at the plate when a ground ball up the middle was recovered by Affleck, but it was followed by an RBI single.

Ramirez led the BYU response with a three-RBI home run. Tiffany Messerschmidt walked and Quiocho singled to reach first, before Ramirez blasted her third home run of the season.

With a 10-0 Cougar lead, Northern Illinois was unable to generate any runs in the top of the fifth, allowing BYU to run-rule the Huskies.

The Cougars return to the diamond on March 13, when they head to Tampa, Fla., for a set of four games at the USF Underarmour Showcase.

Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                    Northern Illinois vs Brigham Young Univ.
                Mar 07, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Northern Illinois 1 (2-8)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
SENDEJAS rf..............  3  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   0
BITTNER cf...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 ROBERTS cf..............  2  0  1  0   1  1  4  0   1
COLOSIMO lf..............  2  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
OUELLETTE 1b.............  2  1  0  0   0  0  3  0   1
WILLIAMS dp..............  2  0  0  0   0  1  1  0   0
NORTON c.................  2  0  1  1   0  1  1  0   0
GOODING 3b...............  2  0  0  0   0  2  0  0   2
MATSUI ss................  2  0  0  0   0  1  3  1   0
THOMPSON 2b..............  0  0  0  0   1  0  0  1   0
 KRAMER ph...............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
LANDERS p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 18  1  2  1   2  9 12  3   4
Brigham Young Univ. 10 (13-10)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
GONZALES, Monica cf......  3  0  0  0   0  0  1  0   1
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dp..  1  1  1  0   1  0  0  0   0
 VANCE, Amanda ph........  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   1
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  2  2  1  0   1  1  0  1   0
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  3  1  1  2   0  0 10  1   1
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  1  3  1  3   2  0  2  0   0
DAVIS, Caschjen lf.......  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
LOPEZ, Coreen 2b.........  2  2  2  1   0  0  0  0   0
 HOLT, Amy ph............  1  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  2  1  2  2   1  0  1  0   0
HICKS, Krista ss.........  3  0  1  2   0  0  1  0   2
AFFLECK, Paige p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 22 10  9 10   5  1 15  3   5
Score by Innings               R  H  E
--------------------------------------
Northern Illinois... 000 10 -  1  2  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 034 3X - 10  9  2
--------------------------------------
E - NORTON; THOMPSON; QUIOCHO; LOPEZ. LOB - NIU 4; BYU 5. 2B - LOPEZ 2;
HICKS. HR - PURCELL; RAMIREZ. SB - MESSERSCHMID; WILLARD 2. CS - THOMPSON.
Northern Illinois      IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
LANDERS.............  4.0  9 10 10  5  1 22 27
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
AFFLECK, Paige......  5.0  2  1  0  2  9 18 20
Win - AFFLECK (8-5).  Loss - LANDERS (1-3).  Save - None.
PB - NORTON.
Umpires - HP: Isaac Salcido  1B: Brandon Bluhm  3B: Dennis Wren
Start: 10:00 am   Time: 1:38   Attendance:
Weather: Clear and Windy
Game: NIU2
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
            Northern Illinois vs Brigham Young Univ. - Play-by-Play
                Mar 07, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Score by Innings               R  H  E
--------------------------------------
Northern Illinois... 000 10 -  1  2  2
Brigham Young Univ.. 034 3X - 10  9  2
--------------------------------------
Northern Illinois starters: 12/rf SENDEJAS; 2/cf BITTNER; 21/lf COLOSIMO; 14/1b
OUELLETTE; 23/dp WILLIAMS; 32/c NORTON; 24/3b GOODING; 1/ss MATSUI; 22/2b
THOMPSON; 7/p LANDERS;
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 24/cf GONZALES; 20/dp MESSERSCHMID; 33/3b
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 9/lf DAVIS; 7/2b LOPEZ; 11/rf WILLARD;
22/ss HICKS; 12/p AFFLECK;
Northern Illinois 1st - ROBERTS to cf for BITTNER. SENDEJAS struck out
swinging. ROBERTS walked. COLOSIMO struck out looking. OUELLETTE grounded out
to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - GONZALES flied out to cf. MESSERSCHMID singled
to center field. QUIOCHO struck out swinging; MESSERSCHMID stole second,
advanced to third on an error by c. PURCELL grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1
hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Northern Illinois 2nd - WILLIAMS struck out looking. NORTON struck out
looking. GOODING struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - RAMIREZ walked. DAVIS lined out to cf. LOPEZ
doubled to left field; RAMIREZ advanced to third. WILLARD singled to center
field, RBI; LOPEZ advanced to third; RAMIREZ scored. WILLARD stole second.
HICKS doubled to right center, 2 RBI; WILLARD scored; LOPEZ scored. HICKS
advanced to third on a passed ball. GONZALES popped up to ss. WILLIAMS to c.
NORTON to dp. VANCE pinch hit for MESSERSCHMID. VANCE fouled out to c. 3
runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Northern Illinois 3rd - MATSUI struck out swinging. THOMPSON walked.
THOMPSON out at second c to ss, caught stealing. SENDEJAS grounded out to 3b.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - QUIOCHO walked. PURCELL homered, 2 RBI;
QUIOCHO scored. RAMIREZ walked. DAVIS grounded out to 2b; RAMIREZ advanced to
second. LOPEZ doubled to center field, RBI; RAMIREZ scored. WILLARD singled
down the lf line, RBI; LOPEZ scored. WILLARD stole second. HICKS flied out to
cf; WILLARD advanced to third. GONZALES grounded out to p. 4 runs, 3 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Northern Illinois 4th - ROBERTS singled to right field. COLOSIMO flied
out to cf. OUELLETTE reached on an error by 2b, advanced to second; ROBERTS
advanced to third. WILLIAMS reached on a fielder's choice; OUELLETTE advanced
to third; ROBERTS out at home p to c. NORTON singled to right field, RBI;
WILLIAMS advanced to second; OUELLETTE scored, unearned. GOODING struck out
swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - MESSERSCHMID to dp for VANCE. MESSERSCHMID
walked. QUIOCHO singled to left field; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second. PURCELL
popped up to ss. RAMIREZ homered to left field, 3 RBI; QUIOCHO scored;
MESSERSCHMID scored. DAVIS popped up to ss. HOLT pinch hit for LOPEZ. HOLT
reached on an error by 2b. WILLARD walked; HOLT advanced to second. HICKS flied
out to cf. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Northern Illinois 5th - LOPEZ to 2b for HOLT. MATSUI reached on an error
by 3b. KRAMER pinch hit for THOMPSON. KRAMER lined out to rf. SENDEJAS struck
out looking. ROBERTS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1
LOB.
=======================================================================
Box Score
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                         Brigham Young Univ. vs #9 Cal
                Mar 07, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Brigham Young Univ. 2 (14-11)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
GONZALES, Monica cf......  4  1  1  0   0  0  1  0   1
MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dp..  4  1  2  0   0  0  0  0   1
QUIOCHO, Angeline 3b.....  3  0  0  0   0  1  2  2   0
PURCELL, Jessica c.......  3  0  2  1   0  0  4  1   1
RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b.......  3  0  0  1   0  0  6  0   0
DAVIS, Caschjen lf.......  3  0  0  0   0  3  2  0   3
LOPEZ, Coreen 2b.........  2  0  0  0   1  1  0  1   0
WILLARD, Delaney rf......  3  0  1  0   0  2  2  0   0
HICKS, Krista ss.........  3  0  0  0   0  3  1  1   0
ZINANTI, Christie p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 AFFLECK, Paige p........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 28  2  6  2   1 10 18  6   6
Cal 4 (16-3)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Arioto 1b................  2  1  2  0   1  0  1  3   0
Thomas 2b................  1  1  0  0   2  0  0  0   0
Reid, J. lf..............  3  0  0  0   0  2  2  0   0
Leomiti dp...............  2  0  1  3   1  1  5  0   3
 Schrey pr...............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Kekahuna c...............  3  1  1  1   0  0 10  0   0
Kelly ss.................  3  0  0  0   0  1  1  1   1
Sevilla 3b...............  3  0  0  0   0  0  2  1   0
Echavarria cf............  3  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Houston, Sh. rf..........  3  1  1  0   0  0  0  0   0
Drewrey p................  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 23  4  5  4   4  4 21  5   5
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 101 000 0 -  2  6  1
Cal................. 000 130 X -  4  5  1
-----------------------------------------
E - HICKS; Kelly. LOB - BYU 6; Cal 5. 2B - PURCELL; WILLARD. HR - Kekahuna.
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
ZINANTI, Christie...  4.1  5  4  4  4  4 18 22
AFFLECK, Paige......  1.2  0  0  0  0  0  5  5
Cal                    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Drewrey.............  0.0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0
Arioto..............  7.0  6  2  1  1 10 28 29
Win - Arioto (7-0).  Loss - ZINANTI (6-6).  Save - None.
Umpires - HP: Fred Barker  1B: Tanya Garig  3B: Matt Jacks
Start: 2:50 pm   Time: 1:50   Attendance:
Weather: Sunny and Clear
Game: CAL1
Play-by-Play
                            The Automated ScoreBook
                  Brigham Young Univ. vs #9 Cal - Play-by-Play
                Mar 07, 2009 at Fresno, Calif. (Bulldog Diamond)
Score by Innings                  R  H  E
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ.. 101 000 0 -  2  6  1
Cal................. 000 130 X -  4  5  1
-----------------------------------------
Brigham Young Univ. starters: 24/cf GONZALES; 20/dp MESSERSCHMID; 33/3b
QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 9/lf DAVIS; 7/2b LOPEZ; 11/rf WILLARD;
22/ss HICKS; 14/p ZINANTI;
Cal starters: 20/1b Arioto; 24/2b Thomas; 3/lf Reid, J.; 45/dp Leomiti; 25/c
Kekahuna; 23/ss Kelly; 12/3b Sevilla; 1/cf Echavarria; 4/rf Houston, Sh.; 11/p
Drewrey;
Brigham Young Univ. 1st - Arioto to p. Leomiti to 1b. /  for Drewrey.
GONZALES singled to third base. MESSERSCHMID popped up to 3b. QUIOCHO struck
out looking. PURCELL singled to left center; GONZALES advanced to second.
RAMIREZ reached on an error by ss, RBI; PURCELL advanced to third; GONZALES
scored, unearned. DAVIS struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2
LOB.
Cal 1st - Arioto singled to center field. Thomas lined out to 3b. Reid,
J. struck out swinging. Leomiti walked; Arioto advanced to second. Arioto out
at third c to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - LOPEZ walked. WILLARD struck out swinging.
HICKS struck out swinging. GONZALES grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Cal 2nd - Kekahuna flied out to cf. Kelly grounded out to 3b. Sevilla
flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - MESSERSCHMID singled to shortstop. QUIOCHO
flied out to lf. PURCELL doubled to center field, RBI; MESSERSCHMID scored.
RAMIREZ grounded out to 3b. DAVIS struck out swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Cal 3rd - Echavarria grounded out to p. Houston, Sh. reached on an error
by ss. Arioto walked; Houston, Sh. advanced to second. Thomas walked; Arioto
advanced to second; Houston, Sh. advanced to third. Reid, J. struck out
swinging. Leomiti struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 4th - LOPEZ struck out looking. WILLARD struck out
swinging. HICKS struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Cal 4th - Kekahuna homered to right field, RBI. Kelly struck out
swinging. Sevilla flied out to lf. Echavarria grounded out to 2b. 1 run, 1
hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 5th - GONZALES lined out to 3b. MESSERSCHMID singled
to third base. QUIOCHO popped up to ss. PURCELL popped up to p. 0 runs, 1
hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Cal 5th - Houston, Sh. singled to center field. Arioto singled to left
center; Houston, Sh. advanced to second. Thomas walked; Arioto advanced to
second; Houston, Sh. advanced to third. Reid, J. flied out to rf. Leomiti
singled to right center, 3 RBI; Thomas scored; Arioto scored; Houston, Sh.
scored. AFFLECK to p for ZINANTI. Schrey pinch ran for Leomiti. Kekahuna
grounded out to 3b; Schrey advanced to second. Kelly grounded out to 1b
unassisted. 3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 6th - Leomiti to dp for Schrey. Leomiti to 1b.
RAMIREZ grounded out to p. DAVIS struck out swinging. LOPEZ grounded out to p.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Cal 6th - Sevilla lined out to ss. Echavarria grounded out to ss.
Houston, Sh. popped up to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Brigham Young Univ. 7th - WILLARD doubled to center field. HICKS struck
out swinging. GONZALES fouled out to lf. MESSERSCHMID grounded out to ss. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.