Click to watch the video.

COLUMBUS -- The BYU softball team jumped ahead of Kentucky early and fended off the Wildcats for a 6-2 victory to begin play at the Columbus Regional on Thursday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.

“We got out of the chute strong,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “We were able to hold some of their big hitters down with our pitching.”

The BYU tandem of Christie Zinanti and Paige Affleck limited Kentucky to two runs off of six hits, while the Cougar offense totaled six runs off of nine hits. The Cougars are now 40-16, 1-0 in the post-season.

Angeline Quiocho led BYU going 3-for-4 with two bunt singles, while Jessica Purcell and Andrea Ramirez each drove in two runs.

Purcell got the Cougars going in the top of the first inning with a single that brought in two runs, breaking the single-season RBI record driving in a total of 83 runs this season. Leadoff batter Kristin Delahoussaye singled on a line drive up the middle and Tiffany Messerschmidt walked. Quiocho singled on a bunt down the first base line to load the bases for Purcell.

Purcell stroked a ball that bounced right over second base to bring in both Delahoussaye and Messerschmidt. Quiocho was called out trying to grab an extra base, but the Cougar damage had already rendered a 2-0 lead.

Stephanie Hopkins kept the offense going with a standup double to leadoff the second inning. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and Delahoussaye brought her in on a two-out infield single that bounced right off of the diving third baseman’s glove.

After Zinanti kept the Wildcats scoreless for three innings, Kentucky began to catch up with the junior hurler. Megan Yocke launched a fly ball that went directly over the centerfield wall to record the first Wildcat hit. The following batter hit the ball off the wall in right-center field for a double.

Two more Kentucky singles brought in an additional run to cut the BYU lead to one run. Zinanti forced the next two batters to pop out and ground out, ending the fourth inning with a 3-2 lead.

With two runners on in the top of the fourth, Purcell was intentionally walked to load the bases. The moved proved to be effective for Kentucky as BYU was unable to bring in a run.

Paige Affleck came in during the fifth inning to relieve Zinanti in the circle. She grabbed her fourth save of the season, a career first in post-season play. She allowed two hits over three scoreless innings.

In almost an identical situation as the fourth inning, Kentucky intentionally walked Purcell to load the bases in the top of the seventh. Ramirez hit a ball into left field that escaped the outfielders to bring in two runs.

Coreen Lopez grounded out to first base to bring in Purcell from third, giving BYU a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

“We’ve got a positive start to the regional,” Eakin said. “The momentum and confidence level will help us move forward.”

The Cougars will play the winner of Ohio State and Canisius at 12:30 p.m. Friday to continue play at the Ohio Regional.

`

Kentucky Head Coach Rachel Lawson

“They [BYU] came out a did a nice job. The attacked us from the beginning.”

“Their [BYU’s] pitchers did a nice job keeping us off balance.”

BYU first baseman Andrea Ramirez

“This gave us an opportunity to show that we were ready to compete.”

“The early-inning success shows how we are capable of playing and winning.”

BYU Head Coach Gordon Eakin

“We were able to hold some of their hitters down.”

“Christie [Zinanti] started strong, she struggled in the middle but Paige [Affleck] came in strong to give us momentum.”

“We got a few more breaks and a few more key hits than Kentucky was able to generate.”

“We’ve got a positive start. The momentum and confidence level will help us move forward.”

Box Score

Brigham Young Univ. vs Kentucky

May 14, 2009 at Columbus, Ohio (New Buckeye Field)

Brigham Young Univ. 6 (40-16)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

DELAHOUSSAYE, Kristi 2b.. 3 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 0

MESSERSCHMIDT, Tiffa dp.. 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 1

QUIOCHO, Angeline cf..... 4 1 3 0 0 1 2 0 0

PURCELL, Jessica c....... 2 1 1 2 2 0 6 0 0

RAMIREZ, Andrea 1b....... 3 0 1 2 1 0 11 0 0

LOPEZ, Coreen 3b......... 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 5

HOPKINS, Stephanie rf.... 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

HICKS, Krista ss......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0

DAVIS, Caschjen ph...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

GONZALES, Monica lf...... 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

ZINANTI, Christie p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

AFFLECK, Paige p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Totals................... 28 6 9 6 5 2 21 10 7

Kentucky 2 (32-22)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Johnson ss............... 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 0

Smith 2b................. 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 2

Yocke c.................. 3 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 0

Cervantes 3b............. 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 5 1

Aull cf.................. 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

Riley dp/p............... 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0

Allen, M. pr............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Demartine 1b............. 3 0 1 1 0 1 10 2 0

Young pr................ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rowlands lf.............. 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1

Mordecai rf.............. 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2

Matousek p/dp............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 26 2 6 2 2 6 21 15 6

Score by Innings R H E

-----------------------------------------

Brigham Young Univ.. 210 000 3 - 6 9 0

Kentucky............ 000 200 0 - 2 6 0

-----------------------------------------

LOB - BYU 7; Kentucky 6. 2B - HOPKINS(4); Cervantes(10). HR - Yocke(7). HBP

- Johnson. SH - HICKS(6). SB - Aull(26).

Brigham Young Univ. IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP

--------------------------------------------------

ZINANTI, Christie... 4.0 4 2 2 2 3 15 18 -

AFFLECK, Paige...... 3.0 2 0 0 0 3 11 11 -

Kentucky IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP

--------------------------------------------------

Matousek............ 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

Riley............... 7.0 9 6 6 5 2 28 34 -

Win - ZINANTI (21-7). Loss - Riley (6-7). Save - AFFLECK (4).

HBP - by ZINANTI (Johnson). Pitches/strikes: None.

Umpires - HP: Christie Cornwell 1B: Rodney Roth 3B: Mike Bartling

Start: 5:00 pm Time: 2:03 Attendance:

Game: GM1_NCAA

Play-by-Play

The Automated ScoreBook

Brigham Young Univ. vs Kentucky - Play-by-Play

May 14, 2009 at Columbus, Ohio (New Buckeye Field)

Score by Innings R H E

-----------------------------------------

Brigham Young Univ.. 210 000 3 - 6 9 0

Kentucky............ 000 200 0 - 2 6 0

-----------------------------------------

Brigham Young Univ. starters: 4/2b DELAHOUSSAYE; 20/dp MESSERSCHMID; 33/cf

QUIOCHO; 10/c PURCELL; 31/1b RAMIREZ; 7/3b LOPEZ; 5/rf HOPKINS; 22/ss HICKS;

24/lf GONZALES; 14/p ZINANTI;

Kentucky starters: 18/ss Johnson; 0/2b Smith; 12/c Yocke; 14/3b Cervantes;

10/cf Aull; 11/dp Riley; 22/1b Demartine; 17/lf Rowlands; 13/rf Mordecai; 1/p

Matousek;

Brigham Young Univ. 1st - No play. Riley to p. Matousek to dp.

DELAHOUSSAYE singled to center field. MESSERSCHMID walked; DELAHOUSSAYE

advanced to second. QUIOCHO singled; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second;

DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. PURCELL singled up the middle, advanced to

second on the throw, 2 RBI; QUIOCHO advanced to second, out at third cf to 1b

to 3b; MESSERSCHMID scored; DELAHOUSSAYE scored. RAMIREZ grounded out to p;

PURCELL advanced to third. LOPEZ grounded out to ss. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0

errors, 1 LOB.

Kentucky 1st - Johnson struck out swinging. Smith walked. Smith out at

first 1b unassisted, runner left early. Yocke flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0

hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 2nd - HOPKINS doubled to right center. HICKS out at

first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; HOPKINS advanced to third. GONZALES grounded out to

3b. DELAHOUSSAYE singled to third base, RBI; HOPKINS scored. MESSERSCHMID flied

out to lf. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Kentucky 2nd - Cervantes fouled out to 3b. Aull grounded out to p. Riley

grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 3rd - QUIOCHO struck out swinging. PURCELL flied out

to rf. RAMIREZ walked. LOPEZ grounded out to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1

LOB.

Kentucky 3rd - Demartine grounded out to p. Rowlands struck out

swinging. Mordecai walked. Johnson hit by pitch; Mordecai advanced to second.

Smith grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 4th - HOPKINS grounded out to ss. HICKS lined out to

ss. GONZALES popped up to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Kentucky 4th - Yocke homered to center field, RBI. Cervantes doubled to

right center. Aull singled to third base; Cervantes advanced to third. Aull

stole second. Riley struck out swinging. Demartine singled to center field,

RBI; Aull advanced to third; Cervantes scored. Young pinch ran for Demartine.

Rowlands popped up to 2b. Mordecai grounded out to 3b. 2 runs, 4 hits, 0

errors, 2 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 5th - Demartine to 1b for Young. DELAHOUSSAYE

walked. MESSERSCHMID struck out swinging. QUIOCHO singled to third base;

DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to second. PURCELL intentionally walked; QUIOCHO advanced

to second; DELAHOUSSAYE advanced to third. RAMIREZ reached on a fielder's

choice to shortstop; PURCELL advanced to second; QUIOCHO advanced to third;

DELAHOUSSAYE out at home ss to c. LOPEZ grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0

errors, 3 LOB.

Kentucky 5th - AFFLECK to p for ZINANTI. Johnson grounded out to 2b.

Smith singled to right field. Yocke flied out to cf. Cervantes grounded out to

ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 6th - HOPKINS popped up to 3b. DAVIS pinch hit for

HICKS. DAVIS grounded out to 3b. GONZALES grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0

hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Kentucky 6th - HICKS to ss for DAVIS. Aull grounded out to 3b. Riley

singled to shortstop. Allen, M. pinch ran for Riley. Demartine struck out

swinging. Rowlands grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Brigham Young Univ. 7th - Riley to p for Allen, M.. DELAHOUSSAYE

grounded out to ss. MESSERSCHMID singled to shortstop. QUIOCHO singled to

catcher, bunt; MESSERSCHMID advanced to second. PURCELL intentionally walked;

QUIOCHO advanced to second; MESSERSCHMID advanced to third. RAMIREZ singled

down the lf line, advanced to second on the throw, 2 RBI; PURCELL advanced to

third; QUIOCHO scored; MESSERSCHMID scored. LOPEZ out at first 1b to 2b to 1b,

RBI; RAMIREZ advanced to third; PURCELL scored. HOPKINS fouled out to lf. 3

runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Kentucky 7th - Mordecai struck out swinging. Johnson grounded out to p.

Smith struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

PROVO -- The BYU softball team (39-16) will make its fifth-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance at the Columbus Regional, as the 64-team field was announced Sunday night by the Division I Softball Committee.

The regional site is hosted by No. 11 Ohio State (44-9). Kentucky (32-21) and Canisius (27-22) will also join BYU in Columbus.

“We’re excited to go to Ohio and compete in that region,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “We will be facing teams that we haven’t played a lot. Ohio State, Kentucky and Canisius will present challenges to us, but we feel good about our team’s ability to win.”

BYU will open Regional play when it faces Kentucky at 3 p.m MDT Thursday. It will be the first matchup between the two schools. Ohio State and Canisius will face off at 5:30 p.m. MDT.

The news was welcomed with great excitement by the Cougars, who gathered together to watch the selection show on ESPNU. Three Mountain West Conference teams will participate in the 64-team tournament. BYU received the automatic bid after clinching its fourth MWC title, while San Diego State and UNLV both received at-large bids.

The Cougars have faced 12 teams that made the tournament, carrying a 7-10 record against qualifying teams. Their most notable wins came at the hands of California, who was ranked No. 7 at the time, and a combined no-hit performance against Fresno State.

With their sixth Regional appearance since the program’s inception in 2000, BYU looks to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time. In both 2008 and 2007 the Cougars fell in the Regional Championship game.

Thirty conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 34 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this weekend.

Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition, when possible.

The SEC led all conferences with nine teams in the championship, while the Big 12 placed seven and the Big Ten and the Pacific-10 each placed six. California State University, Fresno, remains the only team to be selected to all 28 championships. Seven teams are making their initial appearances in the tournament: Bradley University, James Madison University, the University of Kentucky, North Dakota State University, Radford University, Sacred Heart University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Only nine schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion since the tournament started in 1982, and all are in this year’s bracket.