Sofball drops two to BYU in Provo
Although the USU women’s softball team finished 1-4 last weekend at the Kia Classic in Fullerton, Calif., head coach Pam McCreesh said she was pleased with the improvement her team had made.
But that improvement didn’t hold true when the Aggies traveled to Provo to play Brigham Young University on Wednesday. The Cougars swept a pair of games from the Aggies, taking the first 8-0 and the second 11-1.
“I felt like we had taken two steps forward and now three steps back,” McCreesh said.
According to McCreesh, one of the keys of the games was the Cougars’ ability to wait for the right pitch to hit. Aggie pitchers were consistently behind in the count, making matters even worse, McCreesh said.
“They were really patient at the plate and drove the ball hard,” he said.
On the flip side, she said, the Aggies were having a hard time adjusting to the Cougar pitching.
“We weren’t adjusting the second time around,” she said.
BYU 8, USU 0
While it was BYU’s performance at the plate that gave the Aggies fits, Cougar ace Maryon DeWitt-Wallentine was also stellar on the mound. Wallentine threw five innings of no-hit ball as the Cougars blanked the Aggies 8-0 in a game shortened by the eight-run mercy rule.
Up only 2-0 after three innings, BYU took control of the game in the fourth, scoring six runs on five hits. The Cougars applied pressure on the Aggies early, leading off the inning with consecutive singles to center field. Junior pitcher Kristin Hommel fanned third baseman Becca Erickson, only to have the Cougars regain momentum on a two-run double by Angie Christiansen.
Christiansen’s double led to Hommel being pulled in favor of Xochitl Ramirez. The Aggies didn’t help Ramirez’ cause, allowing Cougar Megan Johnson to reach base on an error. By the time the smoke had cleared, the Aggies were down to their final three at-bats.
BYU 11, USU 1
Before Wednesday’s doubleheader against BYU, McCreesh said she was worried about Cougar slugger Oli Keohohou.
While the Aggies were able to contain Keohohou in the first game, Keohohou was a force in the second game – an 11-1 Cougar victory, also shortened by the mercy rule.
Keohohou finished the game with three RBIs on two hits and a walk, including a second-inning homer McCreesh said was the “farthest she had ever seen.”
The Aggies put pressure on the Cougars early in the second game. Freshman Casey Smith led off the first inning with a double to left field. Smith eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by fellow freshman Shannon Acevedo, giving the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short lived.
Aided by a couple of Aggie errors, BYU took charge of the game in the bottom of the first inning, scoring eight runs on six hits, culminating on a three-run shot by Erickson.
“They’re just a good ball club,” McCreesh said.
It won’t get any easier for the Aggies when they travel to Southern California this weekend to play a doubleheader against California State University at Northridge. The teams will take the mound Saturday and Sunday; both games will start at 1 p.m.
This weekend’s trip will mark the beginning of Big West Conference play for the Aggies. They will face Northridge, which has plenty of returning experience from last season’s third-place team in the BWC. That Matador team went on the play in the NCAA Tournament.
“They are more experienced than they were last year,” McCreesh said.
While the Matadors (14-11 on the season) have gone 1-6 in their last seven games after a 13-5 start, they are at their best when league play starts, McCreesh said.
“Northridge always comes on strong for conference play,” she said.
Among experienced players returning for the Matadors is pitcher Sarah Farnsworth, who boasts a 9-6 record on the season and an ERA of 2.58.
Perhaps most importantly, McCreesh said, she is a great leader.