The BYU softball team split doubleheaders with Utah Valley University in a conference four-game series on Friday and Saturday at Wolverine Field.
Friday’s games had two exciting finishes that included the Cougars’ victory in extra innings and a big walk-off home run for the Wolverines.
The Cougars pulled off a 2–1 win after going into extra innings in Friday’s first game. Ashlee Brawley Robinson led the team in hits with three in four at bats. Robinson was also responsible for the single that brought in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
“I’ve been trying to put all the things I’ve been working on together,” Robinson said. “And during the game we offensively needed a rally, and I was just trying to start something.”
In game two, the Cougars attempted a rally in the seventh inning but came up short and ended the day with a 6–4 loss. The Wolverines yanked a walk-off, two-run home run for the win after the Cougars tied the game at the start of the inning.
Saturday’s games had a similar story with another walk-off by UVU and a huge tenth-inning win for BYU.
In game one, the Wolverines did not score a run until the bottom of the fifth. However, UVU added another run to the board in the sixth which put BYU to work. BYU attempted a seventh inning rally to tie the game, but UVU singled in another run for their second walk-off of the series and the 3–2 win.
In game two, BYU pushed ten more innings for the 3–2 win. Both BYU and UVU were unable to get runs past second base in the eighth or ninth inning. The tie-breaker rule was used where both teams placed a runner from the previous inning on second to start the top and bottom of the tenth inning. BYU brought in Carly Duckworth for the winning run and held UVU defensively for the victory.
“We were all trying so hard just to push ahead, but when we did we couldn’t keep the lead,” Robinson said. “In the last inning when we did, it was very exciting for all of us, and we were really glad we finished the day with that win.”
The BYU softball team will take a short break before facing Utah State Wednesday at 4 p.m.
