BYU softball was defeated 5–2 by No. 3 seed Oregon Thursday night at the Howe Field in Eugene, Ore. The girls got off to a late start due to rain, causing the game to start about an hour late and not end until after 10 p.m.
Coming off of a rough loss in the game against Utah, the Cougars could have used their senior JC Clayton in this match against the Ducks. Clayton was injured in the previous game and was unable to contribute to this game in Eugene.
BYU lost to Oregon last year as well, and they have yet to defeat them at their home field. The girls played hard and battled but came up short in the end.
BYU pitcher Hannah Howell led the team defensively against Oregon, relieving Tori Almond in the first inning. Howell pitched six innings and gave up only one earned run on three hits.
Carly Duckworth led the Cougars offensively with two hits and two RBIs.
“It’s a disappointment to lose,' BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said in a news release. 'I thought our kids battled really hard with some adversity and I was proud of them for the way they fought against a very good team. Carly filled the lead-off role very well and did a very nice job for us. Gordy also did a nice job as a freshman and got the job done. With the adversity we faced, I was proud of how we hung around and made it a game.'
Oregon improved to 47–9 for the season, while BYU dropped to 33–24, but it is not over for them yet. The Cougars will play their second game of the double-game elimination Friday at 2 p.m. PDT against Wisconsin. The winner of that game will advance to compete at 5 p.m.