Katie Manuma makes contact with the ball during a game against Utah Valley last season. (Photo by Chris Bunker)
Lauren Bell showed some grit, leading the Cougars’ 9-0 win over Virginia, and having the only two hits in their 6-0 loss to No. 24 Notre Dame.
'Overall I felt we made some progress today with our pitching and defense,' said BYU head coach Gordon Eakin. 'Our goal is to get better everyday, and I think we accomplished that today. We will need to find more consistency with our offense tomorrow.'
After a scoreless first inning, Bell, a freshman from Murray, doubled to bring in two runs for the Cougars in the game against Virginia. Bell then moved around the bases on a sacrifice bunt, finally making it home.
Later in the game, McKenzie St. Clair tripled to bring in two runners. St. Clair, a freshman from Peoria, Ariz., scored when the shortstop threw an error, bringing the Cougars to a 7-0 lead over Virginia.
The Cougars scored two more times to make the score 9-0, and McKenna Bull, a freshman from Ogden, ended the game by striking out the first batter and getting two groundouts.
'McKenna had a nice outing on the mound for us,' Eakin said. 'She pitched the way she is capable of pitching. In the second game Ashley pitched well, but we had a couple miscues defensively that opened the door for (Notre Dame) on their first two runs.'
Bell had the first hit of the game against Notre Dame with a single to right field. However, the Cougars could not score, and Notre Dame came out to bat. After a single, the Cougars shut down the Fighting Irish with their second double play of the year, keeping it scoreless.
In the bottom of the third inning, Notre Dame took the lead with two scores and added two more runs in the fifth. BYU stopped the Fighting Irish with its second triple play in program history.
The game finished with Notre Dame scoring two runs in the sixth inning for a 6-0 victory.
BYU returns to the field tomorrow morning in a double header facing Oklahoma State at 10:30 a.m., PST, followed by Fordham at 1 p.m., PST.