BYU softball beat Houston 10–9 in the battle of the Cougars on Saturday to complete its first series sweep of the season.
The high-scoring game finished almost four-and-a-half hours after it was scheduled to begin.
In a game that started with a lightning delay, both teams came up with unique ways to pass the time. BYU was seen in a circle playing with a hacky sack, while Houston created a dance battle circle of its own.
“I honestly think it came from our seniors, and now it’s just tradition to play hacky,” said freshman Rita Tavita. “I think it helps us stay calm before the game and just remember that it’s supposed to be fun, so have fun.”
The lightning wasn’t the only way the game started with a spark, as Houston’s Makenna Mitchell took a 3–2 pitch over the wall for a leadoff home run. After Madox Mitchell struck out in the next at-bat, Maddie Hartley hit another shot that went out of the park.
In the bottom of the first, Acosta, Owens, and Shuler went down 1-2-3. But as Houston pushed to extend the lead in the top of the second, BYU’s Lexie Bennett made a nice catch off the bat of Makenna Mitchell to keep the score at 2–0.
In the bottom of the second, the blue Cougars finally got a spark of their own. Ilove’a Brittingham hit a powerful shot to left field to get BYU on the board and notch her third home run of the series. S
oon after, they tied it up on an RBI single by Tristen Turlington. Turlington has been playing shortstop in place of BYU star Hailey Morrow, who suffered a season-ending injury against Texas Tech a week ago.
After Bre Townsend scored on a Lexie Bennett RBI groundout, BYU got another RBI single from Danila Acosta to take a 4–2 lead. From that point, the runs just kept piling on. It started to feel like a thunderstorm when Acosta and Lily Owens scored on a Hailey Shuler single that was inches away from being a home run.
Ironically, the game stopped again for weather after BYU’s six-run second inning. According to Tavita, it can be hard to stay focused coming off a weather delay, but the team made sure to stay away from their phones and remembered there was still a job to be done. Coming out of the second weather delay, BYU seemed to have a couple of chances to finish Houston off, but the visiting Cougars just wouldn’t go away.
Maddie Hartley hit her second home run of the day after fouling off what seemed to be endless pitches that could have gotten Gianna Mares through the fourth inning. Hartley’s three-run homer brought the score to 7–5. Jada Villegas replaced Mares and got out of the fourth inning, although an error by Acosta gave Houston another run.
Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth inning, but after an RBI single tied the game, Houston finally took the lead on a wild pitch by Villegas. Going into the bottom of the sixth, Houston held a 9–7 lead, and things were looking about as bleak as the sky for BYU.
But Rita Tavita stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered an RBI double to tie the game. As she stepped up to the plate, her focus was “not to do too much and keep it simple.” She knew that as long as she could put the ball in play, the speed of the baserunners would do the rest.
Bre Townsend hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly to make it 10-9, and Lily Owens made a nice catch in the seventh to end the game. It was a much-needed team win and series win for BYU, which is now 14–26 overall and 5–10 in conference.
“It feels amazing. I’m so proud of my team,” Tavita said. “We’re going to keep it going and get some more wins.”