LAS VEGAS – McKenzie St. Clair’s four-RBI day led BYU softball to a shutout of both teams in a doubleheader on Friday, 4-0 over Grand Canyon and 8-0 over Boise State.

"It was a great team effort today," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin. "Not only in terms of preparation by the players, but the coaching staff did an excellent job as well."

BYU improves to 6-2 after going 2-0 in the doubleheader. The Cougars had a total of 12 hits on the day. McKenna Bull and Olivia Sanchez split pitching duties, totaling 13 strikeouts.

"Our pitchers did an outstanding job today with two shutouts," BYU pitching coach Pete Meredith said. "We have four shutouts in eight games. Our defense played well and we had timely hits. I'm proud of our effort."

Game one

Bull (4-2) threw nine strikeouts and walked just one in the 4-0 shutout over previously undefeated Grand Canyon (6-1). Libby Sugg and St. Clair both had a pair of RBI each to lead the offense against the Antelopes. Grand Canyon out-hit BYU eight to six but could never push across a run.

After one scoreless inning, the Cougars got on the board. In the top of the second, St. Clair singled to centerfield to bring in Madison Merrell and Ashley Thompson and score the first two runs of the game, making it 2-0 in favor of BYU.

In the top of the third, Sugg drilled a two-run home run over the left field fence to bring in Coco Tauali’i Bond and extend the lead to 4-0.

The two teams were scoreless from the fourth inning until the end of the game. Bull’s strong pitching held the Antelopes to zero runs in the game.

BOX SCORE: BYU vs. Grand Canyon

Game two

For just the second time in her career, freshman Sanchez started in the circle for BYU. She had four strikeouts and allowed just one hit for her second victory, improving to 2-0. Thompson had a great game at bat, getting two hits, three RBI and three runs. The three RBI all came on a home run in the fourth inning. St. Clair and Bond also had a pair of RBI in the win.

BYU and Boise State (0-6) were both scoreless and hitless until the Cougars were up to bat in the bottom of the second. A squeeze bunt from Bond allowed Merrell to slide home, giving BYU its first run. A couple of sacrifice flies from Alexa Strid and Lauren Bell scored two more runs, bringing in Thompson and Bond, respectively.

The fourth run came when the bases were loaded and the Broncos’ pitcher walked Lexi Tarrow, giving her the RBI. The Cougars led 4-0 heading into the third inning.

In the third inning, BYU scored another run after Strid’s second sacrifice fly of the game, which brought in Thompson to push the lead to 5-0.

Thompson homered to centerfield in the top of the fourth to bring in three more runs, extending the Cougars’ lead to 8-0. The Broncos never scored, and the game ended in the fifth inning due to the mercy rule.

BOX SCORE: BYU vs. Boise State

BYU’s last day at the DeMarini Classic is on Saturday. The Cougars will play a doubleheader against Colorado State and Robert Morris at 9 a.m. PST and 11:15 a.m. PST, respectively. Live stats will be available on the schedule page. 

PROVO, Utah – After a strong start to the season last weekend, BYU softball will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the DeMarini Classic this weekend, Feb. 18-20.

BYU Game Notes

At the Kajikawa Classic last weekend, BYU finished with a 3-2 record, including shutouts against San Jose State and Creighton. The third win was a 5-4 extra innings victory over Wisconsin. Junior pitcher McKenna Bull had a great weekend, throwing her first solo no-hitter against San Jose State and tying her career-high 14 strikeouts against Wisconsin.

Hawai’i | Thursday, Feb. 18, 4:30 p.m. PST | Live stats

Last season, Hawai’i finished in third place in the Big West with a 32-22 overall record, 13-8 in conference play. The Rainbow Wahine return 12 letterwinners and are led by five seniors. In 2015, senior outfielder Keiki Carlos started all 54 games, leading Hawai’i with 38 runs scored (career-high), 51 hits, 11 doubles and six stolen bases.

Grand Canyon | Friday, Feb. 19, 9 a.m. PST

In 2015, the Lopes finished in second place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 27-23 overall record, going 9-6 in conference play. They had a .974 fielding percentage, which was not only first in the WAC but also 16th in the nation. Returning senior second baseman Camree Wartman led the team in 2015 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI. She was also second on the team in doubles with 11. This will be the first meeting between these two teams.

Boise State | Friday, Feb. 19, 11:15 a.m. PST | Live stats

The Broncos struggled in 2015, finishing with a 12-42 record, including 4-20 in Mountain West Conference play. Boise State has 10 newcomers on its 2016 roster with five freshmen and five transfers. Out of the four seniors returning, outfielder Kayla Clausen leads the group. She batted .339 last season with 38 hits, a .589 slugging percentage and nine stolen bases, which are all bests among the returners.

Colorado State | Saturday, Feb. 20, 9 a.m. PST | Live stats

The Rams finished the 2015 season with a 27-29 record, including an 8-16 record in Mountain West Conference play. They finished seventh in the MWC. Infielder Haley Hutton led Colorado State last season with a .363 batting average, .482 on-base percentage and a .469 slugging percentage. Her 65 hits, 44 runs scored and 84 total bases were also team highs.

Robert Morris | Saturday, Feb. 20, 11:15 a.m. PST | Live stats

The Colonials have won the Northeast Conference regular-season title in four of the past five seasons, most recently in 2015. They finished last season with a 26-23 record, including 13-3 in conference play. Robert Morris returns senior Ashley Gerhart, who received All-NEC First Team honors in 2015 after being in the top four in the league in batting average (.351) and on-base percentage (.426).