Softball Loses Heartbreaking Walk-off to No. 16 ASU

TEMPE, Ariz. – Despite an early lead, BYU softball lost a heartbreaker to No. 16 Arizona State in a 7-5 walk-off in game two of a doubleheader to open up the Kajikawa Classic on Thursday, Feb. 11.  The Cougars lost a 7-2 battle earlier in the first game of the doubleheader.

"We played like it was the first game of the year in game one," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We made some mistakes you can't make against a top-ranked team. In game two, we came back strong but we just couldn't put the game away. ASU deserves credit for fighting back but the game was there for us to take."

Game One

Game Highlights:

• In her BYU debut, freshman Violet Zavodnik smashed her first career homer in her first at bat during the first inning.
• Bridget Fleener followed the pattern of the game and blasted her first dinger of the season.

 Player Highlights:

• Violet Zavodnik: 1-3, 1H, 1RBI, 1HR
• Bridget Fleener: 1-3, 1H, 1RBI, 1HR

Freshman Zavodnik came out swinging in her BYU debut smashing a home run on her first at bat of the game. The Cougars went up 1-0 in the first inning. Arizona State answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the second and then added four more in the next frame.

Fleener smacked a bomb in the top of the fourth to make the score 5-2, but BYU was unable to hold off the Sun Devils as Arizona took the first game 7-2.

Game Two

Game Highlights:

• Arissa Paulson pitched 7.1 innings, in an eight-inning battle with ASU, tallying seven strikeouts.
• The Cougars came alive early in the game, plating two runs in each inning for a 5-2 lead going into the seventh frame

Player Highlights:

• Arissa Paulson: L (0-1), 7.1IP, 5ER, 3BB, 7K
• Bridget Fleener: 2-3, 1RBI
• Rylee Jensen-McFarland: 1-4, 2R, 1RBI, 1 2B,

In extra innings, the Cougars succumbed to a walk-off homer after being in the lead for the first six frames. BYU added two more runs in the top of the seventh securing a 5-2 lead. However, Arizona State rallied late, adding three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

In the eighth, the Sun Devils held BYU scoreless. Paulson recorded two outs through the bottom of the eighth before being replaced by sophomore Carley Brown, who subsequently surrendered a walk-off home run that ended the game, 7-5.

The Cougars will return to action in the Kajikawa Classic on Friday, Feb. 12, taking on in-state rival Utah at 2 p.m. MST.