Colorado State Defeats BYU in Game Two of Mtn. West Softball Championship

SALT LAKE CITY -- Following a two-hour snow delay, BYU finally got on the field Thursday in the first day of the inaugural Mountain West Conference Championship, only to fall to Colorado State, 3-0, in Salt Lake CIty.

The Rams struck early off a two-run home run by Jennie Orozco in the first inning. The shot was Orozco's first of the season and as a Ram. After chasing BYU starting pitcher Lindsay Jones out of the game after two innings, the Rams tacked on an insurance run in the third inning when Amanda Kocis singled to score Britannia Erickson to provide the final 3-0 margin.

Left fielder Liz Smith took over offensive duties for the Cougars, extending her hit streak to seven games by going 2-for-4 with a double and single. BYU stranded 10 runners in the loss, its third consecutive to the Rams.

"I'm frustrated," said BYU head coach Mary Kay Amicone. "We had three opportunities to score, and just didn't execute. We need to get the job done tomorrow."

Jones took the loss for BYU to fall to 3-3 on the season, while Colorado State's Kyla Keister improved to 14-15 on the season and 2-0 this season against the Cougars.

CSU upped its record to 19-30 on the season and advances to meet No. 1-seed Utah in game four, which has been moved to a 9 a.m. start time tomorrow. BYU fell to 16-26 and will play the loser of Thursday's New Mexico/UNLV game at 11:30 a.m. Friday. If the Cougars win that game, they will face the winner of the BYU/CSU game later that day at 4:30 p.m.