Courtesy of Boise State Athletics –
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Boise State softball defeated BYU 8-6, Friday to earn a split for the second-straight day at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
The Broncos (6-3) improved to 3-0 against the Big 12 under head coach Justin Shults.
Boise State scored three times in the top of the second to take an early lead. Chloe Hughes knocked in a run with a two-out single for the game’s first run. Sophia Knight followed with an RBI-double and an error allowed another run to score.
Brooklynn Pettis drove in two runs with a double in the third to extend the lead to 5-0 before BYU (5-1) answered with four runs in its half of the inning.
The Broncos pushed the lead to 7-4 on Mykenzie Hanna’s two-run single in top of the fourth. The Cougars scratched across a run before Hanna picked up her third RBI when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth.
Brook Thompson (4-0) went 5 1/3 innings for the win and freshman Julianne Rose worked the final-four outs for her first-career save.
In the first game of the day, Boise State gave up seven runs in the second against Indiana (7-1) and never recovered in a 10-4 loss.
The Broncos did make things interesting in the fifth. Trailing 9-1, Sophia Knight and Hanna opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Walks to Makenzie Butt and Sydney Groves forced in a run. Megan Lake and Hollie Farmer each plated a run with a ground out, but the Broncos did not get closer.
NOTES
*Redshirt freshman Sophia Romero made her collegiate debut with a pinch hitting appearance against Indiana.
*Both Indiana (ESPN.com/USA Softball) and BYU (NFCA) entered the week receiving votes in a Top 25 poll.
