BYU uses long ball to down Utes in conference opener

PROVO — Though BYU wasn't particularly happy with its offensive production against in-state rival Utah, the Cougar softball team played well enough to win its Mountain West Conference opener 4-1 in front of a home crowd of 1,484 fans on Friday.

BYU was able to draw first blood on the Utes when Caschjen Davis-Atagi smashed a solo shot over the left-center field fence in the bottom of the second. But the Utes came right back when Whitney Holm picked up the RBI and Hannah Clements scored after singling in the top of the third.

The game remained even until the bottom of the fifth, when the Cougars opened things up a little bit offensively.

"It was great to play in front of a large home crowd, but I thought we were pressing, and our nerves were a little on edge. But it's nice to have one under our belts now," said BYU coach Gordon Eakin.

His team is now 25-8 overall with a 1-0 conference record, while the Utes fell to 17-19 overall with an 0-1 conference record. The two teams will play again today at 2 p.m. at Gail Miller Field.

In the bottom of the fifth, BYU's Kristin Delahoussaye and J.C. Clayton both reached base before Angeline Quiocho sent a line-drive bullet beyond the left-center fence, scoring three runs and giving the Cougars their final 4-1 cushion.

The shot was Quiocho's 12th of the season. She leads the MWC in batting average (.447) and slugging percentage and is second behind teammate Andrea Ramirez with 38 RBIs and 12 home runs.

"It (the home run) felt really good, especially after having struggled at the plate the first two times," Quiocho said. "I don't ever try to hit home runs; I just try to produce for my team."

Quiocho was excited for two main reasons after the game.

"It feels great to get that first conference game, especially in such a strong rivalry," she said. "And this was one of the biggest crowds we've ever had."

The Utes threw a bit of a surprise at the Cougars, starting Brittany Parker from the pitching circle when they generally throw Ashley Smuda.

"I thought it was a smart move for them to throw her, and it worked," said Eakin, whose team had been preparing for Smuda's pitching style, which is completely different than Parker's.

Though he was happy with Paige Affleck's pitching performance for his team and with most of the defense, especially a pair of plays by Delahoussaye in the top of the seventh, Eakin was disappointed with his team's offensive production against the Utes.

"Usually we have a lot more fireworks, or at least we make them make better defensive plays. We usually play pretty solid at home," said Eakin.

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