A sixth-inning rally gave BYU a 4-2 upset victory over No. 13 Washington in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Friday night.
“That was a great win in an electric environment,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “It was a total team effort, and I thought our bench was ready to play. We made some timely substitutions and the players came through. It is a terrific win to start the early part of the season.”
This was the first win for BYU (2-1, 0-0 West Coast Conference) against Washington (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) since 2002. It also marked Eakin's first victory over the Huskies in seven tries.
Down 2-1, Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge hit a two-run double in the top of the sixth to give BYU the lead, 3-2. She ended the night with a game-high two RBIs on 2-of-3 hitting, adding a run of her own. Sophomore Libby Sugg went 3-for-3 in the winning effort, including a single in that same inning to spark the momentum.
McKenna Bull pitched all seven innings in the win, throwing three strikeouts and giving up two runs and seven hits. Washington is the highest ranked team Bull has earned a win against while also pitching the complete game. Her previous complete-game high was the victory at No. 15 Arizona last season.
BYU got on the board first. Sugg hit a single to right field to move Ashley Thompson to third base. When Sugg looked to steal, confusion from Washington's catcher and shortstop allowed Thompson to run home, putting BYU up 1-0.
The Huskies threatened to score in the top of the second, but tough defense kept the advantage in the Cougars’ favor.
In the top of the fourth, Washington tied up the game, 1-1, with a single up the middle. The Huskies took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth when the first hitter of the frame came up to bat and drilled a homer over right center.
The Cougars were not done, however. When Alldredge came up to bat in the bottom of the inning, she had runners on second and first. She drilled a double down the left field line to bring in both Strid and Emilee Erickson, giving BYU the 3-2 advantage. In the next at-bat, Briielle Breland hit a single to left field, bringing in Alldredge and increasing the lead to 4-2.
Tough defense and strong pitching from Bull held the final score of 4-2, completing the upset.
The Puerto Vallarta College Challengee concludes for BYU with a matchup against No. 2 Auburn at 10 a.m. CST. Live stats and radio links can be found on the BYU softball schedule page.