Softball Bows Out of NCAA Regional with 6-4 Loss to BYU

Friday, May 20

Columbia, Mo.

4:30 PM

University of Louisville

35-17

BYU

36-20

BYU

Louisville

Softball Bows Out of NCAA Regional with 6-4 Loss to BYU

May 20, 2016 | Softball

Box Score

Cards finish season with 35-17 overall record

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Louisville fell 6-4 to BYU in Columbia Regional elimination game on Friday at Missouri's University Field. The Cards end the season with a 35-17 overall record.

Junior Maryssa Becker went 2 for 3 with a home run and a double and sophomore Nicole Pufahl added another home run as the Cards battled, but ultimately fell short to the Cougars.

BYU (36-20) jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first. Gordy Bravo led off the game with a hit. Walks to Ashley Thompson and Libby Sugg loaded the bases for Alexa Strid's sacrifice fly.

The Cardinals answered in the home half of the first. Junior Jordan McNary reached on a fielder's choice and stole second as Becker worked her count full at the plate. Becker then sent a towering shot over the left field fence for her 10^th homer of the season which pulled Louisville ahead 2-1.

The Cougars used a home run to regain the lead in the third. Bell singled and Lauren Thompson reached on a bunt that fell right in front of the plate and stayed in fair territory to put two runners on for Sugg who connected on a three-run homer to make the score 4-2.

BYU tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth when hits by Bravo and Bell and a fielder's choice for Thompson loaded the bases for Suggs' two-run single to increase the Cougars' lead to 6-2.

Louisville used another home run, this time from Pufahl, to add a pair of runs in the sixth. Sophomore Jenna Jordan reached on a fielder's choice and was lifted for pinch-runner junior Tiarra Sanabria. Pufahl followed with her sixth homer of the season to cut the lead to 6-4.

The Cards had a final scoring opportunity in the seventh when Becker delivered a two-out double and was lifted for pinch-runner Jessica Adell to bring the tying run to the plate, but a groundout ended the game.

"This team has grown a lot over the year and has overcome a lot of adversity, so I'm pretty proud of them for getting here," said UofL head coach Sandy Pearsall. "We've struggled a little bit knowing what our pitching would give us from day-to-day and defensively we've been making some silly mistakes all year and that showed up again today. These are the things we need to work on throughout the summer and the fall next year to get right back at it."

Megan Hensley (15-6) took the loss after giving up four earned runs on five hits and striking out three in 2.0 innings. Becker gave up two earned runs on seven hits and struck out eight in 5.0 innings of relief. Sophomore Sidney Melton and senior Brittany Sims each had two hits in the game.

McKenna Bull (27-12) got the win, giving up four earned runs on nine hits and striking out five in a complete game effort. Suggs was 2 for 3 with five RBIs in the game.