Provo, Utah- - On the opening day of a three-game series between Brigham Young (28-8) and Pacific (10-31), the Tigers were downed twice, despite hitting a program-record five home runs in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Gail Miller Field. In the first game of the day, Pacific fell 7-0 before battling back in a zany slugfest and falling 16-9 in the nightcap.
BYU moves to 5-0 on the WCC season while Pacific sits at 0-5 in conference play after the defeat in its first visit to the state of Utah since 2004.

In the nightcap for Pacific, freshman Rachel Sellers led the attack with two blasts while freshman Molly Bourne, sophomore Cassidy Gustafson and Senior Alex Steinmehl each connected on a home run. The output easily breezed past the Tigers previous program mark of three in a single game, a feat that had been accomplished ten times, last on April 13th, 2013 at home against Long Beach State.


Game One: BYU 7 Pacific 0

In game one of the doubleheader, Pacific sent senior Dani Bonnet (5-15) to the circle to face off with BYU sophomore McKenna Bull (24-5).

BYU struck first with a leadoff home run from Gordy Bravo, but Bonnet and Bull locked horns for scoreless frames until the bottom of the fourth inning as the Cougars punched across three in the frame. First baseman Ashley Thompson knocked in a pair with a single through the right side to extend the lead to 4-0, capping the rally for the hosts. In the fifth inning, A two-run homer from CoCo Tauali'i extended the lead for the home team to 6-0 and a Bravo single made it 7-0 in favor of the Cougars.

For the Tigers, Bonnet allowed just three earned runs, walking three and striking out one. Freshman Marissa Young pitched an inning and a third of scoreless relief, striking out a pair. Offensively, Pacific was led by junior Nicole Zapotoczny and Gustafson, as each started doubled. Steinmehl also singled for Pacific in the first game of the day.


Game Two: BYU 16 Pacific 9

In the second game of the day, the bats came alive for the Tigers after falling into a 9-0 hole through the first two innings.  In the top of the third, Pacific started the inning with back-to-back walks issued to sophomore Toni Santos and junior Sara Anderson. After a double play erased Santos, freshman Molly Bourne connected on a two-run blast, her fourth of the season, to cut the lead to 9-2 in favor of the Cougars.

BYU answered back with three of their own in the top of the third, highlighted by a Thompson single that scored a pair, to take a 12-2 lead into the top of the fourth frame.

The Cougars summoned Thompson into the game to relieve Bull, and Pacific opened up the inning with a single from freshman Sydney Lahners. The next hitter, Steinmehl, crushed a two-run homer and was followed by Sellers, who homered on a long fly ball to center field for her second of the season as the Tigers went back-to-back, inching closer as the score sat at 12-5.

BYU answered with a Tauali'i RBI double to make the score 13-5, affording the Cougars a chance to close out the contest early. However, the Tigers had other ideas as Sellers homered off the foul pole, her second blast of the game, to cut the advantage to 13-6 in favor of BYU, extending the game another inning.

After freshman Megan Walters hurled a scoreless frame in the bottom of the fifth, Pacific again made it closer with a three-run sixth. With two out, Molly Bourne singled into left field and Zapotoczny followed with a single of her own, advancing into scoring position on the throw. Gustafson then launched a homer down the left field line, clearing the bases with her fourth of the season as the scoreline suddenly was 13-9 in favor of BYU. The Cougars were forced to bring Bull back into the game, as Thompson allowed her fourth homer of the contest.

BYU closed out the scoring with a three-run sixth, as Mercedes O'Connor connected on a home run to put BYU ahead 16-9. Bull retired the side in order in the seventh, and Pacific  dropped a pair on a night in which its prolific power output set a new franchise best.  Gustafson had three hits while Steinmehl, Sellers and Bourne each had multi-hit and multi-RBI games.

Pacific will wrap up the weekend series with the Cougars at 12:00 pm PT on Saturday at Gail Miller Field. For the latest on the Pacific Softball program, be sure to follow @PacificSoftball on Twitter and Instagram.