PROVO, Utah - The Southern Utah University Softball came up empty-handed in their trip to Provo, dropping both games of a doubleheader to BYU.

The T-Birds (3-20, 0-0) will now turn their attention to Big Sky competition, as they open conference play with a home series against Northern Colorado next weekend. 

Game One:

Capri Franzen got the nod to start the first game against the Cougars. After relinquishing one run in the first inning, Franzen's action, with the help of a few phenomenal T-Bird defensive plays, kept the BYU offense in check until the fourth inning. 

The Cougars broke through in the bottom of the fourth, adding two more runs to build a 3-0 lead. 

The Thunderbirds struggled at the plate against BYU ace Chloe Temple, collecting just three total hits in the game. 

BYU continued to advance their lead in the fifth and sixth innings, collecting two runs in each frame, while Temple held Southern Utah scoreless. BYU went on to earn a 7-0 victory in the first game. 

Game Two:

Freshman pitcher Keimon Wiston earned her 16th start of the season in the second game of the doubleheader.

Similar to the first game, BYU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Following a three-up-three-down by the T-Birds at the plate in the top of the second, the Cougars hit a solo home run to extend their lead to 2-0. 

Payton Goodrich relieved Winston in the third inning to make her second appearance of the season. Goodrich shut down BYU's bats in the third and fourth innings, and the score remained 2-0 heading into the fifth frame.

The Cougars got their offense going again in the bottom of the fifth, hitting two more home runs and pushing the lead to 6-0.

Gianna Carosone attempted to start a T-Bird rally in the top of the sixth by crushing a one-out double to left-center; however, BYU pitcher Autumn Moffat-Korth retired the next two SUU batters, and BYU went on to pick up the win, 8-0. 

Next Up

The Southern Utah Softball Team will play its first home game of the season next Friday against Northern Colorado. The T-Birds face the Bears three times over the weekend, with one game scheduled for Friday and a doubleheader set for Saturday.

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