PROVO, UT - The Marist softball team had a strong offensive showing versus a 2012 NCAA Tournament participant in BYU, on Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup in Provo, Utah. Six runs on ten hits would go for naught on Tuesday as the Cougars took advantage of three Marist errors on their way to an 11-6 victory. The freshmen duo of Nicole Cheek (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Kyrsten Van Natta (Maplewood, N.J.) led Marist offensively as Cheek connected for her fourth home run of the year in the fifth inning and Van Natta went 2-5 with a double.

In a game filled with action throughout, Marist started putting the pressure on the Cougars almost immediately as two Red Foxes, Maureen Duddy (San Mateo, Calif.) and Danielle Koltz (Chenango Bridge, N.Y.) drew back-to-back walks off of BYU pitcher Tori Almond in the top of the first inning. Almond would strand both runners with two consecutive strikeouts.

The Cougars were next to challenge to score the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning as Alexandra Hudson Shamo led off with a triple to right-center field. Starting Marist pitcher Emily Osterhaus (Suwanee, Ga.) and her defense would work around this impediment and get out of the inning unscathed.

In the next frame, BYU would finally break the scoreless tie with four runs on four hits and two Marist errors.

Down 4-0, the Red Foxes looked to get back into it in the top of the fourth as Cheek drew a walk and Alyssa Zahka (Lexington, Mass.) singled to right field to put runners on first and second. As quick as Almond's command over the Marist bats would seemingly fail at times on Tuesday, the junior hurler would snap back into her 2012 All-NFCA Region form almost instantly. She pulled this conversion once again as she left Cheek and Zahka stranded with a combination two pop ups and a strike out.

Marist would notch its first runs of the game in the top of the fifth as the Cougars would give the Red Foxes an extended inning with a two-out error. After Duddy singled into right field, Koltz reached via an error on BYU's shortstop to set up the third Cheek versus Almond matchup of the game. The freshman won this duel as she rocketed the fifth pitch she saw high over the right field wall and off of the scoreboard for a three-run homer.

With the score 4-3 and both teams bats awaken, BYU responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-3.

The both-and-forth scoring nature of the middle innings continued for Marist in the top of the sixth with a leadoff single by Haley Birnbaum (Lido Beach, N.Y.). After consecutive singles by Sarah Carmody (Camarillo, Calif.) and Van Natta loaded the bases, Duddy drove in the Red Foxes' fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly out to left field in foul territory.

Holding a 6-4 lead, the Cougars added significant insurance in the bottom of the sixth by plating five runs on three hits, one walk and one error.

Down 11-4, Marist manufactured two runs in its final frame as the first three Red Foxes, Cheek, Zahka and Aly Klemmer (Hamilton, N.J.) reached to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Janine Lalli (Eastchester, N.Y.) came off of the bench and sent the Hannah Howell offering deep to the right field warning track, just short of the grand slam, but still good for the sacrifice fly. Sophomore Taylor Kuzma (Freehold, N.J.) drove in the final run of the game with an infield single to score Zahka and make the score 11-6.

For the game, Marist finished with 10 hits versus 11 for BYU. Zahka (2-3) and Van Natta (2-5) led eight Red Foxes with base knocks off of Cougar pitching. In the circle, Osterhaus threw the opening five innings and allowed eight hits and six runs (four earned), while striking out two. Sophomore Melanie White (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) threw the sixth inning in relief and allowed three hits and five runs (none were earned), while striking out one.

The Red Foxes will finish off its two-game Utah trip with a Wednesday matchup at Utah Valley University on Wednesday at 5 p.m.