PROVO, Utah - San Diego softball (10-24, 2-7 WCC) looked to rebound on Saturday afternoon against the Cougars (27-13, 6-0 WCC), holding BYU hitters to a .222 average with runners in scoring position. The strong defensive effort came up just shy as the Toreros fell 3-0.
 
Madison Earnshaw (3-11) earned her second start of the series and took the loss in the circle. The veteran shined in game three, facing 29 hitters, forcing nine ground balls and five fly outs while striking out three. Earnshaw held the potent BYU offense to under .300 in almost every situational statistic on the day.
 
The defense shined in game three, committing no errors and keeping the Cougars to only 2-for-9 with runners on second and third.
 
BYU took the lead early in game three, tacking on one run in the bottom of the first. The Toreros defense then responded, holding the Cougars at bay through four more innings of work.
 
San Diego's offense was led by Sofia Delgado as the freshman went 1-for-3 at the plate. The Toreros threatened in the top of the fourth as Delgado got aboard with a two-out single and stole second. The third baseman was stranded on a ground out to keep the BYU advantage at one.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Earnshaw forced a lead off pop up to short before the Cougars got runners on first and second. Sophia Bjerk came through on a fielder's choice to punch out BYU's lead runner at third. A two-out, two-run double provided insurance as BYU grew its lead to three.
 
The Toreros were unable to close the gap in the top of the seventh to make the final score 3-0.
 
San Diego will return to action on Wednesday, April 28, rounding out its eight-game road stretch with a midweek visit to CSUN for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. (PT).
 
This story created with the help of content automation technology from Data Skrive.