Alexis Bermudezand Victoria Guzman combined to pitch Bethune-Cookman Softball to a 5-3 upset of No. 17 Oregon on Thursday afternoon at Fenway Field as part of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. For BCU, it was the first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since Laura Watten and the Cats won the NCAA Gainesville [Fla.] Regional in 2005, defeating the host Gators of Florida in the regional title game.

With BCU playing the first of five games in its "home away from home" during the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic – as 13 of the team's 19 players originate from the Golden State, the Wildcats faced the first of two (2) top 25 programs in Thursday's opening day of play on the west coast.

Bethune-Cookman (4-7) jumped on top of the Ducks with five runs across the opening two frames.

Junior right fielder Kaiya Epps-Lee smacked a two-out single past the glove of Oregon shortstop Jasmine Sievers to drive home Cheyenne Smith from third for the game's opening run. Also scoring on the play for the Maroon and Gold was Brianna Paysinger, coming in to score via an error charged to Ducks first baseman Hannah Galey.

BCU led 2-0 after the first inning.

The Wildcats added three more runs in the top of the second to extend the lead, 5-0.

Catcher Kayla Traylor reached to begin the inning on a fielding error by Sievers at shortstop. Sasha Killings followed with a double, and Jacki Smith walked to load the bases on Oregon starting pitcher Maddie MacGrandle.

Wildcats centerfielder Cheyenne Smith then delivered a two-run double through the right side in order to plate Killings and Traylor, respectfully. Paysinger followed in her at-bat with a sacrifice fly to deep center, allowing the speedy Jacki Smith to trot in from third.

That would be all for MacGrandle in the circle, as she worked just 2.1 innings in being responsible for all five BCU runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks.

Oregon (8-3) found its way onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning when designated player April Utrecht scored from third on an infield error by Bethune-Cookman with two outs.

The Ducks would find the offense once again in the home-half of the fourth with a pair of runs.

With the first two batters aboard for Oregon to begin the at-bat, Alee Bunker laced a two-run scoring double to the wall in right center to bring around Shaye Bowden and Cherish Burks, cutting into the deficit at 5-3.

With Oregon trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh and two runners in scoring position, sophomore hurler Victoria Guzman struck out Utrecht and got Bowden to ground out to Yvonne Siordia at third in order to seal the upset win for BCU.

The win went to Guzman out of the bullpen, pushing her record for the year to 2-1, as she worked four innings of relief in the circle. She allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out a pair. Classmate Alexis Bermudez worked the game's first three innings without factoring into the decision, as she allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, two walks and picked up a strikeout to set the tone.

The loss went to Oregon's MacGrandle, dropping her record at 2-3 on the campaign.

The BCU bats were sparked by Cheyenne Smith's 2-for-4 effort at the plate, adding a run and two RBIs. Epps-Lee was 2-for-3 at the dish with a RBI of her own.

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UCLA

The second-ranked Bruins recorded a pair of mercy-rule victories on Saturday, defeating Nebraska, 9-1 in six innings, and No. 16 Kentucky, 12-4 in six innings.

In game two against the Wildcats (8-7), the Bruins (13-0) produced 10 hits from eight hitters, as Jordan and Perez both had two-hit contests. Garcia notched the win in relief, striking out four in six innings and giving up two hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk. She had 1-2-3 innings in the second, fourth and fifth.

Kentucky jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but UCLA closed its deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the opening frame, as Perez led off with a double and Jordan notched a one-out double.

The Wildcats added two more runs in the third to go ahead 4-1, but UCLA scored six times in its half of the third to take the lead. Nickles reached on an error to start things off, Jordan singled up the middle and Nickles scored after Garcia reached on an error to make it 4-2. A Pack single to right-center brought in Jordan to cut the deficit to 4-3. Two batters later and with the bases loaded, Rodriguez singled to right-center to score Pack and freshman Taylor Sullivan to give the Bruins a 5-4 lead. After Washington reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases, Perez walked to plate senior Brianna Tautalafua to extend the edge to 6-4. A fielder's choice with Nickles up brought in Rodriguez to make it 7-4.

In the fifth, the Bruins added three. With one out, Washington was hit by a pitch and stole second. Perez followed with an infield single to first, and when she got in a rundown between first and second base, Washington scampered home to get the margin to 8-4. Nickles then extended her hitting streak to 24 games on a two-run homer to right-center to make it 10-4.

In the sixth, another homer ended things. Sophomore Malia Quarles was hit by a pitch, senior Danae Blodgett came in to run and Tautalafua homered to left to send the Bruins to a 12-4 victory.

Texas Tech

Highlighted by a two-run blast from Trenity Edwards, the Texas Tech softball team remains perfect through 12 games after Erin Edmoundson tossed a 5-0 shutout over No. 17 Oregon, Saturday afternoon at Big League Dreams Sports Park.

Edmoundson, who tossed a shutout against No. 13/15 Arizona State on Thursday, recorded eight strikeouts and improved to 8-0 after her third shutout of the season. Holding strong through seven full innings, Edmoundson and the Tech defense limited Oregon to just three hits and did not allow a Duck to reach second base.

Sophomore Heaven Burton recorded three of Tech's five hits, while Edwards and Karli Hamilton recorded one hit apiece.

Serving as the home team, the Red Raiders jumped on the board first after Edmoundson held off the Ducks in the opening frame. Hamilton began Tech's offensive efforts with a one-out triple that went shooting past the Oregon center fielder. Two pitches later, she came sliding home on a wild pitch from Oregon's Maddie MacGrandle to put Tech up, 1-0.

The Tech defense retired the Ducks in order in the second inning and Edmoundson posted another scoreless frame with three strikeouts in the top of the third.

Jessica Hartwell remained patient at the plate to start the bottom of the fourth and drew a leadoff walk off MacGrandle. Two pitches later, Edwards sent her fourth home run of the season sailing over the left-field wall to give the Red Raiders a three-run advantage.

Tech tried to push more runs across after Breanna Russell and Zoe Jones were issued back-to-back walks, but a hard-hit ball from pinch hitter Kiana Workman flew straight into the glove of MacGrandle to end Tech's threat.

Oregon collected one hit in the top of the fifth, but Edmoundson induced two easy outs to send Tech back into the dugout.

Burton kicked off the bottom of the frame with a single up the middle and she was moved over to second on a ground out to first. After a wild pitch and a walk, Edwards hit a fielder's choice to third and Burton slid home safely on the play to give Tech a 4-0 lead.

MacGrandle, who finished the game with a total of nine walks, issued back-to-back free bases to Taylor Satchelland Russell. With bases loaded, she issued her third consecutive walk to Jones and allowed Tech's fifth run of the game to come trotting home.

The Ducks picked up their third hit of the game in the top of the sixth, but a slick 5-4-3 double play squandered Oregon's momentum. A Red Raider error in the top of he seventh allowed one runner to reach base, but Edmoundson produced a line drive to short and Satchell made the easy play to clinch the 5-0 shutout.

Tech improves to 12-0 on the season with the shutout and is the only team in the Big 12 Conference to remain undefeated.

New Mexico State

NM State (9-4) fell behind early when a single and a double led to the Cal (7-7) bringing home a run in the bottom of the third. In the top of the next frame, the Aggies countered with a rally when Kayla Bowen posted a two-out double to centerfield. Fellow freshmen Mya Felder followed her teammate with a home run out over the fence in center to give New Mexico State the 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless fifth for both teams, Kelsey Horton got the inning started with a double to center field. Victoria Castro followed by reaching on an error and Nikki Butler loaded the bases when she was hit by a pitch. With Felder at the plate, the keen eye by the freshman allowed her to draw a walk, bringing in a run. Kennedi Sorensen came into pinch hit and brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, extending the team's advantage 4-1.

The New Mexico State squad continued to lead by three after a scoreless sixth for both teams. Starting pitcher Samaria Diaz came back to the circle for the final frame but after a pair of NM State error, two runners crossed the plate for Cal, leaving the Aggie lead to just a run. Kayla Green came in to pitch but another NM State error brought in the tying run. Following the play, Diaz reentered for NM State but the damage was done and the team headed to extra innings tied 4-4.

In the top of the eighth with the international tiebreaker in effect, Butler put down a bunt to advance Castro to third. With a pair of outs on the board, Cal's infielder dropped an infield fly, allowing the senior to score from third.

Coming down to the bottom of the eighth with a 5-4 advantage, a single through the right side with only one put out runners on the corners for the opposition.  A pair of singles followed, scoring a run but the Aggies were able to get out of the jam when a pop out and a line drive to Jeanelle Medina closed out the frame.

Following a scoreless ninth for both teams, NM State regained the lead in the 10^th when Butler came up with an RBI double to centerfield. Looking to secure the 6-5 victory, Diaz once again went to the circle. A passed ball by the Aggie catcher Shelby Shultes allowed the runner on second to reach third without an out on the board. However, the junior pitcher got the Bear batters to pop out and ground out before she recorded a strikeout, helping the Aggies claim the win.

Diaz pitched all 10.0 innings with Green just facing a single batter. The junior allowed five runs on 13 hits with just one run earned. She struck out seven, tying her career best and moved to 3-1 in the circle.