SALT LAKE CITY — Libby Sugg wanted to help No. 21 BYU softball erase the foul taste after a walk-off loss to Utah in the NCAA regional.

With a few swings of the bat, she did just that.

Sugg went 3 for 3 with four RBIs, including a two-out, two-run home run during an eight-run third inning, to help BYU eliminate Fordham 12-1 in five innings of an NCAA regional elimination game Friday night at Utah.

“That was definitely fun; it takes a lot to score eight runs in an inning,” Sugg told reporters after the game. “I’m glad we did it.

“We want to go further than this,” she added.

The Cougars (46-12) will face No. 16 Utah in a rubber match at 2 p.m. MDT Saturday in the regional championship. If BYU wins, a second game will be played at approximately 4:30 p.m.

“We have to have the total package: defense, pitching and offense,” Sugg said. “We have to string hits and make the routine plays to make things tough for them.”

The Cougars batted around in the third, paced by a pair of two-run hits by Brooke Vander Heid and Lauren Bell.

Sydney Canessa had an RBI triple in the bottom of the third to pull one back for the Rams (46-17), but the damage was done against the Atlantic 10 champions.

“I was proud of the team for being resilient after the tough loss to Utah earlier today,” BYU coach Gordon Eakin said. “That’s not easy to do.”

BYU opened the scoring with three runs on three hits with two outs in the top of the first. Libby Sugg crushed a double to left field to drive in Lexi Tarrow on two outs, and Ashley Thompson and Caitlyn Alldredge each supplied an RBI single to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead after one inning.

Arissa Paulson (11-3) won the first postseason game of her career, spinning a three-hitter with four strikeouts against 18 batters faced in place of first-game starter McKenna Bull.

“Being Arissa’s first NCAA postseason experience, it was quality,” Eakin said. “To throw a three-hitter and be as composed as she was is huge. It shakes the rust off by pitching in your first postseason game, and I’m very pleased with Arissa’s performance.”

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No. 16 Utah softball rallies for walkoff win over No. 21 BYU

Pinch hitter Hailey Hilburn stroked a one-out single into shallow center field to drive in the game-winning run and Utah walked off with a 3-2 victory over rival BYU at Dumke Family Stadium in Friday’s game.

Next up comes the rival Utes, with a spot in the Super Regional on the line. BYU won the regular-season matchup 4-3 in Provo last March, but Utah rebounded with a 3-2 walk-off win earlier Friday to move directly to Saturday’s regional championship.

“We were definitely a little disappointed after the first game,” Sugg said. “We always want to win. But we came together, said ‘we’re going to win this, take our hacks, and have a good time.’ Now we’re ready for Utah.”

With three-straight games decided by one run, the Cougars know what to expect this weekend with a familiar opponent. BYU holds a 33-18 all-time record against the Utes.

“It’s going to be another high-energy game,” Eakin said. “But like Libby said, we’ve got to pitch well, we’ve got to defend well, and we’ve got to string some hits together. We can’t leave 11 runners on base like we did last time.

“We’ve been able to string hits together in big-time games all year long, and that will be our focus tomorrow. One pitch at a time, and go out there with a confident mental attitude and see if we can’t put a little distance between us when we have chances to do that.

“Utah’s a very, very, very good team, and it’s going to be a battle tomorrow; no doubt about it.”

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