PROVO, Utah — BYU softball heads to Pocatello for a single game at Idaho State on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars (26-22, 8-16 Big 12) look to snap a three-game skid in their midweek matchup with the Bengals. BYU won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 10-4.
After picking up the first series sweep of their inaugural Big 12 campaign against Iowa State two weeks ago, the Cougars suffered their first series sweep at home against Baylor last week.
BYU batted .310 during its three-game set with the Bears, but Baylor hit .378 in the series, out-hitting the Cougars, 34 to 26, and scoring 14 more runs than BYU.
The Cougars had six hitters finish with batting averages of .300 or better: Aleia Agbayani (.667), Huntyr Ava (.625), Macy Simmons (.600), Ailana Agbayani (.500), Maddie Udall (.400) and Jaelynn Lambert (.333).
Ava and Violet Zavodnik led the way offensively with a pair of homers and five RBI each, with Ava’s 11 total bases a team high and Zavodnik’s nine just behind.
On the season. BYU is batting .326 and fueled by Ailana Agbayani’s .441 clip and Ava’s .407. Joining the pair in the .300s are Zavodnik (.385), Lily Owens (.362), Udall (.313) and Maddie Bejarano (.304).
In the circle, righty Kate Dahle pitched five and a third innings in relief against Baylor, second most on the Cougar pitching staff. Dahle surrendered eight hits but just three earned runs, fanning two and posting a team-low 3.94 ERA.
After last weekend, Dahle now has a 4.83 ERA, lowest on the team, followed by Chloe Temples (5.21) and Gianna Mares (6.09). Alyssa Aguilar (4.20) and Ailana Agbayani (5.96) have also seen the circle for BYU, but have just 14 appearances each.
As a team, the Cougars continue to rank nationally in a few offensive categories, coming in at No. 9 in scoring (6.77 runs per game), No. 12 in on-base percentage (.414) and No. 17 in bating average (.326).
Individually, Bejarano remains the country’s leader in sacrifice bunts per game (.40) while Ailana Agbayani’s 1.19 runs per game and .543 on-base percentage both rank eighth.
Agbayani’s .441 batting average is good for No. 12 in the nation, with Ava’s 56 RBI ranking No. 13, and Bejarano’s .81 walks per game also ranking 13th.
Getting set for their second matchup in the last two weeks, BYU and Idaho State will face off for the 23rd time in series history.
Idaho State (25-24, 7-4 Big Sky)
- The Bengals have won series’ at Northern Colorado and against Weber State since playing in Provo two weeks ago.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 20-2, but lost its only previous matchup with Idaho State in Pocatello, a 7-4 contest during the 2012 season.
- The Cougars have won the last eight meetings between the two teams, including the first matchup earlier this season.
Following its midweek with the Bengals, BYU will head to Lawrence for its regular season finale, a three-game series against the Jayhawks.