PROVO -- The BYU women's softball team (9-4) will travel to St. George this weekend for the second time this season and play in the Red Desert Classic hosted by the University of Utah. The team opened up the season 2-2 in St. George in a tournament hosted by Southern Utah.
The Cougars will play Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. and Oregon at 4 p.m. on Friday. The times have been moved back due to rain delays causing Thursday's games to be delayed.
Last season, the team went undefeated in the Red Desert Classic, a 4-0 record, and defeated Oregon 8-7 on a day that saw Oli Keohohou go 4-4 with two key home runs that put the Cougars on top. Oregon is currently ranked No. 22 in the nation in the latest ESPN top 25 poll. The game against Georgia Southern marks the first meeting betweewn the teams.
"Oregon is a top 25 team," head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We don't know much about the other teams (Georgia Southern and UAB) but they are two pretty good programs. As long as were able to improve each game, we should come out alright."
BYU will face the University of Alabama Birmingham and Cal State Northridge on Saturday. BYU has never played UAB before and looks forward to the new challenge. BYU defeated the Matadors 7-2 last weekend at the UC Santa Barbara Invitation and expects them to play strong in the rematch.
"Cal St. Northridge will be a challenge," head coach Gordon Eakin said. "It will be tough to beat them again."
The weather in St. George has caused concern for the coaching staff and the players with Friday's games being delayed.
"I hope it doesn't rain and that the weather will allow us conditions to play all of our games," Eakin said. "We have some nagging injuries that we will play through. We have some bumps and bruises to play through but nothing serious to keep anyone out of play."