PROVO, Utah--Consistency was the mantra of BYU's 2005 Mountain West Conference Champion softball team as the Cougars experienced their most successful season in program history while earning national respect.
Not only did BYU post its best overall record at 45-14, it dominated MWC play with a 16-2 mark. The Cougars took both the MWC regular season and conference tournament titles on its way to a national ranking. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said the Cougars domination was against a difficult schedule.
"This was our most difficult schedule ever," Eakin said. "We had high expectations going into the season and our consistency was remarkable."
BYU's consistency showed early on in the 2005 campaign. The Cougars started the year winning its first nine games. They also posted streaks of eight and nine consecutive victories throughout the season.
"I think the only time we played inconsistent softball was our Oregon trip," Eakin said.
The Cougars only had two losing streaks the entire season. Five of their 14 losses came on a difficult road trip to Oregon against national powers Oregon and Oregon State.
The Cougars showed no ill effects of the tough Oregon trip as they began conference play a week later. BYU won its next eight contests and 17 of its next 18.
The team continued its hot play into the postseason. After beating Utah 5-1, the Cougars edged out New Mexico, 2-1 and UNLV, 2-0, to claim its first conference tournament crown since 2001. The conference crown led to BYU's first national ranking when the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate ranked the Cougars 25 heading into the NCAA Regionals.
Although it earned a No. 1 seed, luck was not on BYU's side when it came to its Regional opponents. The Cougars were selected to travel to the Fresno Regional where they faced softball powerhouses in No. 2-ranked California, Fresno State and Long Beach State.
BYU got arguably its biggest win in program history when it beat Cal, 3-1. The Cougars then faced two of the NCAA's best pitchers, losing to both to end their dream season.
Facing tough pitchers was something BYU grew accustomed to throughout the 2005 season. Over the years, the Cougars have developed a reputation as being an explosive offensive team. Thus, BYU often faced its opponents' best hurlers.
"We were no secret offensively," Eakin said. "We knew that we wouldn't be able to sneak up on anybody so every game was a battle."
Statistically, BYU was among the nation's leaders in four offensive categories. The Cougars were 13th in the nation in batting average, posting a .309 team mark. Additionally, BYU was sixth in scoring (5.88 runs per game) and home runs per game (1.15) while placing fourth in slugging percentage with a .510 mark.
Whereas the offensive consistency that has become a hallmark of BYU softball was expected in 2005, it was the surprising Cougar pitching that helped pace the team's season. Newcomers Summer Tobias and Danielle Urincho, along with returner Brooke Boyce paced the team with each posting winning records. Eakin said that he had high expectations for his pitchers.
"The one thing that held it all together for our team this year was solid pitching," he said. "Even though I expected a lot out of our pitchers, they all lived up to those expectations."
Tobias and Urincho posted ERAs under 2 and each won over 15 games. After Tobias pitched a perfect game and Boyce twirled a no-hitter, they became the first tandem since 2001 to accomplish that feat.
No matter the category, BYU dominated the MWC. Individual honors were plentiful as the Cougars had two All-Americans in Ianeta Le`i and Lauren Watson-Perry. While Watson-Perry took home MWC Player of the Year honors, Urincho won MWC tournament MVP.
BYU enjoyed its best season in program history and will hope to improve on its successes in 2006.
"It was a great year for us," Eakin said. "We developed a refuse-to-lose attitude that we carried with us throughout the year."
2005 BYU Cougars 45-13, 16-2 MWC
Team Info:
MWC Regular Season: first
MWC: Tournament: first
NCAA Tournament: Finished 1-2 in double elimination play; upset No. 2 California
Final Regular Season Ranking: No. 25 (first ranking in program history)
Individual Honors:
Softball Easton All-American Second Team: Ianeta Le`i, Lauren Watson-Perry
MWC Tournament MVP: Daniella Urincho
MWC All-Tournament Team: Ianeta Le`i, Jodi Norton, Paige Paramore, Summer Tobias, Danielle Urincho.
MWC Regular Season Player of the Year: Lauren Watson-Perry
MWC Scholar-Athletes: Renae Clarke, Jennifer Whiteley
All-MWC: Debbie Dodds, Ianeta Le`i, Ashlyn Russell, Summer Tobias, Danielle Urincho, Lauren Watson-Perry
MWC Player of the Week: Lauren Watson-Perry
MWC Pitcher of the Week: Summer Tobias
Academic All-MWC: Brooke Boyce, Krystle Chamberlain, Deborah Dodds, Jen Whiteley
Student Athlete Academic Center Scholar Athletes: Brooke Boyce, Kimberly Dabo, Deborah Dodds, Carli Jones, Belinda Osborn, Lindsey Gerhauser, Kate Walker, Jen Whiteley