PROVO -- With two ranked victories under its belt, BYU (15-4) heads to Tempe, Arizona to face its fifth ranked team, and host, No. 10 Arizona State.
BYU’s Tournament begins on Friday, with a doubleheader against Nebraska at 2:30 p.m. and No. 10 Arizona St. at 5 p.m. BYU returns to the field the next day to face Pacific at 10 a.m. and No. 10 Arizona St. at 3 p.m.
BYU enters this tournament ranked as well, as it has climbed back into to the polls reaching No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Collegiate Top 25 Poll. The team also placed rankings in the Ultimate College Softball Coaches Poll at No. 22.
Although this is the second time this season the Cougars have found themselves in a ranked position, BYU head coach Gordon Eakin remains focused on the end result.
“These rankings reflect how hard we are working this season, and we are honored to be ranked among the best teams in the nation,” Eakin said. “However, what we are focused on most as a team is making it past regionals into super regionals and beyond. We don't want to put too much emphasis on our current rankings. Instead we want to keep our eyes focused on our end goal of going further than ever before."
The Cougars have five-straight appearances to post-season NCAA Regionals, but have yet to make it to Super Regionals or beyond and are working to make this their first year to do so.
Live stats and live audio for the Arizona State Tournament can be found on www.byucougars.com.