PROVO, Utah — Fresh off a 5-0 start to begin the 2024 season, BYU softball will travel to Tempe, Arizona to take part in Arizona State’s Littlewood Classic this week.
The Cougars will face the host Sun Devils, Virginia Tech, Illinois State, Memphis and Cal State Fullerton at the tournament. BYU’s Thursday night matchup at ASU will be streamed through the Pac-12 Network, but the following four games will just have live stats.
Tickets can be purchased through Arizona State, and more information on the Littlewood Classic can be found on ASU’s tournament home page.
| 2024 Littlewood Classic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Opponent | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| Thursday, Feb. 15 | 5:30 p.m. MST | Arizona State | Pac-12 ASU | Stat Broadcast |
| Friday, Feb. 16 | 10:30 a.m. MST | Virginia Tech | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
| Friday, Feb. 16 | 1:15 p.m. MST | Illinois State | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, Feb. 17 | 10:30 a.m. MST | Memphis | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, Feb. 17 | 1:15 p.m. MST | Cal State Fullerton | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
BYU went 5-0 at Hawaii’s Paradise Classic last week, beating Missouri-Kansas City, 17-8 (6) and Ole Miss, 7-4, on opening day. The Cougars then shut out Nevada, 8-0, and Missouri-Kansas City, 3-0, before coming from behind to beat Hawai'i, 3-2.
Falling behind by eight runs in the first inning to the Roos, BYU rallied to score 17 unanswered, including an eight-run fifth inning, to pick up the season opening win.
Ole Miss scored first in game two of the Cougars' Thursday doubleheader, but BYU answered with a five-run bottom of the first, building a lead that would hold up the entirety of the game.
Center fielder Violet Zavodnik's two-home run game against the Wolfpack fueled the Cougars' shutout. Pitchers Kaysen Korth and Kate Dahle gave up just five hits in the combined shutout.
Pitcher Gianna Mares pitched six innings of scoreless ball in BYU's second matchup with Missouri-Kansas City. Locked in a pitcher's dual, the Cougars plated two runs in the fourth, which proved to be enough for the win.
Following a lengthy rain delay, BYU found themselves trailing by two to the host Rainbow Wahine through three innings. Tallying just a pair of hits as a team up until the seventh inning, Hawai'i native and shortstop Ailana Agbayani launched a go-ahead 3-run homer over the scoreboard in right field, securing the Cougars' perfect start to the season in the Aloha state.
BYU's 5-0 start to the 2024 campaign is the best since the 2010 season, the first and only time that BYU advanced to the NCAA Super Regional. The Cougars opened that year 5-0 at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, picking up two more wins at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas before dropping its first game after seven wins to begin the season.
Visiting Tempe for an early season non-conference tournament for the second year in a row and sixth time in the last 10 seasons, BYU will look to build upon their strong start, beginning with the host Sun Devils on Thursday night and No. 21/17 Virginia Tech on Friday morning.
Arizona State (2-2)
- The Sun Devils split their opening weekend, beating St. Thomas and Maine, but falling to No. 20 Northwestern and Boise State.
- Arizona State leads the all-time series between the two teams, 13-2. BYU is 2-10 in games played in Tempe, but has won two of the last three matchups, including a 10-5 win at last year’s Littlewood Classic.
- This is the first time that the Cougars have faced the Sun Devils when they have not been ranked. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is 2-10 against Arizona State during his career.
No. 21/17 Virginia Tech (4-0-1)
- The Hokies beat Illinois twice, No. 19/20 Auburn and Belmont last week, tying once at Auburn due to a weather delay that negated a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning.
- Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 2-0. Both matchups came at a neutral site in ASU’s Farrington Stadium during the 2021 Tempe NCAA Regional.
Illinois State (0-5)
- The Redbirds took Bethune-Cookman and South Florida to extra innings during opening weekend before falling to Michigan, Oregon State and No. 18 Florida.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 2-0. Like the Cougars’ series with the Hokies, both matchups against the Redbirds have been played on neutral sites at Arizona State, including a 2-1 BYU win last year. Eakin is 1-0 against ISU in his career.
Memphis (0-4)
- The Tigers dropped a pair of games each to Pittsburgh and at LSU last weekend.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 1-0. The only matchup between the two teams was a 14-8 Cougar win in 2012, also at a neutral site.
Cal State Fullerton (4-0)
- Hosting the Easton Classic last weekend, the Titans beat Colorado State twice, UIC once and former WCC foe Pacific once.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 5-2, with all seven matchups occurring at neutral sites. The two teams split their last matchup in 2020 at the Campbell Cartier tournament held at San Diego State. Eakin is 5-2 against Fullerton in his career.
Following the Cougars’ road trip to Arizona, they will then head to Palm Springs for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 22-24.