PROVO, Utah — BYU softball heads back out to California this week for the Capital Classic, co-hosted by Sacramento State and UC Davis.
The Cougars will face the host Hornets and Aggies, as well as UC Santa Barbara and Utah State during the tournament. Only BYU’s Thursday games will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased through Sacramento State and UC Davis.
*In an effort to avoid incelement weather in the Sacramento area, the Cougars' games against Sacramento State and UC Davis have been moved up on Thursday to 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. PST.
**BYU's matchups with Utah State and UCSB have also been rearranged. The Cougars and Aggies are still slated to meet on Friday, Mar. 1, but first pitch is now at 11:30 a.m. PST. BYU and Santa Barbara are scheduled to play Saturday, Mar. 2 at 9 a.m. PST.
***Due to unplayable field conditions, BYU softball's Friday morning matchup with Utah State in the Capital Classic at UC Davis has been canceled. The Cougars are still slated to face UC Santa Barbara at La Rue Field on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 9 a.m. PST.
****The start time for BYU softball's Saturday morning meeting with UC Santa Barbara has been pushed back to 10 a.m. PST as the UC Davis grounds crew prepares La Rue Field for play.
| 2024 Capital Classic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Opponent | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| Thursday, Feb. 29 | 9 a.m. PST | Sacramento State | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Thursday, Feb. 29 | 11:30 a.m. PST | UC Davis | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Friday, Mar. 1 | 11:30 a.m. PST | Utah State | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, Mar. 2 | 9 a.m. PST | UC Santa Barbara | N/A | Stat Broadcast |
Going 4-1 at the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week, the Cougars outscored opponents 55 to 18 in Palm Springs, picking up three run-rule victories and concluding the week leading the tournament in nine statistical categories as a team.
BYU finished No. 1 in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits and RBI, also seeing Ailana Agbayani, Lily Owens, Huntyr Ava and Maddie Bejarano lead the tournament in five individual statistics.
After the strong offensive week, the Cougars rank No. 6 nationally in scoring (8.53 runs per game), No. 7 in on-base percentage (.454), No. 10 in walks (61), No. 11 in batting average (.362) and No. 21 in slugging percentage (.536)
On an individual scale, Bejarano drops down the fourth-most sacrifice bunts in the country, averaging 0.53 per game. She is also eighth in on-base percentage (.640) as is Ava in total RBI with 23 RBI on the year. Agbayani and Owens are No. 8 and No. 9 in runs per game, scoring 1.47 and 1.46 runs pr game, respectively.
Bejarano continues to lead the team with a .528 batting average. She is joined by Owens (.487), Violet Zavodnik (.450), Agbayani (.438) and Ava (.396) with the five Cougars batting in the high-300s.
Zavodnik and Bejarano are tied for the team lead with 12 walks apiece. Agbayani has drawn nine, with Ava and Hailey Morrow earning seven free passes each. Ava and Zavodnik share a team-high in homers, with both launching four long bombs.
In the circle, Chloe Temples remains up front in innings pitched (40.1), strikeouts (46) and wins (5). Freshman Kate Dahle has posted a team-low 1.62 ERA on 26 innings pitched with four wins and 23 strikeouts.
Traveling back out to the Golden State for a second week in a row, BYU will visit Northern California this time, with a four-game slate before opening up Big 12 play at home the second week of March.
Sacramento State (7-5, 0-0 Big Sky)
- BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 5-3. The Cougars are 2-0 in games played in Sacramento. BYU won the last two matchups, played in 2017 at the Fresno State Invitational. Cougar head coach Gordon Eakin is 4-2 against the Hornets during his tenure.
UC Santa Barbara (3-10, 0-0 Big West)
- BYU leads the all-time series, 10-2. The Cougars are 8-1 against the Gauchos in neutral site matchups. BYU has won the last four meetings dating back to the 2015 season. Eakin is 9-1 against UCSB in his career, with a 7-1 record at neutral sites.
Utah State (7-7, 0-0 Mountain West)
- BYU leads the all-time series, 44-3. The Cougars and Aggies have only met at a neutral site three times previously, with BYU winning all three matchups. The Cougars have won six-straight meetings against Utah State. Eakin is 34-3 against the Aggies, and 2-0 when playing USU at a neutral site.
- Excluding the covid-shortened 2020 season, the two teams have met every season in BYU program history (2000-present) except 2009.
UC Davis (6-4, 0-0 Big West)
- UC Davis leads the all-time series, 3-2. The Aggies have won the last two matchups, in 2019 and 2020. None of the previous five meetings have been played in Davis. Eakin is 2-3 against UC Davis during his tenure.
Following the Capital Classic, the Cougars will host their home and Big 12 opener against Texas Tech from March 7-9.