PROVO, Utah — BYU softball will wrap up its regular season slate with a three-game series at Kansas this weekend.
*Thursday night's matchup between BYU and Kansas has been moved back an hour to a 6 p.m. CDT first pitch due to forecasted weather in the Lawrence area. Friday and Saturday's meetings are still slated to be played as scheduled.
| BYU @ Kansas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| Thursday, May 2 | 6 p.m. CDT | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Friday, May 3 | 5 p.m. CDT | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Saturday, May 4 | Noon CDT | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
The Cougars (27-22, 8-16 Big 12) look to close out their conference schedule strong ahead of next week’s Big 12 Championship with the matchup against the Jayhawks.
Picking up a 5-1 midweek win at Idaho State on Tuesday evening, BYU saw lefty Chloe Temples toss just her second complete game, and the team’s third, this season, fanning 11 Bengal batters.
Aleia Agbayani, playing first base in the contest, led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Hailey Morrow and Maddie Udall each tallied two hits as well, posting one RBI each.
Getting back in the win column after suffering a series sweep at home against Baylor last weekend, BYU hopes to build upon its eight conference wins during its inaugural Big 12 season.
Heading into the series, the Cougars rank third in the league in batting average (.326), on-base percentage (.415), runs scored (330), hits (428) and RBI (305), sitting behind Oklahoma and Texas in each statistical category.
BYU is also fourth in slugging percentage (.524), home runs (58), total bases (688) and walks (166), while fifth in doubles (68) and triples (9). The Cougars lead the league in plate appearances (1,586), at bats (1,305) and hit by pitches (45).
As a team, BYU ranks No. 11 nationally in scoring (6.63 runs per game), No. 12 in on-base percentage and No. 17 in batting average, fueled by six hitters batting .300 or better, including Ailana Agbayani’s .438 and Huntyr Ava’s .403.
Joining the duo at the top are Violet Zavodnik (.372), Lily Owens (362), Udall (,319) and Jaelynn Lambert (.300), with Keila Kamoku and Maddie Bejarano both at .296. Aleia Agbayani is not far behind, at .288.
The Cougar pitching staff is headlined by freshmen Kate Dahle and Gianna Mares to go along with senior Chloe Temples. After pitching five and a third throughout the Baylor series last week, Dahle now has a team-low 4.83 ERA.
Temples has recorded a 4.91 ERA, and her 104 strikeouts are a team high. Alyssa Aguilar and Ailana Agbayani have both seen the circle for BYU as well, but have posted just 14 appearances each.
Facing Kansas for the first time in 15 seasons, BYU also makes its first ever trip to Lawrence in series history.
Kansas (27-21-1, 11-13 Big 12)
- Outside of Big 12 opponents, UC Riverside is the only common opponent between the two teams. BYU beat the Highlanders in Palm Springs this season, 5-3.
- Kansas leads the all-time series, 5-2, and has won the last four matchups. This is the two team’s first meeting since February 20, 2009, a 3-1 Jayhawk win.
Following the Cougars’ series at Kansas, they will then head to Oklahoma City for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship, held at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium from May 8-11.