OKLAHOMA CITY — With its 7-2 win over No. 3-seed Oklahoma State on Thursday afternoon, BYU softball advanced to the semifinal of the Big 12 Championship and will face No. 2-seed Oklahoma on Friday night.
| 2024 Big 12 Softball Championship Semifinal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Time | Live Stream | Live Stats |
| No. 6-seed BYU vs. No. 2-seed Oklahoma | Friday, May 10 | 5 p.m. CDT | Big 12 Now on ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
The Cougars (31-22, 11-16 Big 12) will meet a second-straight opponent from the Sooner State, and second in a row that they took one game off of during the regular season.
BYU beat Oklahoma State once during its series in Provo, an 11-8 game two victory fueled by two grand slams. The Cougars plated seven in their quarterfinal win over the Cowgirls on Thursday, notching a pair in both the second and sixth innings and scoring three in the fourth.
Stringing together offense, BYU sent seven batters to the plate in each of the innings it scored in, including three runs on OSU errors as the Cowgirls finished with five in the game.
The Cougars chased Oklahoma State starter Ivy Rosenberry from the contest with one out in the fourth after scoring five runs on four hits and a walk. BYU kept it going offensively even after the pitching change, tallying three hits and two runs off of Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Lexi Kilfoyl despite five strikeouts.
Chloe Temples held command in the circle for the Cougars, posting just her third complete game of the season and the team’s fifth in the outing. The senior left-handed pitcher allowed just two runs while striking out six with no walks.
Earning the win in four of BYU’s last five games, Temples now has a team-low 4.27 ERA with an 11-6 record on 38 appearances and 114.2 innings pitched to go along with a team-high 119 strikeouts.
Shortstop Ailana Agbayani, who went 1-for-3 against OSU, continues to lead the team with a .424 batting average. She finished with a team-high three RBI in the game, also recording four putouts and an assist.
The Cougars now turn their attention to No. 2-seed Oklahoma, who they also took a game off of during the regular season, a road victory in game two of its three-game series, 9-4.
Agbayani, Keila Kamoku and Hailey Morrow all recorded at least two hits in the April 12th game, with Agbayani’s four the most OU had given up to a single player since 2020. BYU’s victory was also the first home Big 12 loss for the Sooners since 2017.
Two freshmen pitchers dealt in Norman as Gianna Mares and Kate Dahle combined to pitch 6 2/3 innings, allowing just eight hits and four runs in the upset win.
Five has been the magic number for the Cougars this season, who are on their third five-game win streak of 2024. BYU has also seen two five-game losing streaks, both broken in wins against Top 10 opponents: No. 4/6 Oklahoma State and at No. 1/2 Oklahoma.
Thursday’s victory over the Cowgirls marked the team’s third Top 10 win of the year, the most in a single season in program history. The Cougars will have a shot at a fourth come semifinal Friday against the Sooners.
No. 2-seed Oklahoma (47-6, 22-5 Big 12)
- The Sooners beat No. 7-seed Kansas in their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday afternoon in five innings, 10-1.
- OU is ranked No. 4 in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll the ESPN/USA Softball Poll.
- After winning the regular season series, 2-1, Oklahoma leads the all-time series between the two teams, 10-1. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is 1-9 against the Sooners in his career.
On Deck
Should BYU beat Oklahoma in Friday’s semifinal, the Cougars would advance to Saturday’s title game, set for 6:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN2. They would face the winners of Friday’s second semifinal between the winner of No. 1-seed Texas and No. 4-seed Baylor.
View the full Big 12 Championship bracket at the leageu's website.