PROVO, Utah — BYU softball makes the drive down to St. George this week for a single game at Utah Tech on Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars went 1-3 last week after falling to Utah in Salt Lake City, 3-1, and dropping a third-consecutive Big 12 series to open conference play.
Despite the series loss, BYU snapped a five-game losing streak during its series with Oklahoma State, avoiding a tie with longest streak in program history.
Hitting a pair of grand slams, the team’s fifth and sixth of the year, to go along with a solo shot, the Cougars outlasted the Cowgirls in an 11-8 slugfest, a game that featured seven total home runs between the two teams.
The victory, BYU’s second in Big 12 play, marked the program’s first win over a Top 10 opponent since 2014 when the Cougars beat No. 2 Tennessee, 6-3.
The top of BYU’s lineup had success against Oklahoma State, combining for 11 total hits, eight runs scored and three RBI. Ailana Agbayani led the way, hitting .500, with Madie Bejarano at .429 and Lily Owens batting .400.
Through the first three weekends of Big 12 play, the Cougars find themselves in a three-way tie for seventh place with Houston and UCF, their upcoming conference opponents over the next two weeks.
Heading into last weekend, BYU ranked fourth in the league in batting average (.326), scoring (6.44 runs per game) and on-base percentage (.413), marks its ranks No. 21, No. 21 and No. 22 nationally in.
Individually, Bejarano continues to lead the country in sacrifice bunts per game, averaging 0.48, while Violet Zavodnik and Huntyr Ava both rank eighth, respectively, in on-base percentage (.573) and sacrifices flies (3).
Agbayani is No. 16, scoring 1.19 runs per game, which ranks third in the conference. Chloe Temples’ 66 total strikeouts are good for second in the Big 12, just five behind the league leader’s 71.
The circle is what the Cougars look to strengthen this week, with their starting staff posting a combined 5.38 ERA on 26 innings pitched with 24 hits, 20 earned runs and a .247 opponent average last week.
Getting set for its first of two matchups with the Trailblazers over the next week, BYU visits St. George for the fourth time in series history on Tuesday.
Utah Tech (11-17, 4-2 WAC)
- The Trailblazers have two wins over former WCC foe Pacific this season, as well as a five-inning win against future opponent Idaho State.
- BYU leads the all-time series with Utah Tech, 6-0. All six previous meetings have occurred in the last three seasons, with the Cougars going 3-0 last year, picking up two wins at Karl Brooks Field and another at home in Provo.
- Cougar head coach Gordon Eakin is 6-0 against Utah Tech during his tenure.
Following its in-state road trip, BYU will jump back into Big 12 play, hosting Houston in a second-straight conference home series at Gail Miler Field, Thursday-Saturday, Mar. 28-30.