PROVO, Utah — BYU softball wraps up its early-season non-conference play in Northern California this week, playing at Sacramento State before facing UC Davis, San Jose State twice and UC Riverside in Stockton.
The Cougars (9-4, 0-0 Big 12) look to continue their strong start to the 2025 season with five more games in the Golden State.
| Week 4 Game Information | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| @ Sacramento State | Thursday, Feb. 27 | 2 p.m. PST | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| UC Davis | Friday, Feb. 28 | 10 a.m. PST | N/A | Sidearm Stats |
| San Jose State | Friday, Feb. 28 | 12:15 p.m. PST | N/A | Sidearm Stats |
| San Jose State | Saturday, Mar. 1 | 10 a.m. PST | N/A | Sidearm Stats |
| UC Riverside | Saturday, Mar. 1 | 12:15 p.m. PST | N/A | Sidearm Stats |
BYU went 3-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week, beating Washington (3-1), Hawai'i (4-3) and UC Santa Barbara (5-0), while falling to CSUN (6-2) and hanging with No. 11/14 Duke in a 1-0 contest.
Right-handed pitcher Kaysen Korth led the Cougars to a pair of wins in Palm Springs, also picking up her second save of the season. Korth opened the tournament with a complete game, 12-strikeout performance against the Huskies, three shy of her career high and school record.
The junior closed out BYU's day two victory against the Rainbow Wahine, and followed that up with a complete game shutout versus UC Santa Barbara, fanning seven Gauchos in the win.
Fellow righty Kate Dahle tossed 11.2 innings in the tournament, include six innings against the ranked Blue Devils on Saturday morning when she struck out a career-high eight Duke batters.
Offensively, Bre Townsend paced the Cougars with a .417 batting average, slugging 1.000 on the week as she hit the first two home runs of her collegiate career in back-to-back games. The freshman tallied five hits on the week with one double and a sacrifce bunt.
Center fielder Lily Owens (.364), designated player Ilove'a Brittingham (.313) and Lindy Milkowski (.308) joined Townsend with batting averages of .300 or better in Palm Springs, combining for over half of BYU's total hits in the tournament.
Three weeks into the season, the Cougars are ranked in the top 25 nationally in double plays (No. 7, 10), double plays per game (No. 7, 0.77), ERA (No. 12, 1.71), sacrifice bunts (No. 21, 12) and WHIP (No. 25, 1.09).
BYU is represented by Korth and Milkowski on the individual side, led by Korth's two saves (No. 6) and six victories (No. 12), as well as Milkowski's five runners caught stealing (No. 15).
Returning to the state of California this week, the Cougars get set to face three teams they saw a season ago, and another they met during their 2023 postseason slate.
Sacramento State (8-5, 0-0 Big Sky)
- BYU leads the all-time series, 5-4, but lost last season's matchup against the Hornets as part of a rainy Capital Classic, a 4-3 contest on Feb. 29.
UC Davis (5-9, 0-0 Big West)
- The series is tied 3-3 after the Cougars beat the Aggies last season, a 5-3 win, also during the Capital Classic, on Feb. 29.
San Jose State (7-8, 0-0 MWC)
- BYU leads the series, 10-4, and has won the last two matchups. The Cougars and Spartans met in the first game of the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC), with BYU coming out of an hour-long rain delay to secure a 5-2 win.
UC Riverside (7-10, 0-0 Big West)
- BYU leads the series, 5-0. The Cougars beat the Highlanders in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last season, 5-3.
Following BYU's Northern California slate, it will begin Big 12 play, visiting Arizona State in Tempe for a three game series from Mar. 6-8.