PROVO, Utah — BYU softball takes a five-game win streak into Tempe as it begins Big 12 Conference play at Arizona State this week.
The Cougars (14-4, 0-0 Big 12) return to Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium for the fifth-consecutive season, having faced the Sun Devils at least once in each of the last four seasons, including three matchups in 2021.
| BYU @ Arizona State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Game 1 | Thursday, Mar. 6 | 6 p.m. MST | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Game 2 | Friday, Mar. 7 | 6 p.m. MST | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
| Game 3 | Saturday, Mar, 8 | 1 p.m. MST | ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast |
BYU swept all five games of its Northern California slate last week, outscoring opponents 46-10 with a pair of double-digit wins to conclude the weekend. The Cougars were led offensively by Ilove'a Brittingham, who hit .529 and slugged 1.059 with three home runs and nine RBI.
Nearly their entire offensive lineup finished the week hitting .300 or better. Lauren Flanders (.500), Hailey Morrow (.444), Lindy Milkowski (.417), Danica Acosta (.400), Lily Owens (.364), Bre Townsend (.357) and Maddie Udall-Woolley (.333) each joined Brittingham in the .300+ club, with Aleia Agbayani, who hit a grand slam on Saturday afternoon, just behind at .250.
As a team, seven different BYU batters combined to hit 11 home runs throughout the weekend, including six in a 14-3 win against San Jose State on Saturday morning, a game in which the Cougars opened the game hitting a trio of homers on three-consecutive pitches. The last time BYU launched three long bombs in a row was the 2011 season.
Defensively, the Cougars played 33 innings of error free softball, posting a perfect fielding percentage on 136 chances. BYU was backed by 12 innings of shutout ball from Kaysen Korth, who went 2-0 with a save, also striking out 13 on the week. Kate Dahle picked up three wins of her own, going 14 and a third on a 1.47 ERA with 15 strikeouts.
Heading into the opening week of conference play, the Cougars rank in the top 25 nationally in five statistical categories: double plays (No. 8, 12), double plays per game (No. 8, 0.67), ERA (No. 14, 1.82), sacrifice bunts (No. 15, 17) and fielding percentage (No. 20, 0.977).
As a team, BYU leads in the Big 12 in double plays per game, ERA and fielding percentage, and are second in double plays, home runs per game and sacrifice bunts. The Cougars also rank third in the Big 12 in home runs and WHIP.
Individually, BYU sees Korth with the nation's second-best ERA, at 0.27. The pitcher is also sixth nationwide in saves (3), eight in wins (6) and 17th in WHIP (0.78), while Milkowski ranks 10th in the country catching seven runners stealing.
Set to face ASU for the ninth time since the 2018 season, the Cougars look to start league play strong against the Sun Devils this week.
Arizona State (15-6, 0-0 Big 12)
- The Sun Devils lead the all-time series, 14-2, and are 11-2 against the Cougars in Tempe. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is 2-13 against ASU in his tenure.
- Arizona State look last year's matchup, 10-6, while the Cougars beat the Sun Devils in 2023, 10-5.
After opening conference play in Tempe, BYU will have a Big 12 bye next week, visiting Utah Tech in St. George before a doubleheader home opener against Idaho State.