PROVO, Utah — After playing five games in Palm Springs, California, last week, BYU softball returns to the Golden State for another set of five, taking part in Cal State Fullerton's Judi Garman Classic this week.
The Cougars will face host Cal State Fullerton, Cal, Seattle, No. 8/9 UCLA and LMU in the tournament.
| Judi Garman Classic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Cal State Fullerton | Thursday, Feb. 26 | Noon PT | ESPN+ | Sidearm |
| Cal | Thursday, Feb. 26 | 2:30 p.m. PT | N/A | StatBroadcast |
| Seattle | Friday, Feb. 27 | 9:30 a.m. PT | N/A | StatBroadcast |
| No. 8/9 UCLA | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 9:30 a.m. PT | N/A | StatBroadcast |
| LMU | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 12:30 p.m. PT | N/A | StatBroadcast |
BYU will take part in Fullerton’s Judi Garman Classic for just the third time in program history, and the first since the 2020 season. The Cougars went 6-2 across their previous two visits to Fullerton, and faced one opponent from their 2026 slate in the tournament previously, picking up a 10-3 win over Cal in 2020.
Set to face a ranked UCLA squad on Saturday, BYU is also 1-1 against Top 25 teams at the Judi Garman Classic, beating No. 25 Texas Tech in 2020 but falling to No. 5 Arizona State in 2012. This will be the Cougars’ first time playing the Titans in Fullerton, either as part of the tournament or as a single game.
Going 2-3 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week, BYU picked up wins over Hawai'i and Long Beach State, falling to CSUN, Auburn and RV/No. 23 Washington.
Lefty Gianna Mares picked up both wins for the Cougars in the circle, while fellow southpaw Jada Villegas earned the save against the Beach. Mares finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Rainbow Wāhine, tied for the fourth-most in a single game at BYU.
At the plate, the Cougars were led by Danica Acosta (.571), Lexie Bennett (.357), Ilove'a Brittingham (.353), Hailey Shuler (.333), Hailey Morrow (.294), Lily Owens (.286) and Miranda Mansfield (.273), who combined for 31 of the team's 35 hits in Cathedral City.
Bennett, Morrow and Mansfield each tallied a triple on the weekend, while Brittingham got going with four home runs, including a go-ahead grand slam against LBSU. BYU received six of its 11 extra-base hits at Mary Nutter from both Morrow and Brittingham.
Headed into week four, the Cougars rank No. 52 nationally in triples (4), No. 63 in triples per game (0.29), No. 66 in double plays (5), No. 67 in strikeouts per seven innings (5.68) and No. 67 in shutouts (1).
Owens and Morrow pace BYU on the individual side, ranking 12th in the country in walks per game (1.00) and 25th nationally in triples (2), respectively. Mares' 43 strikeouts are also good for No. 35 nationwide.
Facing all five of their Judi Garman Classic opponents within the last four seasons, the Cougars look to stack wins in Fullerton this week.
Cal State Fullerton (6-9)
- BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 6-2.
- This will be the first time the Cougars and Titans meet in Fullerton.
- BYU took the last meeting, a 6-5 extra-inning win in Tempe, Arizona, on Feb. 17, 2024.
Cal (5-11)
- The Cougars trail the all-time series, 7-6, and are also 6-7 against the Bears at neutral sites.
- BYU beat Cal, 5-0 in San Diego when the two teams last met on Mar. 5, 2022.
Seattle (9-6)
- BYU leads the all-time series, 7-0, with all previous meetings coming at neutral sites.
- The Cougars beat the Redhawks, 5-2 at Stanford on Feb. 19, 2022 in the series' last meeting.
No. 8/9 UCLA (13-3)
- BYU trails the all-time series, 1-8, and is 1-4 against UCLA at neutral sites.
- The Bruins beat the Cougars, 7-2 in a Provo midweek on May 1, 2023, the most recent meeting in the series
LMU (13-2)
- BYU leads the all-time series, 27-14, with a 9-1 record over LMU at neutral sites.
- In the last meeting, the Cougars beat the Lions in Los Angeles, 5-2 on April 15, 2023, BYU's final season in the WCC.
On Deck
The Cougars will open up Big 12 play on the road next week at No. 14. Arizona, with their three-game series against the Wildcats set to begin on Thursday, Mar. 5 at 6 p.m. MT.