PROVO, Utah — BYU softball returns to the state of Utah this week, opening its slate with a midweek contest at Utah Valley on Tuesday night.
The Cougars and Wolverines will meet at 6 p.m. MT in the 57th contest between the two teams in series history.
| BYU @ Utah Valley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Tuesday, Mar. 24 | 6 p.m. MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
BYU struggled in Stillwater last week, but salvaged the series by upsetting No. 23/21 Oklahoma State in game three of the series on Saturday.
The Cougars hit just .136 across the trio of games against the Cowgirls, backed by Lily Owens' .333 batting average. Danica Acosta, Miranda Mansfield and Lexie Bennett each hit .250 on the weekend.
Owens got things started in the 7-3 victory with a two-run homer to center. After OSU tied the contest at two, BYU scored the next five runs on an Acosta double, bases loaded Rita Tavita walk, Hailey Shuler single and a double steal attempt.
Southpaw Jada Villegas went the distance en route to her first victory of the season, striking out one Cowgirl in her 126 pitch outing as the Cougars picked up both their first Big 12 Conference win and first victory over a Top 25 opponent on the year.
Just under two months into the season, Shuler (.342), Acosta (.328) and Owens (.325) lead BYU in batting average, with Tavita (.277), Hailey Morrow (.276) and Ilove'a Brittingham (.265) each hovering around the .300 mark as well.
In the circle, fellow lefty Gianna Mares leads the team in innings pitched (62.1) and strikeouts (61), while Kaysen Korth (5.06) and Shuler (6.79) have team lows in ERA.
While in the bottom quadrant of a number of Big 12 statistics, the Cougars are sixth in both strikeouts per seven innings (5.17) and sacrifice bunts (10).
BYU also has Brittingham (six runners caught stealing) and Villegas (two saves) sitting at second in the Conference in a pair of metrics.
Preparing for the first of two matchups with Utah Valley over the next two weeks, the Cougars will meet the Wolverines in Orem for the 27th time in series history.
Utah Valley (19-10, 2-1 WAC)
- The Wolverines dropped their Monday midweek to Nevada in five innings, 10-2.
- UVU won its WAC series opener last weekend against Utah Tech, 2-1.
- BYU leads the all-time series, 49-7, and is 21-5 against Utah Valley in Orem.
- The two teams split last year's meetings, with both teams earning a road victory.
On Deck
After 30 games, the Cougars will host their first home Big 12 series of the season, welcoming Kansas to Provo for a three-game set beginning on Thursday, Mar. 26 at 6 p.m. MT on ESPN+.