PROVO, Utah — BYU softball opens up Big 12 play this week, heading to Tucson to visit No. 13/14 Arizona for a three-game set.
The Cougars (5-14, 0-0 Big 12) will visit the Wildcats (17-5, 0-0 Big 12) for the first time since the 2021 season, when BYU took part in Arizona's Wildcat Invitational.
| BYU @ No. 13/14 Arizona | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Game 1 | Thursday, Mar. 5 | 6 p.m. MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
| Game 2 | Friday, Mar. 6 | 3 p.m. MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
| Game 3 | Saturday, Mar. 5 | Noon MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
BYU went 2-3 at Cal State Fullerton's Judi Garman Classic last week, beating Cal and LMU but dropping games to the host Titans, Seattle and No. 8/9 UCLA.
The Cougars, who hit .298 on the weekend, were in a one-run game with Fullerton and out-hit the Bruins, 14-12, their most hits against a Top 25 team in program history, but fell 13-8.
Led by Danica Acosta and Ilove'a Brittingham's .462 batting average on the week, BYU had five batters who hit .300 in Fullerton. The pair were joined by Rita Tavita (.455), Lily Owens (.353) and Hailey Shuler (.308)
Hitting four home runs as a team in the tournament, the Cougars saw Brittingham go deep twice against UCLA, keeping BYU in the game. Hailey Morrow and Owens also homered, hitting their long bombs against Cal and LMU, respectively.
Shuler led the team in the circle, earning the win against both the Bears and the Lions, going the distance on Saturday with a career-high seven strikeouts in the Cougars' win over LMU.
The sophomore finished with a 3.34 ERA on the week, pitching 14.2 innings across four appearances with 17 hits, seven earned runs, eight walks and 12 strikeouts.
BYU posted a 5.91 ERA as a team, pitching 32 innings and striking outs 27 batters while surrendering 27 earned runs.
Heading into conference play, the Cougars rank in the bottom third of a handful of offensive and defensive categories, but lead the league in sacrifice bunts (4) and are third in the Big 12 in strikeouts per seven innings (5.91).
On the individual side, BYU is represented by Shuler's two saves (No. 15 nationally), Brittingham's five runners caught stealing (No. 31 in the country) and Owens' 0.84 walks per game (No. 36 nationally).
Looking for their first win in Tucson since 2016, the Cougars are also playing for just their third win over the Wildcats in series history.
No. 13/14 Arizona (17-5, 0-0 Big 12)
- The Wildcats enter Big 12 play on a five-game win streak.
- Four of Arizona's five losses have come to top five teams in Oklahoma and Texas.
- The Wildcats lead the series history, 11-2. Arizona won last season's series in Provo, 2-1, taking games one and two, 8-0 (perfect game, five innings) and 15-6 before the Cougars won game three, 9-4.
- BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is 2-9 against Arizona in his tenure.
After opening conference play in Tucson, the Cougars will have a Big 12 bye next week, hosting Abilene Christian on Tuesday before visiting Utah Tech in St. George for the Trailblazer Classic against Utah Tech and Omaha.