PROVO, Utah — BYU softball wraps up its regular season slate this week, welcoming No. 25 Arizona State to Gail Miller Field for a three-game series.
The Cougars (18-30, 7-14 Big 12) will honor seniors Kaysen Korth, Jaelynn Lambert, Miranda Mansfield, Hailey Morrow, Lily Owens, Tristen Turlington and Maddie Udall-Woolley following their series against the Sun Devils.
| BYU vs. No. 25 Arizona State | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Date | Time | Stream | Live Stats |
| Game 1 | Thursday, Apr. 30 | 6 p.m. MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
| Game 2 | Friday, May 1 | 6 p.m. MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
| Game 3 | Saturday, May 2 | Noon MT | ESPN+ | StatBroadcast |
BYU went 2-2 last week, earning a run-rule victory against Weber State before dropping its series at Utah, 2-1. The Cougars fell in the opener by one run, 3-2, before getting run-ruled in game two, 9-0, and salvaging the set in the finale with a 5-1 win.
Hitting .316 on the week but just .233 in Salt Lake City, BYU was led by Owens and Danica Acosta, who hit .500 and .444, respectively, against the Utes. Ilove'a Brittingham batted .333 in the series, with Udall-Woolley turning in a .250 clip as well.
Hailey Shuler posted a 1.11 ERA across the three games, turning in two great starts and earning the complete game victory in game three while recording seven strikeouts throughout the series.
In the month of April, the Cougars are 7-8, with six of those wins coming in Provo. Seven BYU batters are hitting .300 or better over the last 15 games, led by Udall-Woolley (.417) and Lexie Bennett (.400).
Owens (.396), Brittingham (.382), Acosta (.340), Shuler (.340) and Turlington (.303) follow, with those seven accounting for 109 of the team's 128 (85.2%) hits, 74 of its 86 (86%) RBI and 76 of its 92 (82.6%) runs over that span.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Cougars rank No. 26 nationally in double plays (23) and No. 30 in double plays per game (0.48).
BYU is fourth in the Big 12 in both categories, and is also fourth in the league in fewest hit batters (23), strikeouts per seven inning (5.09) and sacrifice flies (18).
On the individual side, Owens is 36th nationally with five sacrifice flies, while left-handed pitcher Jada Villegas is 40th with three saves. She is second in the Big 12 in the metric, as is fellow southpaw Gianna Mares' 22 starts and Brittingham's eight runners caught stealing.
With three games to play, the Cougars sit in 10th place in the conference standings, a game back from Iowa State and this week's opponent, Arizona State.
While the two teams have met at least once in each of the last five seasons, BYU plays host to the Sun Devils for the first time since May 2007.
No. 25 Arizona State (35-16, 8-13 Big 12)
- The Sun Devils were swept by then-No. 2/5 Texas Tech last weekend.
- ASU in 10-4 on the road this season, including a 5-4 mark in Big 12 play.
- Arizona State leads the all-time series, 16-3, and is 2-0 against the Cougars in Provo.
- The Sun Devils took last season's series in Tempe, 2-1, with all three contests decided by one run.
On Deck
Currently on the outside looking in at the Big 12 Championship bracket next week, BYU likely needs at least two wins this week, and help from Texas Tech, Arizona and UCF to avoid potential tiebreaker situations with Baylor, Utah and Iowa State.