PROVO, Utah – After a 4-0 weekend in Mexico, BYU softball heads out to Knoxville, Tennessee, to face No. 11/16 Tennessee, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Indiana State and Purdue in the University of Tennessee Tournament Thursday through Saturday.
Last weekend, the Cougars played in the first game held outside the U.S. in NCAA softball history, improving to 13-6 with four wins in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
The defense is fueled by sophomore pitcher McKenna Bull with her 13-3 mark while posting an ERA of 1.90 so far this year. At the plate, junior Gordy Bravo continues her high-performance season while batting a team-high .492 and team-high OBP of .528. McKenzie St. Clair and Lacey Hofstedt are both hitting at least .400 with .419 and .400, respectively.
Mercedes O'Connor has a team-leading 15 RBI on the year, but BYU has also seen run production out of Ashley Thompson (14 RBI), Bravo (13 RBI) and Sydney Broderick and Lauren Bell with 12 RBI apiece.
Recaps and links to live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.
North Dakota State (Thurs. 12 p.m. EST | Live Stats)
The Bison come in at 12-3 with their lone losses coming against San Diego State, Northern Iowa and Oregon State. NDSU’s Logan Moreland (.420 BA, .482 OBP), Cheyenne Garcia (.420 BA, 5 HR, 15 RBI), Amanda Grable (.356 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI) and Alyssa Reina (.349 BA, 3 HR, 19 RBI) have come through at the plate in the early part of the season. Pitchers Krista Menke (8-1, 66.0 IP, 113 SO, 1.80 ERA) and Jacquelyn Serti (4-2, 30.1 IP, 28 SO, 3.69 ERA) have paced the defensive effort.
Northern Iowa (Fri. 9 a.m. EST| Live Stats)
Northern Iowa and BYU have faced each other once with the last meeting in March 2001. The Panthers are 5-10 with a win over North Dakota State earlier in the season. Standouts at the plate include Rikki Alcaraz (.333 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Kristin Lock (.289 BA, 3 HR, 7 RBI) while Chelsea Ross (3-5, 50 IP, 50 SO, 3.92 ERA) and Alyssa Buchanan (2-4, 34.2 IP, 8 SO, 6.06 ERA) have seen the majority of the time in the circle.
Indiana State (Fri. 2 p.m. EST | Live Stats)
The Sycamores have a 2-9 record and have two hitters batting over .400 with Kassie Brown (.429 BA, .515 OBP) and Erika Crissman (.412, 8 RBI, .474 OBP). Taylor Lockwood (1-4, 3.06 ERA) and Yvette Alvarez (1-5, 8.67 ERA) have split the pitching duties with 34.1 and 21 innings pitched, respectively. The Cougars have never faced Indiana State.
No. 11/16 Tennessee (Sat. 2 p.m. EST | Live Stats | SEC+ Network)
BYU faces the Volunteers for the third since 2013. The Cougars were victorious in San Diego against then-No. 2 Tennessee in 2014 6-3 but fell in 2013 by the same score. The host team enters the tournament with an 11-3 record that includes notable wins over then-No.23 Notre Dame and Florida, who was ranked No. 8 at the time.
The Vols are led by Tory Lewis (.400 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Taylor Koenig (.389 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI) at the plate while contributing to a team total 21 home runs on the season. Splitting time in the circle are Gretchen Aucoin (5-2, 34.1 IP, 35 SO, 1.43 ERA), Rainey Gaffin (2-0, 23.2 IP, 23 SO, 1.77 ERA) and Erin Gabriel (4-1, 29 IP, 29 SO, 2.17 ERA). Tennessee did not play last weekend due to weather.
Purdue (Sat. 4:30 p.m. EST | Live Stats)
The Boilermakers bring a 10-5 record to Knoxville, Tennessee, with a win over then-23rd-ranked Texas A&M and a loss to previous No. 7 UCLA. Pitchers Lilly Fecho (8-2, 63.2 IP, 91 SO, 0.88 ERA) and Lexy Moore (2-2, 23.2 IP, 10 SO, 2.96 ERA) have seen most of the innings from the circle.