PROVO, Utah – BYU softball fell behind early and never recovered, falling 9-2 to in-state opponent Weber State at Gail Miller Field Tuesday night.  

“They showed up to play and we didn't,” BYU softball coach Gordon Eakin said. "I don’t mind getting beat but when you don’t show up and just expect to win, I have a hard time with that. Give Weber State credit, they showed up to play.”

The Cougars dropped to 34-10 on the season with the Wildcats improving to 32-17.

Coco Tauali’i led BYU with a two-run homer for her ninth dinger of the season, but Tauli’i’s runs were the only runs the Cougars could muster all night.

Weber State struck early and often, scoring four runs in the second inning that included a deep shot to right-center field that gave the Wildcats a 4-0 lead. BYU starter McKenna Bull was then substituted in favor of Arianna Paulson.

After Weber State added another run in the third to go up 5-0, the Cougars attempted to rally with Gordy Bravo and Lauren Bell reaching base with only one out. However, the Wildcats retired the next two batters to end the threat. 

Weber State added four more runs to blow the game open with a 9-0 lead in the top of the fourth. BYU responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the fourth. With two outs, McKenzie St. Clair doubled to left-center field and was followed by Tauali’i’s two-run shot over the wall in centerfield.

The Cougars again looked ready for a rally in the fifth inning when Bravo and Megan Arnold reached base. After a base on balls by Ashley Thompson, the next two BYU batters hit two routine pop-ups that ended the inning, leaving bases juiced.

BYU loaded the bases in a last attempt with two outs in the seventh inning, but Weber State was able to get St. Clair to fly out to the shortstop to secure the 9-2 victory.

Bull (30-7) took the loss for the Cougars pitching 1.2 innings and giving up four runs on three hits. Madison Merrell pitched in relief of Paulson in the fourth inning, only giving up three hits while striking out three in 2.1 innings of work.

BYU will play again later this week on Friday at Santa Clara. A link for live stats for the game can be found on the softball page. 

Box Score--BYU vs. Weber State

PROVO, Utah – A sweep of second-place San Diego has BYU softball is position to take control as it heads into its second-to-last week of West Coast Conference play.

The Cougars (34-9, 9-0 WCC) continue their home stand after four consecutive wins as they host Weber State for a nonconfernce game Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. MDT that was postponed two weeks earlier because of weather. BYU will then travel to Silicon Valley in Northern California for a WCC series against Santa Clara that begins with a doubleheader Friday at 4 and 6 p.m. PDT and Saturday at noon.

At the plate. McKenzie St. Clair put together a standout week with her two home runs and 11 RBI on a 5-for-10 hitting performace over four games. Ashley Thompson also hit 5-for-10, scoring seven runs with a double, a homer, five RBI, two stolen bases and five walks, including two bases on balls and one intentional base on balls in the game two win over San Diego. 

Home runs. St. Clair hit the team’s third grand slam of the season after the bases were juiced in the bottom of the fifth of game two against San Diego. Bravo hit her fourth of the year earlier in the same inning as St. Clair’s. Thompson hit her eighth of the season in the first inning of the same game, tying for the team lead with Coco Tauali’i.

From the circle. Pitcher McKenna Bull is 30-6 with 207 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA. She is currently second in BYU history for wins in a season, needing two to tie Paige Affleck’s mark. 

Runs. Ashley Thompson and Sydney Broderick are 1-2 in the RBI category with 39 and 27, respectively. Seven of the eight starters have surpassed their RBI totals from 2014.

Win total. With the 34-9 mark, BYU has matched its 2014 win total when it ended the season 34-23 after a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Links to video and live stats will be available on the softball schedule page.

Weber State (Tues. 5:30 p.m. MDT | BYUtv)

The Wildcats have put together a strong record in conference play with a 10-6 mark and a 31-17 record overall. Aubrey Whitmer leads the team with her .411 average from the plate with two home runs and 31 RBI. Weber State has five players with more than 30 runs batted in on the season. Alyson Kulp leads the team with 40 RBI with a .375 batting average and five homers while Hingsberger is batting .364 with 35 RBI and a team-high six home runs. Three WSU pitchers have winning records with MaCauley Flint (9-7, 2.74 ERA) having pitched the most with 104.2 innings. BYU won 8-0 in five innings in the first meeting between the two teams in Ogden on March 24.

Santa Clara (Fri. 4 & 6 p.m. PDT | Sat. 12 p.m.)

The Broncos (14-32, 4-8 WCC) will host BYU after having lost six of their last seven games with a 5-4 win at San Diego on April 19. Santa Clara will look to get out of its funk when the Cougars come to town. The Broncos took one of the three games last year in Provo. Ellie Fisher leads SCU in batting average (.343) and on-base percentage (.452) while Breezy Bernard leads the team with 24 RBI with a .319 clip at the plate. From the circle Ciara Gonzales is 11-14 with a 3.31 ERA and 144 innings pitched.