CORVALLIS, Ore. – McKenna Bull notched double-digit strikeouts for the third time this season as No. 25 BYU softball defeated Oregon State 2-1 at the OSU Softball Complex on Saturday afternoon.

“This was a game that was dominated by good pitching on both sides," BYU pitching coach Pete Meredith said. "McKenna stood out and did a remarkable job, especially clutching up in the seventh inning to give us the victory."

The Cougars (23-10, 0-0 West Coast Conference) took the second game of the two-game series against the Beavers (16-15, 1-5 Pac-12). The two teams struggled to get runs home, leaving six on base each.

Bull threw 10 strikeouts in the complete-game win, allowing just one run. Alexa Strid went 2 for 2 from the plate.

BYU at Oregon State Box Score

After a scoreless first inning, BYU got on the board in the top of the second. With the bases loaded, Rylee Jensen was walked, bringing home Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge for the first run of the game. At the end of the second, the Cougars led 1-0.

Following two empty innings for both teams, the Beavers tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth. A single advanced the scoring run to third, and a wild pitch gave the runner enough time to get home, making it 1-1.

BYU responded in the top of the sixth with a run to go up 2-1. Strid got the defense’s attention stealing second, allowing Madison Merrell time to slide into home. Oregon State got runners on in the bottom frame, but Bull threw a strikeout to retire the side.

The Cougars went three up, three down in the top of the seventh. The Beavers got runners on second and third in the bottom half of the inning, but two strikeouts and a pop fly to Jensen in left field sealed the 2-1 win.

Up next for the Cougars is a trip to Logan to take on in-state foe Utah State on Wednesday.

PROVO, Utah – In the final Power-5 matchups of the season, No. 25 BYU softball will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on No. 1/3 Oregon and Oregon State, facing the Ducks on Thursday and the Beavers on Friday and Saturday.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars (21-9, 0-0 West Coast Conference) will start the trip off with a matchup against Oregon (29-0, 5-0 Pac-12) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. PDT in Eugene. BYU will then play Oregon State (16-13, 1-5 Pac-12) at 1 p.m. PDT on Friday and at 12 p.m. PDT on Saturday.

The game against the Ducks will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Network. All three games will have live stats available on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU Storylines

• In 2017, BYU is 2-3 against the Pac-12. The two wins were against Washington and Utah, while the losses came against Arizona and in a doubleheader at UCLA.
• After defeating No. 11/13 Utah last week, BYU now has three wins over ranked opponents in 2017. The Cougars also picked up victories over then-No. 13 Washington and then-No. 11 Georgia.
• The Cougars are ranked for the fifth week of the season, the most a BYU softball team has been ranked in a single season. They checked into the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll at No. 25. The highest BYU has been ranked in 2017 is No. 23.
• For the sixth time this season, BYU softball won WCC Pitcher of the Week, this time with senior McKenna Bull earning her fourth nod. She picked up two wins last week with a 1.40 ERA while totaling 22 strikeouts and just four walks. Her win against No. 11/13 Utah was her third of the year against a top-25 opponent. Against Dartmouth, she threw 10 strikeouts enroute to becoming BYU’s career wins leader. As a team, the Cougars have taken at least one of the weekly awards every week so far in 2017, including sweeps of both player and pitcher of the week in weeks two and four.

Opponents Outlook

No. 1/3 Oregon (29-0, 5-0 Pac-12)

• The Ducks are the last undefeated division I team in the nation, picking up nine wins against ranked teams along the way.
• They are ranked first in the nation in batting average (0.372) and on-base percentage (0.470), along with being in the top five nationally in scoring (7.83), slugging percentage (0.557) and ERA (1.08).
• BYU trails in the series history 9-4 against Oregon. The Cougars have never won in Eugene, losing seven times, the last in the 2015 NCAA Eugene Regional. BYU last defeated Oregon in Provo, a 6-5 win in 2014.
   

Oregon State (16-13, 1-5 Pac-12)

• The Beavers are 15-13 so far in 2017, winless at home in four tries. They picked up a win at No. 21/24 Arizona State on Monday for their first ranked win of the year.
• Oregon State will play at Portland State on Wednesday before the matchup with BYU during the weekend.
• In the series history with the Cougars, the Beavers hold the 10-3 advantage, including a perfect 3-0 in Corvallis. BYU last played Oregon State in 2015, picking up a dominant 14-5 win.