PROVO, Utah — No. 20 BYU women’s softball extends its win streak to 16 games as McKenna Bull and the Cougars topped Grand Canyon 6-0 on Wednesday night at Gail Miller Field.

“Coming into the game we had been playing well,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “We are a confident team right now, and I thought we played that way throughout this game.”

The Cougars' (37-10, 9-0 West Coast Conference) current 16-game winning streak ties for the longest streak in BYU softball history. BYU also had 16-game win streaks in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

Bull pitched a complete game for the Cougars, her 20th of the season. The senior has now pitched 43.2–straight scoreless innings. Bull struck out nine on Wednesday. Solid pitching and defense held the Lopes (36-18, 11-4 WAC) to just two hits in seven innings of play.

Briielle Breland led BYU in hitting, recording three RBI and going 2 for 3 from the plate with a home run. Libby Sugg tallied two RBI in the win on a home run, her 11th of the season.

BYU vs. Grand Canyon Box Score

Lexi Tarrow recorded the Cougars’ first hit as the sophomore reached first base on a hit up the left field line. Sugg then homered over the center field fence to give BYU the early 2-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning.

After two consecutive scoreless innings from both teams, the Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. A ground out to second by Alexa Strid scored Ashley Thompson from third to give BYU the 3-0 lead. Breland then singled to right and advanced to second on an error to score Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge. With Breland’s RBI, the Cougars claimed the 4-0 lead through four complete innings.

Bull retired three-straight batters in the top of the sixth, throwing just seven pitches.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Cougars increased their lead to six, 6-0. After Thompson reached base on a walk, Breland drilled the ball deep past the left center wall for the home run off of her former team

BYU will continue its 2017 campaign as the Cougars travel to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos in a three-game series on May 5-6. The first game of the series will begin at 4 p.m. PDT on Friday.

PROVO, Utah – Riding a 15-game win streak, No. 20 BYU softball gears up to play Grand Canyon at home on Wednesday before traveling to Santa Clara for a three-game West Coast Conference series.

BYU Game Notes

BYU (36-10, 9-0 WCC) will look to maintain a perfect home record against Grand Canyon (36-15, 11-4 WAC). The Cougars are undefeated in conference play after sweeping San Diego last weekend. This weekend at Santa Clara (12-34, 4-8 WCC), BYU has a chance to win the 2017 WCC title outright by winning at least two games.

The game against the Lopes on Wednesday will start at 5 p.m. MDT and will be streamed live on theW.tv. In Santa Clara, the series will start with a doubleheader on Friday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. PDT, wrapping up the weekend with a game on Saturday at 12 p.m. PDT. All four games have live stats options on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU Storylines

• The Cougars are currently riding a 15-game win streak. The program record for the longest win streak is 16 games, which was last achieved in 2014. During this span, BYU has picked up eight run-rule wins. The last four wins have all been mercy rule victories, which ties the 2008 and 2003 squads for the longest streak of run-rule wins.
• In Division I, BYU is one of six teams that are undefeated at home. The Cougars have amassed a perfect 13-0 record at Gail Miller Field. Florida State, Minnesota, Michigan, Marshall and Maine are the only other teams with perfect home records.
• Freshman Rylee Jensen was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week in addition to receiving the WCC Player of the Week nod. Over the four wins last week, she led BYU with a .667 batting average, tallying 12 RBI, eight runs and three home runs–two of which were walk-offs. This is the first national honor for a BYU player this season
• McKenna Bull has thrown 36.2-consecutive scoreless innings, a BYU record, spanning seven games. In five of those games, she has allowed only three hits or less.

Opponents Outlook

Grand Canyon (36-15, 11-4 WAC)

• The Lopes are currently tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference with New Mexico State.
• They started off the 2017 season strong, compiling an 18-1 record.
• BYU has played Grand Canyon just once before, picking up the 4-0 win back in February 2016.
   

Santa Clara (12-34, 4-8 WCC)

• The Broncos won the series at Saint Mary’s back in early April, winning two of the three games.
• The Cougars hold a 16-2 all-time advantage over the Broncos, including an 8-1 mark on the road. BYU has swept Santa Clara in the past two seasons in WCC play.