Home conference series against LMU
PROVO, Utah--The BYU softball team welcomes LMU for its first conference series at home with doubleheaders on Friday starting at 5 p.m. MDT and Saturday starting at 1 p.m. MDT.
BYU QUICK HITS
- BYU is 10-2 overall against Loyola Marymount and is currently on a six-game winning streak against the Lions. LMU has never played at Gail Miller Field.
- BYU is just ahead LMU in the PCSC standings with a 6-2 record, while LMU sits at 8-4 having played in one more conference series.
- Ashlee Brawley Robinson and Katie Manuma each had game-winning RBI’s against UVU to help the team win two of its four games against the Wolverines in its second conference matchup.
- BYU has just three conference series against Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and CSU Bakersfield left alongside two non-conference matchups against Southern Utah and Utah to finish out the season.
- At this time last year, BYU was 24-12 with 26 team home runs, a .300 team batting average and 176 RBI.
OPPONENT NOTES
LMU is currently on a four-game win streak after sweeping Saint Mary’s in its last conference series. The Lions are 25-18 on the season and are just behind BYU in the conference standings with an 8-4 record. The team was favored to finish second in the conference preseason poll and is currently leading the conference with a .403 slugging percentage, 27 home runs, 63 doubles and 278 strikeouts. The Lions have been led all season by freshman pitcher Sydney Gouveia. She has a 13-2 record alongisde a 1.54 ERA in 24 total appearances. Gouveia ranks third in the NCAA in strikeouts per seven innings with 11.5, ninth in total strikeouts with 195 and 12th in shutouts with six. With a record of 5-1 in conference play, she has given up just 10 earned runs on 26 hits for a 1.81 ERA. Newcomer Hannah Montalban has also been a welcome addition to the team, hitting a .367 clip alongside 10 doubles and 14 RBI. The Lions have three players with five or more home runs on the season including senior Olivia Alvarez (5), junior Meghan Harman (6) and freshman Stephanie Crist (7).
In conference play, LMU split series with CSU Bakersfield and Santa Clara before its sweep of Saint Mary’s. BYU is currently on a six-game win streak against LMU and in that time has outscored the Lions 49-4. LMU is averaging almost four runs and seven hits per game so far this season. The Lions have a huge advantage in power at the plate with 27 home runs to BYU’s 10 and 63 doubles to BYU’s 34. However, BYU has an advantage on the base paths with 50 stolen bases to LMU’s 16 on the season. LMU also has six more games under its belt this season, alongside one more conference series.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
There are a number of BYU softball players who are currently setting all-time season and career records at BYU.
Senior shorstop JC Clayton broke the all-time hit record with six hits against San Diego to surpass Angie Quiocho. She now has 276 career hits and 51 hits so far on the season. Clayton is also fourth all-time in career runs with 173 and second in career batting average at .400.
Sophomore Lacey Millett is tied for fourth with 15 stolen bases this season after grabbing two stolen bases against UVU in the team’s last game of the series. She is also tied for fifth in season stolen bases with 14 her freshman year.
Pitchers Tori Almond and Hannah Howell each had 20 wins last season, good enough for fifth in all-time season wins. They have also both moved up in the area of career strikeouts at BYU. Almond is fourth with 330 and Howell is not far behind in fifth with 321.
WHERE TO WATCH
Friday's doubleheader will be available to follow via live stats. Saturday's games will be broadcast live on BYUtv.