BYU softball hosts UVU in home finale, travels to LMU

PROVO, Utah – After clinching the West Coast Conference for the second year in a row, BYU softball finishes the regular season with a nonconference home finale against Utah Valley and a road series at Loyola Marymount.

The Cougars (37-10, 12-0 WCC) host UVU in the rubber game Tuesday at 5 p.m. MDT on BYUtv. BYU will then head down to Southern California to wrap up WCC play with a three-game series with LMU beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 12 and 2 p.m. PDT with the third game Saturday at noon. The first game Friday will be broadcast on The W.tv.

• At the plate. Junior centerfielder Gordy Bravo has a nine-game hitting streak with a conference-best .464 batting average and 70 hits for the second time in her career. Lacey Hofstedt is second in the conference with her .441 clip at the plate.
• Stolen bases. Hofstedt stole three bases in the conference-clinching win over Santa Clara. She has 23 total stolen bases on the season – two behind the BYU single season record of 25 set by Hofstedt in 2013.
• From the circle. Pitcher McKenna Bull is 32-7 with 220 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA. She is currently tied with Paige Affleck for the most victories in a single season in BYU history. She also broke Affleck’s mark of most strikeouts by a sophomore pitcher.
• Runs. Sydney Broderick and Ashley Thompson are 1-2 in the RBI category with 41 and 40, respectively. Seven of the eight starters have surpassed their RBI totals from 2014.
• Win total. With the 37-10 mark, BYU is just three wins shy of its ninth season with 40 or more wins.
• 11-straight NCAA Regionals. The postseason is the expectation with the Cougars having a total of 12 NCAA appearances and 11-straight including the recent clinching of the automatic bid. The NCAA Selection/Championship Bracket Announcement is Sunday May 10 at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPNU.

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

UVU (Tues. 5 p.m. MDT | BYUtv)

The Wolverines took the first game of the series on March 21 at Gail Miller Field, and the Cougars knotted the series with a win at UVU on April 7. Utah Valley is 16-38 after dropping a two-game series to No. 5 Oklahoma including a perfect game in a 14-0 loss to the Sooners. UVU leaders at the plate are Brianna Gatlin (.338 BA, 8 HR, 22 RBI), Jaylen Watson (.315 Ba, 11 HR, 27 RBI) and Brittney Vansway (.302 BA, 9 HR, 33 RBI). From the circle Bailey Moore (10-19, 5.33 ERA) leads the team in appearances with 45.

Loyola Marymount University (Fri. 12* & 2 p.m. PDT, Sat. 12 p.m. | *The W.tv)

The Lions (24-27, 6-6 WCC) are coming off their conference bye week after a home series win against Saint Mary’s, taking the first two games by one run before falling in the third game. LMU is paced offensively by Amanda Dirks (.367 BA, 7 HR, 34 RBI), Alicia Brown (.328 BA, 6 HR, 25 RBI), Alex Finie (.325 BA, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and Stephanie Maciel (.313 BA, 9 HR, 20 RBI). Rachael Farrington leads the Lions with a 19-14 record and a 2.77 ERA with 200 innings pitched.