Undefeated Aztecs Highlight MWC Road Swing
PROVO -- The BYU women's softball team (27-10, 5-3) take on the top-ranked team in the Mountain West Conference, the San Diego State Aztecs (30-14, 6-0), winners of 10 straight, Thursday The Cougars continue their conference road swing at UNLV (18-27, 2-6) on Saturday.
All-American Oli Keohohou leads the way for the Cougars. The junior outfielder is currently hitting .454 which ranks her No. 12 in the nation. She also has 17 home runs, tied for second in the nation and puts her in sole possession of second place at 0.46 per game. She is also 10th in the nation at RBI per game at 1.08 as she has 40 RBI through 37 games.
San Diego State is undefeated through six games in conference play. The Aztecs swept UNLV last Saturday in two games that went into extra innings. BYU was scheduled to play the Aztecs in Provo on April 4, but the doubleheader was cancelled due to snow. SDSU won four out of five meetings last season, including eliminating BYU from the MWC Tournament in Provo with a 10-4 win.
They are led by strong pitching from two-time MWC Pitchers of the Week Celena Valasquez and Bre DeSanta, last season's MWC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year. DeSanta leads the league with a 1.04 ERA and 14 wins while Valasquez has a 1.81 ERA, good for fourth in the conference.
BYU played UNLV on April 3 after a three-hour snow delay and swept the Rebels 9-1 (5) and 8-0 (6) and eliminated them from the MWC Tournament last season. The Rebels are led by Jackie Kerrigan, who ranks in the top 10 in the league in ERA, strikeouts, wins and starts. BYU leads the all-time series 11-3.
BYU is ranked 10th in the nation in scoring average at 5.68 per game and 210 runs scored this season. The team's .299 batting average is good for 25th in the country and BYU is batting .312 though eight conference games. Sophomore Lauren Watson is 41st in the country with her batting average of .393.
On the mound the Cougars are led by senior Mandy Flint with an ERA of 1.78, third in the conference. Freshman Brooke Boyce leads the team in appearances with 25 and eight wins. All four pitchers in the rotation have an ERA of under 3.0.
BYU returns home the weekend of April 25-26 to host Colorado State and New Mexico. BYU split doubleheaders against the Rams and the Lobos last weekend on the road.
Conference OverallTeam W L T Pct. GB W L T Pct.
San Diego State...... 6 0 0 1.000 -- 30 14 0 .682
BYU.................. 5 3 0 .625 2 27 10 0 .730
Colorado State....... 6 4 0 .600 2 25 10 0 .714
Utah................. 3 3 0 .500 3 14 19 0 .424
UNLV................. 2 6 0 .250 5 18 27 0 .400
New Mexico........... 2 8 0 .200 6 18 29 1 .385
Last updated Apr. 16, 9 AM MT
