PROVO, Utah — BYU softball looks to bounce back from a series loss at Texas with a Monday matchup against in-state rival Utah.
The Cougars and Utes are set to face off at Dumke Stadium on Monday, Mar. 18 at 5 p.m. MDT.
BYU went 1-3 last week, picking up a mid-week win against Utah Valley before dropping a three-game series at No. 3 Texas over the weekend. The Cougars trailed by as many as four runs against the Wolverines, but Maddie Bejarano delivered a walk-off three-run homer to earn the victory.
Scoring just three runs in Austin, BYU struggled in its first Big 12 road trip, being outscored by the third-ranked Longhorns, 30-3. The Cougars took a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning of game two in the series but were unable to plate another run from there.
Ailana Agbayani led BYU with two hits in the series, also drawing a walk and a hit by pitch. Six other Cougars tallied one hit: Jaelynn Lambert, Keila Kamoku, Huntyr Ava, Lily Owens and Bejarano.
Agbayani came in from short to pitch her first five innings of the season this past week, going two innings against Utah Valley and three at Texas with a team-low 9.33 ERA. The sophomore gave up four hits and four runs while striking out two.
Heading into the weekend, BYU sat at ninth nationally in both batting average (.348) and on-base percentage (.439) and was also No. 13 in scoring with 7.30 runs per game.
On an individual scale, Bejarano paces the Cougars as she continues to lead the country in sacrifice bunts per game, on a 0.57 average, and is also No. 7 in on-base percentage of .587.
Agbayani ranked No. 8 in runs per game (1.30) and Violet Zavodnik ranked No. 11 in on-base percentage (.573) while Ava and Kamoku reached ranks No. 14 with 30 total RBI and 0.30 sacrifice bunts per game, respectively.
BYU looks to get back on track Monday evening, set to play Utah for the 58th time in series history.
Utah (15-11, 1-5 Pac-12)
- The Utes have a win over former WCC foe San Diego this season, and have also beat future in-state opponent Utah Tech twice.
- BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 35-22, with a 14-12 record in Salt Lake City. Cougar head coach Gordon Eakin is 30-15 against the Utes during his tenure and 12-8 in games against Utah on the road.
- This is the two team’s first meeting in Salt Lake since the 2018 season. With the 2022 matchup canceled due to rain, the last two games of the series have been played in Provo.
Up Next
Following its trip an hour up the I-15 on Monday night, BYU will welcome No. 4/7 Oklahoma State to Provo for another three-game Big 12 series at Gail Miller Field on Thursday-Saturday, Mar. 21-23.