PROVO, Utah—Sydney Broderick continued her hot hitting to lead BYU softball to a 7-3 victory against Weber State Friday night at Gail Miller Field.

“It was a good team win,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “It was nice to bounce back after falling behind two to nothing to this Weber State team who was aggressive and came out swinging.”

Broderick finished 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. McKenzie St. Clair finished 2-for-3 with a home run and Ashlee Robinson was 1-for-1 with a double, both scoring two runs each.

Tori Almond earned the win, pitching 5.1 innings and striking out six. McKenna Bull was credited with the save, striking out four over 1.2 innings pitched.

The first inning kicked off with Weber State earning a double and then loading the bases with two outs. A single to left field crossed two and gave the Wildcats the 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, Gordy Bravo reached on an error with two outs and Katie Manuma homered to center field to tie the game at two.  

After Almond held the Wildcats scoreless in the top of the second, St. Clair hammered one over the left field fence to give the Cougars their first lead at 3-2. With two outs, Robinson walked and Broderick hit one off the scoreboard in right-center field making it 5-2 in favor of BYU.

The Wildcats put runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the third and cut the lead to 5-3 when Kristin Kubo singled up the middle.

In the top of the fourth, Bravo made a diving catch in foul territory for the third out to hold the Wildcats without a baserunner. St. Clair singled down the left-field line to leadoff the bottom of the frame and advanced on a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt from Mercedes O'Connor. Robinson then sacrificed to center field to cross her making the score 6-3. 

Almond struck out two in the top of the fifth to strand a Wildcat runner on first. Weber State returned the favor stranding Ashley Thompson at second in the bottom of the fifth.

In the top of the sixth inning, Bull entered the game with runners on second and third and struck out two to end the threat.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Robinson doubled off the fence in left-center field, and Broderick singled to right center to score her and extend BYU’s lead to 7-3. Bull struck out the first two batters she faced in the top of the seventh to pass Summer Tobias for the ninth best strikeout season at BYU.

The Cougars will host conference foe Loyola Marymount next Friday, April 25 at 6 p.m. MDT in a three game series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon MDT. All three games will be broadcast live by BYUtv.

PROVO, Utah – Freshman McKenna Bull and senior Tori Almond look to keep up their strong pitching against in-state rival Weber State on Friday at 5 p.m. MDT at Gail Miller Field.

BYU (21-21, 4-2 WCC)
The Cougars swept in-state rival Southern Utah on Tuesday to get back to .500 for the first time since they were 4-4 after falling to Chattanooga on Feb. 14. They took advantage of the contests to wake up their bats as 10 out of the 12 players that saw an at bat during the doubleheader got at least one hit.

Senior Carly Duckworth tied her career high with three hits in the nightcap against SUU and finished 4-for-5 on the day with four runs, two doubles and an RBI. Freshman Sydney Broderick added a 5-for-8 performance with three RBI, a home run and a stolen base. She leads the team with a .362 batting average and is second in home runs (5) and RBI (25).

Bull and Almond continued their strong performances in the circle each getting a win against Southern Utah. In her 6.2 innings pitched, Bull struck out eight to pass Hannah Howell for 10^th in strikeouts in a single season at BYU. Almond was credited with her 46^th win to take sole possession of third place in career wins at BYU.

Weber State (20-20, 2-7 Big Sky)
Weber State split a doubleheader with Utah State on Tuesday to remain at .500 on the season. After a successful start to their season, the Wildcats have struggled since beginning Big Sky play having lost 10 of their last 13.

Senior Brooke Silva leads the team with a .351 batting average while adding four home runs. Senior Jasmine Ioane is the team leader with eight home runs and 35 RBI to go with her .327 batting average. Sophomore Allyson Kulp adds a .308 average with five home runs and 24 RBI.

Junior MaCauley Flint is the ace in the circle for the Wildcats holding a 9-6 record with a 2.37 ERA and 130 strikeouts. Ioane adds a 5-6 record with a 3.71 ERA.

BYU Series Record vs. Weber St.
Overall Series Record: 1-1
BYU Record in Provo: 1-0
BYU Record in Ogden: 0-0
BYU Record at Neutral Sites: 0-1
BYU Record under Gordon Eakin: 1-1
Longest BYU Win Streak: 1 (2011)
Longest Weber State Win Streak: 1 (2014)
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 8 (2011)
Largest Weber State Margin of Victory: 1 (2014)
Most Runs Scored by BYU: 9 (2011)
Most Runs Scored by Weber State: 4 (2014)