MORAGA, Calif. – Sophomore Sydney Broderick surged BYU softball past Saint Mary’s in a doubleheader sweep Saturday at Cottrell Field.

"We're fortunate to get a three-game sweep when we didn't play our best softball," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We did step up when we needed to in all three games–hitting the ball or shutting them down. McKenna Bull had a good weekend and Ashley Thompson did a good job in relief. Sydney Broderick had a great weekend."

The Cougars (25-8, 3-0 West Coast Conference) downed the Gaels (15-24, 0-3) by scores of 3-2 and 8-5.

Broderick powered the offense with a 4-for-7 day at the plate including six RBI and two home runs, notching her second multi-home run game of the season.

Junior Gordy Bravo also came through with four hits in seven at-bats, including a double, while senior Lacey Hofstedt hit 4-for-6 on the day. Freshman Madison Merrell came through with her first three-hit game.

From the circle Bull (22-5) picked up the win in the first game while pitching three innings in the second game, allowing 10 hits, five runs and striking out seven on the day. Sophomore Thompson (2-1) notched her second win of the year in the second game while only allowing one hit and one walk in four innings pitched.

Game One

Early in the game BYU cashed in on Mercedes O’Connor’s RBI-single through the left side after a Bravo lead-off double followed by Bell’s sacrifice bunt to set the table.

More offense came in the third inning as Broderick smashed her fifth home run of the season on a solo shot to center field, upping the tally to 2-0.

The next inning Saint Mary’s cut the lead to 2-1 on a solo home run of its own, but the Cougars responded in the top of the fifth with another run to widen the margin. Broderick drove a two-out home run to right for her second of the game, pushing the score to 3-1.

Saint Mary’s tacked on its second run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the score to 3-2 for the eventual final outcome.

Box Score–BYU vs. Saint Mary's (DH game one)

Game Two

The second half of the twinbill began with a four-run burst by BYU in the top of the first inning.

Bravo led off with a single to shallow center. Later in the frame Broderick hit the gap for a two-run double, scoring Bravo and Merrell, who reached on a single. Thompson added two RBI of her own in the inning on her fifth homer of the year for the 4-0 tally.

Saint Mary’s countered with one run in the bottom of the first before the Cougars tacked on two more in the top of the second. Bell’s single to left and St. Clair’s sacrifice fly accounted for the two RBI and the 6-1 score.

In the bottom of the second the Gaels added one more with a single down the line to cut the BYU lead to 6-2. The inning ended with shortstop Alexa Strid’s diving grab up the middle, tagging second base with her right hand for the force.

Saint Mary’s fought back, narrowing the gap with three runs in the bottom of the third to make it a 6-5 game.

BYU made a pitching change before the bottom of the fourth, bringing Thompson into the circle. She held the Gaels scoreless while retiring 12 of the 14 batters she faced.

Two more runs extended the Cougar lead as Broderick came through with a two-RBI double for the eventual 8-5 tally.

Box Score–BYU vs. Saint Mary's (DH game two)

BYU will be back in action Tuesday at UVU before continuing WCC play against Pacific next weekend at home.
 

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball hits the road for one game at Utah State Tuesday and three at Saint Mary’s to open up West Coast Conference play this weekend.

The Cougars (21-8) willl face the Aggies (11-21) Tuesday at 4 p.m. MDT broadcast live on BYU Radio.

The three-game series with the Gaels (15-21) at Moraga, California, begins Friday at 3 p.m. PDT followed by a Saturday doubleheader at noon and 2 p.m.

Last week, BYU took an 8-0 decision in five innings at Ogden, Utah, against Weber State. Sophomore McKenna Bull picked up her 19th victory of the season. She leads the team from the circle with an ERA of 1.93 and 140 strikeouts so far this season.

At the plate, Sydney Broderick leads the team with 21 RBI while hitting .367 with a .479 OBP and three home runs. Gordy Bravo leads at the plate with a .441 batting average and a .491 OBP while Lacey Hofstedt has 14 stolen bases with a .410 batting average.

Utah State 

The Cougars are 13-1 against Utah State in Logan. The Aggies are led from the circle by Noelle Johnson (9-9, 3.26) while Sarah Chow (.443 BA, .504 OBP), Alleyah Armendariz (.337 BA, 7 HR, 18 RBI) and Hailey Froton (.352 BA, 29 RBI) have helped pace the offense.

Saint Mary’s

BYU is 11-0 all-time against Saint Mary’s with the last meeting a 3-0 Cougar win in 2014. The two teams have never faced each other at Moraga. Two pitchers have seen a majority of the innings for the Gaels with Katie Moss (8-4, 3.92, 78.2 IP) and Lujane Mussadi (5-13, 4.45, 113.1 IP). Andrea Hazel (.326 BA, 2 HR, 13 RBI), Sarah Lira (.210 BA, 8 HR, 18 RBI) and Loralie Fitzpatrick (.250, 4 HR, 16 RBI) have fueled Saint Mary’s offense.

Links to live stats, video streaming and radio are available on the softball schedule page.