PROVO, Utah – Sophomore ace McKenna Bull’s 10 strikeouts led BYU softball to an 8-1 victory over Utah State in nonconference action Wednesday night at Gail Miller Field.

"All of our pitchers threw great today," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "McKenna threw exceptionally well with 10 strikeouts, and she had pretty good command today. The team had a great bounce-back from the other day, playing pretty well both defensively and offensively."

In addition to her strikeouts, Bull only walked one batter and did not give up any runs in five innings of work.

Leading the Cougars (31-9) from the plate, Ashley Thompson went 3-for-4 while McKenzie St. Clair and Coco Tauali’i each had three RBI. Lacey Hofstedt extended her career-long hit streak to 11 games.

BYU got out of a jam with two runners on base as Bull struck out the side in the top of the first.

Offensively, the Cougars took control early with an RBI-single from Sydney Broderick and a three-run home run from St. Clair for her third of the season.

The Aggies (16-33) came back strong early in the second inning with a standup double from Nicole Arata and an infield single from Brina Buttacavoli, but it wasn’t enough to bring anyone home as the next three batters were retired.

Mercedes O’Connor hit a lead-off double to left center in the bottom of the third. She eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Tauali’i to center.

Utah State's Jordyn McCracken came in to pitch in the bottom of the fourth and was welcomed with a lead-off homer from Gordy Bravo before three quick outs to end the inning.

Freshman pitcher Arianna Paulson relieved Bull with two outs in the top of the fifth before the Aggies’ first score of the night in the sixth. Utah State put one on the board when Buttacavoli brought Hailey Froton home with an RBI-single to shallow center. Paulson ended the frame by striking out pinch hitter Sydney Hart.

An RBI-double from Tauali’i along the left-field line brought Thompson and St. Clair home to wrangle in the 8-1 eventual final score before Alexa Strid flied out to right center.

Freshman Madison Merrell relieved Paulson in the top of the seventh, striking out lead-off pinch hitter Megan Rhead. Bull returned to the circle with two outs in the frame, finishing the night with her 10th strikeout.

“Our plan was to get everybody some work today going into the weekend,” Eakin said. “Particularly with Arianna Paulson and Maddie Merrell coming in in a relief situation. Then if it presented itself, having McKenna Bull come back in and close the game down just so that we could work on different scenarios.” 

The Cougars will face San Diego in a three-game series at home this weekend, beginning with a doubleheader Friday night at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. MDT and finishing with a 1 p.m. game Saturday. The game will be broadcast live on theW.tv on Friday and BYUtv on Saturday.

Box Score--BYU vs. USU

PROVO, Utah – A conference showdown caps off the week as BYU softball first hosts Utah State Wednesday and West Coast Conference foe San Diego in a three-game series beginning Friday.

The Cougars (30-9, 6-0 WCC) continue their homestand looking to rebound after having their 10-game win streak snapped last week. They host the Aggies Wednesday at 6 p.m. MDT and the Toreros for a Friday doubleheader with game times at 5 and 7 p.m. and senior day Saturday at 1 p.m. The team will be honoring its two seniors Megan Arnold and Lacey Hofstedt.

Hofstedt continues her stellar season leading the team with a .465 batting average while extending her hitting streak to a career-long 10 games last week. Gordy Bravo is second on the team at the plate, batting .453 with two home runs and 22 RBI.

Coco Tauali’i knocked in three runs with her two-out home run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5 agaisnt Southern Utah. She has a team-high eight dingers on the season. Ashley Thompson is second on the squad with seven and Sydney Broderick has six. 

Pitcher McKenna Bull is 26-6 with 183 strikeouts on the season. She currently is tied for second in BYU history for single-season wins. Her 2.09 ERA has helped pace the BYU defense.

Bull has received run support all season from the team with Mercedes O’Connor leading the team with 36 RBI. Thompson has 34 and Broderick has 33 RBI on the year.

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

Utah State (Wed. 6 p.m. MDT | BYUtv | BYU Radio)

The Aggies (16-30, 8-10 Mountain West Conference) have lost five games in a row and face Weber State for a doubleheader Tuesday before traveling down to Provo for their second game this season with the Cougars. BYU took the first game in Logan, winning 13-2 in five innings.

Utah State’s offense is powered by Sarah Chow (.432 BA, 6 SB), Alleyah Armendariz (.341 BA, 9 HR, 23 RBI) and Hailey Froton (.354 BA, 2 HR, 41 RBI). Noelle Johnson (14-14, 3.73 ERA) has seen the bulk of the innings from the circle.

San Diego (Fri. 5 & 7 p.m. MDT (The W.tv) | Sat. 1 p.m. (BYUtv))

The Toreros (28-18, 7-2 WCC) recently set a program record in total wins for a season with 28 as they took two out of three games against Santa Clara. San Diego boasts the second-best record in the WCC with conference losses coming against Santa Clara and LMU. The Torero offense is highlighted by freshman Kailey Hill (.388 BA, 12 HR, 31 RBI) and sophomore Olivia Sandusky (.336 BA, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB). Freshman pitcher Paige von Sprecken (21-8, 1.83 ERA) leads San Diego from the circle.