SANTA CLARA, Calif.— Sophomore pitcher McKenna Bull tied the school record for single-season victories as BYU run-ruled Santa Clara 8-0 for its fourth West Coast Conference sweep Saturday afternoon.

Bull is 32-7 on the season, tying former pitcher Paige Affleck who set the record in 2010.

“After two wins to seize conference yesterday, today was a game of good execution for the win,” BYU pitching coach Pete Meredith said. “McKenna did enough to earn the victory and we look forward to her 33rd to break the record. Catcher Sydney Broderick played a large part in those wins as did the whole team.”

The Cougars (37-10, 12-0 WCC) proved to be too much for the Broncos (15-35, 4-11) on SCU’s senior day, as BYU used a six-run first inning to jump out ahead.

Bull dictated around the plate, scattering four hits while striking out five in five innings of work for her seventh shutout of the year.

Junior Gordy Bravo extended her hitting streak to nine games with a 2-for-4 performance including one RBI and one run scored. Sophomores Mercedes O’Connor and Broderick each had two hits apiece.

The Cougars quickly loaded the bases in the first inning with three consecutive singles by Bravo, Bell and O’Connor. Two batters later, Broderick drove in the first run of the game with her left-field single to score Bravo.

An illegal pitch by the SCU pitcher advanced the BYU runners, scoring Bell before bases were juiced again after St. Clair was awarded a base on balls.

The next run came across the plate when Megan Arnold drew a two-out walk for an RBI, scoring O’Connor. Hofstedt then hit a ball into left-center, but the two outfielders collided, dropping the ball off the centerfielder’s glove, clearing the bases for three more runs before the inning ended 6-0.

After a leadoff single by Santa Clara in the first, the Cougars retired the next three batters to end the frame, including a catch by St. Clair as she dove to her right in the dirt at second base.

BYU tacked on one run in each of the next two innings, bringing the tally to 8-0 after three. Broderick had another RBI on a single through the right side to score Bell in the second. In the third, Bravo doubled down the left-field line, driving in Arnold who led off the frame with a hit to the left-center gap.

Over the final two frames, Bull struck out three Bronco batters, as Santa Clara couldn’t get anything going. The Broncos had two runners on base in the fifth on a single and a walk, but they couldn’t cash in as Bull ended the game with her fifth strikeout.

The Cougars return home for their final home game of the season Tuesday at 5 p.m. MDT when they face Utah Valley. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.

Box Score–BYU vs. Santa Clara (game three)
 

PROVO, Utah – A sweep of second-place San Diego has BYU softball is position to take control as it heads into its second-to-last week of West Coast Conference play.

The Cougars (34-9, 9-0 WCC) continue their home stand after four consecutive wins as they host Weber State for a nonconfernce game Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. MDT that was postponed two weeks earlier because of weather. BYU will then travel to Silicon Valley in Northern California for a WCC series against Santa Clara that begins with a doubleheader Friday at 4 and 6 p.m. PDT and Saturday at noon.

At the plate. McKenzie St. Clair put together a standout week with her two home runs and 11 RBI on a 5-for-10 hitting performace over four games. Ashley Thompson also hit 5-for-10, scoring seven runs with a double, a homer, five RBI, two stolen bases and five walks, including two bases on balls and one intentional base on balls in the game two win over San Diego. 

Home runs. St. Clair hit the team’s third grand slam of the season after the bases were juiced in the bottom of the fifth of game two against San Diego. Bravo hit her fourth of the year earlier in the same inning as St. Clair’s. Thompson hit her eighth of the season in the first inning of the same game, tying for the team lead with Coco Tauali’i.

From the circle. Pitcher McKenna Bull is 30-6 with 207 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA. She is currently second in BYU history for wins in a season, needing two to tie Paige Affleck’s mark. 

Runs. Ashley Thompson and Sydney Broderick are 1-2 in the RBI category with 39 and 27, respectively. Seven of the eight starters have surpassed their RBI totals from 2014.

Win total. With the 34-9 mark, BYU has matched its 2014 win total when it ended the season 34-23 after a trip to the NCAA tournament.

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

Weber State (Tues. 5:30 p.m. MDT | BYUtv)

The Wildcats have put together a strong record in conference play with a 10-6 mark and a 31-17 record overall. Aubrey Whitmer leads the team with her .411 average from the plate with two home runs and 31 RBI. Weber State has five players with more than 30 runs batted in on the season. Alyson Kulp leads the team with 40 RBI with a .375 batting average and five homers while Hingsberger is batting .364 with 35 RBI and a team-high six home runs. Three WSU pitchers have winning records with MaCauley Flint (9-7, 2.74 ERA) having pitched the most with 104.2 innings. BYU won 8-0 in five innings in the first meeting between the two teams in Ogden on March 24.

Santa Clara (Fri. 4 & 6 p.m. PDT | Sat. 12 p.m.)

The Broncos (14-32, 4-8 WCC) will host BYU after having lost six of their last seven games with a 5-4 win at San Diego on April 19. Santa Clara will look to get out of its funk when the Cougars come to town. The Broncos took one of the three games last year in Provo. Ellie Fisher leads SCU in batting average (.343) and on-base percentage (.452) while Breezy Bernard leads the team with 24 RBI with a .319 clip at the plate. From the circle Ciara Gonzales is 11-14 with a 3.31 ERA and 144 innings pitched.