LOS ANGELES – BYU softball suffered its first setback in West Coast Conference play, falling in a doubleheader to Loyola Marymount University 6-5 and 8-4 Friday.

The Cougars (38-12, 12-2 WCC) were too little too late, falling in consecutive games for the first time since February.

Gordy Bravo and Lacey Hofstedt led the team with three hits apiece on the day. 

Freshman relief pitcher Madison Merrell led BYU from the circle, allowing five hits and one earned run in 5.2 innings.

Game One
Bravo led off with a bloop single to shallow center, eventually scoring on an LMU (26-27) error for the 1-0 advantage in the top of the first.

The Lions responded to take the lead with four runs in the bottom of the first after an Alicia Brown grand slam to center.

Hofstedt sparked a two-out rally in the top of the second with a bloop single to left field before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Bravo then notched her second hit of the game, scoring Hofstedt from second to cut the lead to 4-2.

LMU put another run on the board with a home run to left field for the 5-2 advantage in the bottom of the third.

The Cougars scored again in the top of the fifth on O’Connor’s fourth dinger of the year– a solo shot to left center to bring the tally to 5-3.

In the bottom of the fifth the Lions added another run on a single to center before Tauali’i led off the next frame with her 10th home run of the season.

LMU loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but Merrell snagged a liner hit straight back to the circle before doubling off the runner at first. She then struck out the next batter to end the frame.

In the seventh Bell led off with a double to the fence on a 3-2 pitch, and O’Connor walked to put the tying run aboard. Bell was then called out as LMU got the lead runner on a fielder’s choice. O’Connor scored on a throwing error to make the game 6-5 before the final two Cougars were retired to end the game.

Box Score–BYU vs. LMU game one

Game Two
The second half of the twinbill began with two innings of scoreless ball.

LMU broke the deadlock with an eight-run storm, scoring on five hits and one Cougar error.

BYU scored in the top of the fifth to break on to the scoreboard with Merrell’s first home run of her career.

The Cougars then scored three runs in the top of the seventh on Caitlyn Larsen’s first collegiate home run for the eventual 8-4 tally.

Box Score–BYU vs. LMU game two

PROVO, Utah – After clinching the West Coast Conference for the second year in a row, BYU softball finishes the regular season with a nonconference home finale against Utah Valley and a road series at Loyola Marymount.

The Cougars (37-10, 12-0 WCC) host UVU in the rubber game Tuesday at 5 p.m. MDT on BYUtv. BYU will then head down to Southern California to wrap up WCC play with a three-game series with LMU beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 12 and 2 p.m. PDT with the third game Saturday at noon. The first game Friday will be broadcast on The W.tv.

• At the plate. Junior centerfielder Gordy Bravo has a nine-game hitting streak with a conference-best .464 batting average and 70 hits for the second time in her career. Lacey Hofstedt is second in the conference with her .441 clip at the plate.
• Stolen bases. Hofstedt stole three bases in the conference-clinching win over Santa Clara. She has 23 total stolen bases on the season – two behind the BYU single season record of 25 set by Hofstedt in 2013.
• From the circle. Pitcher McKenna Bull is 32-7 with 220 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA. She is currently tied with Paige Affleck for the most victories in a single season in BYU history. She also broke Affleck’s mark of most strikeouts by a sophomore pitcher.
• Runs. Sydney Broderick and Ashley Thompson are 1-2 in the RBI category with 41 and 40, respectively. Seven of the eight starters have surpassed their RBI totals from 2014.
• Win total. With the 37-10 mark, BYU is just three wins shy of its ninth season with 40 or more wins.
• 11-straight NCAA Regionals. The postseason is the expectation with the Cougars having a total of 12 NCAA appearances and 11-straight including the recent clinching of the automatic bid. The NCAA Selection/Championship Bracket Announcement is Sunday May 10 at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPNU.

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

UVU (Tues. 5 p.m. MDT | BYUtv)

The Wolverines took the first game of the series on March 21 at Gail Miller Field, and the Cougars knotted the series with a win at UVU on April 7. Utah Valley is 16-38 after dropping a two-game series to No. 5 Oklahoma including a perfect game in a 14-0 loss to the Sooners. UVU leaders at the plate are Brianna Gatlin (.338 BA, 8 HR, 22 RBI), Jaylen Watson (.315 Ba, 11 HR, 27 RBI) and Brittney Vansway (.302 BA, 9 HR, 33 RBI). From the circle Bailey Moore (10-19, 5.33 ERA) leads the team in appearances with 45.

Loyola Marymount University (Fri. 12* & 2 p.m. PDT, Sat. 12 p.m. | *The W.tv)

The Lions (24-27, 6-6 WCC) are coming off their conference bye week after a home series win against Saint Mary’s, taking the first two games by one run before falling in the third game. LMU is paced offensively by Amanda Dirks (.367 BA, 7 HR, 34 RBI), Alicia Brown (.328 BA, 6 HR, 25 RBI), Alex Finie (.325 BA, 5 HR, 29 RBI) and Stephanie Maciel (.313 BA, 9 HR, 20 RBI). Rachael Farrington leads the Lions with a 19-14 record and a 2.77 ERA with 200 innings pitched.