LOS ANGELES – Behind three home runs, No. 22/23 BYU softball defeated Loyola Marymount in the first West Coast Conference game of the season, winning 8-0 in six innings in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

“It was a great team win and a great start to conference play," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "It was a solid pitching performance and there was balanced hitting throughout the lineup. It was a good team win."

BYU (25-10, 1-0 WCC) out-hit Loyola Marymount (14-23, 0-1 WCC) 12-3 in the win. BYU reached double-digits in hits for the first time since picking up 10 against Utah last month. The 12 hits were the most since notching the same number against Detroit Mercy on March 3. This is also the first game this season that BYU has hit more than two home runs in a game, knocking three out of the park in the win. The last time the Cougars had three home runs in a game was a March matchup against Saint Louis in 2016.

McKenna Bull pitched the Cougars to this shutout win, her sixth shutout of the year. She tossed six strikeouts with no walks and allowed just three hits. On offense, Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge went 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBI while Ashley Thompson went 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI. Both of them hit home runs in the win, with Briielle Breland hitting the third homer of the day on 2 of 3 hitting.

BYU at LMU Box Score

After a scoreless first inning, the Cougars got runs on the board in the top of the second. Following a double from Alldredge, Breland hit a bomb over left field to take the 2-0 lead.

The top of the third saw more runs come in for BYU. With Lexi Tarrow on second, Thompson doubled to right center, bringing in the third run of the game. A couple of at bats later, Alldredge hit a home run dead center to extend the lead to 5-0.

In the top of the fifth, Thompson led off with another homer to center, her sixth of the year. Breland tripled to right center, but was left stranded. BYU’s one run pushed the lead to 6-0 after five innings.

Rylee Jensen led off with a single to get the offense started right in the top of the sixth. With Jensen on second and Tarrow on first, Libby Sugg hit a single up the middle to score Jensen. In the next at bat, the Lions’ shortstop committed an error, allowing Tarrow to reach home, making it 8-0 after the frame to force the run-rule victory. Bull and the defense never faced more than four LMU batters in an inning during the game.

BYU and LMU will play again tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at noon PDT. Live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – West Coast Conference play begins this weekend at Loyola Marymount for No. 22/23 BYU softball after a quick trip to face Utah State on Wednesday.

BYU Game Notes

The reigning three-time WCC champion Cougars (23-10, 0-0 WCC) look to defend their title. They will travel to Logan, Utah on Wednesday to play Utah State (23-8, 6-3 Mountain West) before heading to Los Angeles for the three-game series at LMU (14-22, 0-0 WCC).

The matchup against the Aggies will be streamed live on theMtn.com. Live stats will be available for all games on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU Storylines

• The Cougars are ranked for the sixth week of the season, extending the streak for the most a BYU softball team has been ranked in a single season. They moved up in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll at No. 22, the highest BYU has been ranked in 2017. In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, the Cougars are ranked for the first time this year, clocking in at No. 23. Additionally, thanks to the tough schedule before conference play, BYU is No. 21 in the NCAA in RPI.
• For the third time this season, BYU swept the WCC weekly awards with Caitlyn Larsen Aldlredge winning player of the week and McKenna Bull taking pitcher of the week. This is the first WCC Player of the Week nod of Alldredge’s career, while for Bull, this is the fifth WCC Pitcher of the Week honor of the year, third in a row. BYU also swept the weekly awards in week two when Rylee Jensen and Kerisa Viramontes won and in week four when Libby Sugg and Bull took the honors. Bull also won the Madness WCC Player of the Week award.
• Bull now holds the career records for innings pitched, complete games, shutouts, saves, strikeouts and wins. She surpassed Paige Affleck’s 91 career wins in the first game against Dartmouth. Additionally, she passed Affleck’s 803.1 career innings pitched against Oregon. At the plate, Ashley Thompson is moving up career lists herself, currently fifth in stolen bases (39) and third in walks (112).

Opponents Outlook

Utah State (23-8, 6-3 Mountain West) | Game Notes

• After going 16-4 to start 2017, this year’s Utah State team secured the best 20-game start in school history.
• The Aggies are ranked in the top 15 in the NCAA in batting average (0.334), slugging percentage (0.516), stolen bases per game (2.19) and triples per game (0.42).
• BYU leads the overall series 35-2 over Utah State. The Cougars are on a 15-game win streak against the Aggies, the last win coming in Provo last year, 4-1.
   

Loyola Marymount (14-22, 0-0 WCC)

• In 2017, LMU has an 8-15 record at home.
• The Lions split two games against the Cougars’ first opponent this week, the Aggies, earlier this season.
• The Cougars hold the 16-8 overall advantage over the Lions. However, LMU has won the series against BYU in the past two years, including a 2-1 series win in Provo last year.