PROVO, Utah — BYU softball completed the sweep against Santa Clara with a 11-3 victory in five innings at Gail Miller Field on Saturday afternoon.

"It was a nice win today after another slow start," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "We need to start out better in these conference games and not get behind, but we persevered and finished the game strong. It was a good win."

Seven Cougars (21-18, 3-0 WCC) scored 11 runs on six hits in the win. Libby Sugg led the team, going 2 for 3 from the plate while logging four RBI. Ashley Godfrey went 2 for 4 with two RBI while Madison Merrell totaled three RBI.

Santa Clara (5-27, 0-3) started the game with a single to left center from leadoff hitter Morgan Modesto. After Ellie Fisher reached first base on an error, Samantha Needham laid down a bunt to move the runners to second and third. An Eleni Spirakis single to center field then scored Modesto, giving the Broncos the early 1-0 lead. Santa Clara took a 2-0 advantage on a sacrifice fly.

In the bottom of the first, Rylee Jensen reached first base on a walk. Sugg later doubled to left center to score Jensen and close the gap to 2-1. Bronco pitcher Adele Elkind then walked Alexa Strid and Emilee Erickson, moving Sugg to third. With the bases loaded, Merrell doubled to left center to score all three runners, giving BYU its first lead of the game, 4-2.

The Cougars scored four runs in the second frame to take an 8-2 lead into the third. Jensen walked before Breland reached on an error by the Santa Clara pitcher. Lexi Tarrow singled to second base to advance the runners and score Jensen. Sugg then homered to left field, scoring three.

In the top of the fourth inning, Katherine Sanchez crossed the plate for the Broncos to make it 8-3. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Godfrey singled up the middle to score Strid, who had walked. BYU led Santa Clara 9-3 through four innings. 

With bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, SCU pitcher Aubree Kim walked Allie Hancock to bring in Tarrow and give the Cougars a late 10-3 lead. Godfrey then singled to left, bringing pinch runner Erin Miklus home and for the final run.

BYU vs. Santa Clara Box Score

BYU softball is slated to play Utah Valley in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Tuesday, Apr. 10, at Wolverine Field.

PROVO, Utah – West Coast Conference play begins this weekend with BYU softball hosting Santa Clara after a quick trip to Utah State on Tuesday.

BYU Game Notes

The reigning four-time WCC champion Cougars (17-18, 0-0 WCC) look to defend their title. They will travel to Logan, Utah, on Tuesday, Apr. 3 to play Utah State (13-18, 3-6 Mountain West Conference) at 4 p.m. MDT before hosting the Broncos (5-23, 0-0 WCC) in a three-game series. BYU and Santa Clara face off in a doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 6 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. MDT and then again Saturday, Apr. 7 at 1 p.m. MDT.

The matchup against the Aggies will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network. Saturday’s game can be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live stats will be available for all games on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU STORYLINES

• BYU opens WCC play this weekend hosting Santa Clara. In the previous four WCC opening weekends, the Cougars have won three of the four series. In 2016, BYU lost the series against LMU 2-1 in Provo.
• BYU ranks No. 19 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.09. Eleven Cougars have hit 38 homers in 35 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s seven. Rylee Jensen follows with six while Caitlyn Alldredge and Briielle Breland have hit five. Lexi Tarrow, Bridget Fleener and Alexa Strid have all hit three apiece. Allie Hancock and Madison Merrell both have two. Ashley Godfrey and Emilee Erickson have also hit dingers.
• Junior catcher and team captain Libby Sugg has been named to the 2018 USA Softball College Player of the Year Watch List. She earned NFCA All-Pacific Region First Team honors and was named to the All-WCC Second Team last season. Sugg led the team in RBI and home runs with 56 and 13, respectively, while hitting .356 in 2017. She is currently hitting .378 this year and leads the Cougars in hits, RBI and home runs with 35, 31 and seven, respectively.

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK
Utah State (13-18, 3-6 MWC)

• The Aggies are 13-18 this season and 3-6 in Mountain West play. They went 2-1 against conference foe Nevada last week.
• BYU leads the overall series 37-2, winning 4-1 in Provo and 8-6 in Logan last year. The teams have played every year since the Cougars’ first season in 2000, except for 2009.
• Steve Johnson is in his fifth year as head coach at Utah State and has compiled a record of 96-116 in four seasons there.

Santa Clara (5-23, 0-0 WCC)

• The Broncos have a 5-23 overall record in 2018, having gone 1-2 in the Matador Classic. They split games with Georgia Tech and fell to Cal Poly.
• The Cougars lead in the overall series 19-2, most recently sweeping the series 3-0 in 2017.
• Head coach Lisa Dodd enters her first year at the helm of the Santa Clara program. She has both played and coached in the Pac-12 and spent the last five years as the head coach at UNLV, earning 121 wins.