STOCKTON, Calif. – BYU softball split two pitching duels at Pacific after falling 2-0 in game one and coming out on top 1-0 in the second on Friday at Bill Simoni Field.

“I'm proud of our team for grinding it out and getting a split,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “A split on the road in conference play is big."

Pacific (12-24, 2-3 West Coast Conference) scored two runs on four hits while holding BYU (23-19, 4-1 WCC) to just three hits in the first game of the doubleheader.

Despite getting outhit three to two, the Cougars edged the Tigers in the nightcap as both teams played an errorless game.

Autumn Moffat and Kerisa Viramontes each pitched a complete game and combined for 12 strikeouts on the day.

“Both of the games were pitchers’ duels,” Eakin said. “Both Autumn and Kerisa pitched very well for us.”

Game one

Rylee Jensen had two of the team’s three hits while Lexi Tarrow hit the other. Moffat recorded five strikeouts from the circle.

Pacific got on the board early in the first inning and held on to the lead for the rest of the game. The Tigers scored two runs on both a fielding and a throwing error.

BYU at Pacific Game One Box Score

Game two

Brooke Vander Heide and Tarrow had the Cougars’ only hits of the game while Jensen scored the winning run.

Viramontes logged seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits in the shutout.

Jensen walked to lead off the top of the sixth before Vander Heide laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Jensen over to second. Tarrow then singled through the right side to bring Jensen home for the lone score and the win.

BYU at Pacific Game Two Box Score

The Cougars conclude the three-game series against the Tigers on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT. The game will be streamed live on TheW.tv and live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

PROVO, Utah – After a sweep of Santa Clara last week to open conference play, BYU softball will face Utah Valley in the UCCU Crosstown Clash Tuesday before heading to Pacific this weekend.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars (21-18, 3-0 West Coast Conference) play Utah Valley (10-21, 2-3 Western Athletic Conference) at Wolverine Field on Tuesday, Apr. 10 at 3 p.m. MDT. BYU then travels to Stockton, Calif., to take on Pacific (11-23, 1-2 WCC) in a three-game series. The Cougars and Tigers face off in a doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 13 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. PDT and then again Saturday, Apr. 14 at 1 p.m. PDT.

The UCCU Crosstown Clash can be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network. Links to the stream and live stats for all games will be available on the BYU softball schedule page.

BYU STORYLINES

• BYU plays its second WCC series this weekend against Pacific. The Cougars swept Santa Clara at home last week and sit at the top of the WCC leaderboard. In 2017, They swept the Tigers at home. Since joining the WCC in 2014, BYU has not lost to Pacific.
• Junior catcher Libby Sugg and freshman pitcher Autumn Moffat earned West Coast Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week to give the Cougars their first weekly award sweep of the season. Sugg batted .600 in four games on the week with five runs on six hits and 11 RBI. She recorded two doubles and two home runs, including a two-run dinger against Santa Clara in the second game on Friday and a three-run homer against the Broncos Saturday. On the week, the junior slugged 1.300 and had an on-base percentage of .638. Moffat becomes the sixth freshman to earn Pitcher of the Week in nine weeks of the WCC season after pitching just over 11 innings in three games this week. Moffat recorded 11 strikeouts and posted an ERA of 0.62 in the series sweep against Santa Clara as well as a non-conference game against Utah State.
• BYU ranks No. 17 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.10. Twelve Cougars have hit 43 homers in 39 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s nine. Rylee Jensen and Briielle Breland follow with six while Caitlyn Alldredge has five. Lexi Tarrow, Alexa Strid, Madison Merrell and Bridget Fleener have all hit three apiece. Allie Hancock and Madison Merrell both have two. Ashley Godfrey, Emilee Erickson and Olivia Sanchez have also hit dingers.

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK
Utah Valley (10-21, 2-3 WAC)

• The Wolverines are 10-21 this season and 2-3 in conference play. Last week, they dropped two games to Boise State and went 1-1 against WAC foe Grand Canyon.
• BYU leads the overall series 37-4 and went 3-0 against UVU in 2017.
• TJ Hubbard is in his second season at the helm of the Utah Valley program after going 16-24 in 2017.

Pacific (11-23, 1-2 WCC)

• The Tigers have an overall record of 11-23 in 2018 and opened WCC play going 1-2 at LMU last week.  
• The Cougars lead 15-1 in the overall series and swept the three-game series last season.
• Brian Kolze is in his 26th season as head coach at Pacific and is the winningest coach in in program history, having entered the 2018 season with an overall record of 732-653-1.