PROVO, Utah – Strong offense helped propel BYU softball to a pair of wins, 3-2 and 8-0, against Loyola Marymount at Gail Miller Field Saturday afternoon to win the West Coast Conference title.

The wins give the Cougars (35-20, 13-1 WCC) their 10th-straight conference title (fifth in the WCC) and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. With the upcoming games, BYU will have competed in 14-consecutive NCAA tournaments.

“All our championships are hard-earned,” BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. “I've never been involved in one that's been easy. I thought we prepared really well this week for LMU. We remained calm – even in the first game when we were down.”

The Cougars came back to win the first game in the seventh inning, narrowly edging the Lions (28-23-1, 11-3 WCC) by one. 

In the second game, BYU outhit LMU nine to five in six innings, due to the NCAA eight-run rule.

Rylee Jensen went 2 for 3 in both games while scoring three runs. Erin Miklus came into the second game and collected two runs on two hits. Alexa Strid, Madison Merrell and Bridget Fleener each smashed home runs over the two games.

Kerisa Viramontes and Autumn Moffat each pitched complete games in the series win, recording four and five strikeouts, respectively.

Game one

After a scoreless first inning, the Lions struck first with a two-run shot just over the fence in the right field corner from Alicia Brown to give Loyola Marymount a 2-0 lead.

However, the Cougars answered right back in the bottom of the second with a run of their own. Strid led off the inning with a single past the shortstop and advanced to second after Merrell grounded out in the following at-bat. Caitlyn Alldredge brought in BYU's first run of the game after she singled to center field to send Strid home and cut the lead to one. 

Viramontes went three up, three down in the top of the sixth to keep the Lions at bay.

In the bottom of the frame, the Cougar bats came alive to balance their strong defensive play. Strid took the first pitch from LMU's Hannah Bandimere and rocketed a solo shot over center field to tie the game at 2-2. Merrell then sent a homer of her own to left field, giving the Cougars a 3-2 advantge. 

With two outs in the final inning, Alldredge ended the game with an incredible diving catch into her own dugout, robbing a popped-up foul ball. 

BYU vs. LMU Game One Box Score

Game two

The Cougars cruised to an 8-0 win in the second game in six innings.

BYU carried its strong momentum to the second game, taking advantage of two Lions errors early on. Jensen walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Briielle Breland walked. Lexi Tarrow reached base on the first error as Jensen came home for a 1-0 lead. Libby Sugg then singled to left field, allowing Breland to score. Another Loyola Marymount error brought Tarrow home as the Cougars ended the first inning up 3-0.

With a runner in scoring position at second base in the second frame, the Lions’ Shianne Ybarra singled to left field. A quick throw from Jensen in left field to Sugg at home got Ybarra out, ending the top of the inning and preventing a would-be run.

Strid nearly hit a homer left field in the third, allowing Sugg to score on the sacrifice fly for a 4-0 advantage.

Jensen doubled to right center with two outs in the bottom of the fourth before Miklus hit a double to left field, bring her in.

In the fifth, Fleener crushed her fourth home run of the season to right center to make it 6-0.

Jensen walked in the sixth and then scored as Miklus sent her second double of the game to left field. A Sugg single to left field scored Miklus for the final run of the game.

BYU vs. LMU Game Two Box Score 

The Cougars next await their fate in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday, May 13, at 10 p.m. EDT. The show will be televised live on ESPN2.

PROVO, Utah – Riding an eight-game win streak, BYU softball looks to earn its fifth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title with a series win over Loyola Marymount this weekend's season finale.

BYU Game Notes

Both the Cougars (33-20, 11-1 WCC) and Lions (28-21-1, 11-1 WCC) are tied atop the WCC standings with each team having one loss in conference play. In a winner-take-all matchup, the victor of the three-game series will earn both the regular season WCC crown and the league's automatic berth to NCAA Regionals. They will face off in a doubleheader Friday at 5 and 7 p.m. MDT. The series concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT. 

All three games will be televised on BYUtv and can be streamed live as well. Links to live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page. 

At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, BYU’s five seniors will be honored: Caitlyn Alldredge, Briielle Breland, Madison Merrell, Arianna Paulson and Alexa Strid.

In honor of Mother's Day the following Sunday, roses will be given to every mom in attendance.

BYU STORYLINES

• The Cougars look to earn their 10th-straight conference title and 13th overall, spanning four conferences. BYU has also won the regular season title each of the past four years it has been a member of the WCC.
• Junior catcher Libby Sugg earned her second WCC Player of the Week award this season. Sugg batted .733 with six runs on 11 hits in five games this week for the Cougars. She tallied seven RBI with five doubles and one home run. Sugg also posted a slugging percentage of 1.267.
• BYU ranks No. 28 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.02. Twelve Cougars have combined to hit 54 homers in 53 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s 11. Caitlyn Alldredge and Briielle Breland follow with nine and seven, respectively. Rylee Jensen has hit six while Lexi Tarrow and Alexa Strid both have four. Madison Merrell, Bridget Fleener and Allie Hancock have all hit three apiece and Ashley Godfrey has hit two. Emilee Erickson and Olivia Sanchez have also hit dingers.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK
Loyola Marymount (28-21-1, 11-0 WCC)

• LMU is 28-21-1 on the season with its only conference loss also coming to Pacific. The Lions lost 6-4 to the Tigers while the Cougars dropped one game 2-0.
• BYU leads in the overall series 19-8, most recently sweeping LMU in Los Angeles last year.
• Head coach Sami Strinz-Ward is in her second year at the helm of the Lion program and third overall at LMU. She has compiled a record of 80-73-1 while there.