PROVO, Utah – Visiting Boise State defeated BYU softball, 8-3 on Tuesday afternoon at Gail Miller Field, thanks in part to three home runs. The Cougars (14-7, 0-0 WCC) had seven hits and left six on base.

BOX SCORE

Player Highlights

• Ailana Agbayani: 3-4, 2B, RBI
• Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss: HR, RBI, R

Leadoff doubles in the top of the second and third innings turned into a pair of runs for Boise State to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead. A two-run home run with two outs in the third then put the visitors up 4-0.

The Cougars scored their first run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Huntyr Ava doubled to left after her line drive was too strong for the outfielder to catch. Hailey Morrow then got on base as well, with the runners advancing to second and third off a sacrifice bunt from Martha Epenesa.

Pinch runner Lexie Bennett scored on the next play when Mallory Barber grounded out. BYU ended the inning with another pinch runner, Taryn Lennon, left on third.

Boise State’s Alycia Flores hit her second two-run homer of the game in the top of the fifth to grow the Bronco lead to 6-1. BYU responded with a home run of its own in the bottom of the inning by Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss. The shot to center field was her first over the fence this season and 10th of her career.

Another homer brought in two more runs for Boise State in the seventh. BYU managed one more run before the game ended when Ailana Agbayani’s single to left center field brought in Alexis Gilio. An infield single earlier in the inning helped Gilio get on base, with an overthrow from Boise State’s third baseman advancing Gilio to second. The run also brought the game to its 8-3 final score.

The Cougars have three more home games this week before hitting the road again. They'll host Utah State on Thursday, March 23 at 5 p.m. MDT, before a doubleheader against Idaho State on Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. MDT.

PROVO, Utah — BYU softball will be back in action on Tuesday, March 21, at 2 p.m. MDT, beginning a four-game homestand with a matchup against Boise State at Gail Miller Field.

The Tuesday evening contest was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. MDT, but will be moved up three hours earlier in an effort to avoid inclement weather expected in the forecast. The game will still be streamed on the BYUtv app and admission is free. 

Game Information

• Live Stream: BYUtv app
• Talent: Spencer Linton & Jason Shepherd
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
• Admission: Free

LAST TIME OUT
BYU has won six-straight after going 3-0 last week with a win at Utah Tech and a doubleheader sweep of Idaho State in the Cougars’ home opener on Saturday. First baseman Huntyr Ava homered in each game of the doubleheader en route to BYU’s 10-1 and 12-0 run-rule victories over the Bengals.

Pitchers Chloe Temples and Kaysen Korth both picked up wins over the weekend with Temples striking out seven and Korth fanning six in their respective games. Catcher Hailey Morrow led the team for the week with a .667 batting average and a .778 on-base percentage.

LET 'EM FLY
The Cougars have alternated weekends hitting home runs after recording none the opening weekend in Mexico or at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in week three. BYU launched nine long bombs in just four games at the Littlewood Classic during week two, and four at the Trailblazer Tournament in St. George in week four.

After a week off, Morrow launched a two-run jack on Thursday at Utah Tech and Ava hit two out against Idaho State. The Cougars look to break the every other weekend homer streak this week and add to their home run tally, now at 16 on the year, with games against Boise State, Utah State and Idaho State. 

LEFT FIELD LEADER
Bejarano continues to lead the team offensively this season, reaching base safely in all of BYU’s 20 games this year while batting .382 with an on-base percentage of .521. The left fielder also has team-highs walks (13) and sacrifice hits (4).

FIRST INNING FIRE
With six runs scored in the first inning of game one and eight runs in the opening frame of game two in the Cougars' doubleheader against Idaho State, BYU has plated 31 runs in the opening inning this season. The Cougars have a 9-1 record when scoring in the first inning and are 10-1 in games that they score first.

TEAM & INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Cougars rank in the top-100 nationally in eight statistical categories: hit batters (No. 16, 5), scoring (No. 41, 5.70), fielding percentage (No. 45, .973), on-base percentage (No. 62, .379), home runs per game (No. 64, 0.8), strikeout-to-walk ratio (No. 81, 2.37), batting average (No. 86, .281), and slugging percentage (No. 91, 4.19)

Four BYU players also find their names amongst the top 50 of the individual statistical categories. Violet Zavodnik ranks No. 6 in hit by pitch per game (0.42), while Korth is No. 27 in strikeouts per seven innings (10.0), No. 31 in total strikeouts (93) and No. 38 in victories (9). Bejarano ranks No. 46 in on-base percentage (.521) and No. 55 in sacrifice bunts per game (0.20), while Morrow is No. 56 in slugging percentage (.762). 

Bejarano averages 0.95 runs per game, which ranks No. 61 and Morrow .509 on-base percentage is good for No. 63. Rounding out the top-100, Bejarano is No. 84 in walks per game (0.65) and Morrow is No. 91 in RBI per game, at 0.95. 

A LOOK AT BOISE STATE (15-10, 3-0 MWC)
The Broncos have won seven consecutive games dating back to the first weekend of March, beating Michigan State before sweeping series with Portland State and at UNLV to open their Mountain West Conference play. Boise State also has wins over Wichita State, San Diego, Michigan and Houston. 

Justin Shults is in his second season with the Broncos, posting a 55-20 record in that span. BYU leads the all-time series, 5-2. The two teams didn't play last season, but split a doubleheader in 2021, with the Broncos taking game one, 6-4, and the Cougars winning game two, 4-1. BYU is 2-1 against Boise State at Gail Miller Field.

UP NEXT
After the Cougars' Tuesday night contest against the Broncos, they will continue their homestand on Thursday evening with a 5 p.m. matchup against Utah State. The game will be streamed on the BYUtv app.