BATON ROUGE, La. — BYU softball came out victorious in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel against NC State in the Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park on Saturday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (17-9, 0-0 WCC) closed out their trip to the Bayou with a combined shutout as starting pitcher Alyssa Aguilar earned the win and shortstop Ailana Agbayani pitched the final three innings, fanning four in 11 batters faced.

BYU registered five hits on the day to NC State’s three, with Martha Epenesa’s fifth inning RBI double in the gap the difference in the game.

Player Highlights

• Alyssa Aguilar: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 K
• Maddie Bejarano: 1-3, R
• Martha Epenesa: 1-2, RBI

Scoreless through the first four innings, each team had managed just two hits apiece until the top of the fifth inning, when the Cougars strung together back-to-back hits. Maddie Bejarano hit a two-out single to center field and then Martha Epenesa doubled to right center. The gap shot brought Bejarano around to score and give BYU a 1-0 lead. 

After a four-inning start, Agbayani came on in relief for Aguilar in the bottom of the fifth. The Wolfpack got a runner on in both the fifth and sixth innings, but the Cougar defense held them from capitalizing. 

Agbayani struck out the first two batters in the seventh and got a groundout to finish off the 1-0 BYU win.

Slated to play Idaho State in Pocatello on Tuesday afternoon, the Cougars return to the Mountain time zone next week with the game set for a 4 p.m. MDT first pitch. BYU will then open up West Coast Conference play at Santa Clara April 6-8.

PROVO, Utah — Back in the win column, BYU softball makes the trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on No. 12/14 LSU, Louisiana Tech and NC State in the Tiger’s Purple & Gold Challenge this week. 

Only the games involving LSU will be streamed on SEC Network+. Both of the Cougars' matchups with the Tigers will also have radio broadcasts. Thursday's contest will be available on LSU Sports Radio while Friday night's game will be carried on 107.3 FM. Tickets are available through LSU Athletics.

BYU picked up an early week win at Utah Tech on Monday, outlasting the Trailblazers 14-11. The Cougars got home runs from second baseman Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss, shortstop Ailana Agbayani and first baseman Huntyr Ava in the game, with Agbayani also pitching the final 3 2/3 innings to earn the victory. 

Podhurcak-Foss has homered in the last two games after hitting a solo shot against Boise State last week as well. Agbayani’s homer was the first of her BYU career, while Ava’s six long bombs lead the team through 22 games. 

Eight different BYU hitters recorded hits in the win at Utah Tech, including Agbayani, third baseman Martha Epenesa, Podhurcak-Foss and outfielder Alexis Gilio, who each tallied three hits apiece in the game, as the Cougars upped their season hitting percentage to .293.

Catcher Hailey Morrow continues to lead the team with a .354 batting average and 19 RBI, while Ava paces BYU with a .766 slugging percentage. Left fielder Maddie Bejarano has a team-high .500 on-base percentage and 15 walks.

Agbayani and Gilio both have the two-longest active hitting and reached-base streaks at six and four, respectively. The shortstop leads the team with eight multi-hit games, while Morrow’s six multi-RBI games leads the Cougars.

No. 12/14 LSU (26-6, 4-5 SEC)

• The Tigers earned a series win at Ole Miss last weekend, dropping the series opener on Friday before picking up 2-0 and 3-1 wins on Saturday and Sunday
• LSU’s common opponents with BYU are Oregon State (12-0 (5), 3-0 wins), Utah (6-4, 2-1 wins) and WCC foe LMU (6-5 win)
• In 12 seasons as head coach at LSU, Beth Torina has a 476-209 (.695) record
• The Tigers lead the all-time series, 3-0
• LSU has been ranked in the top-15 during all three previous matchups
• The two teams last met on March 22 and 23, 2018, with the Tigers winning 2-1 and 8-0 

Louisiana Tech (19-12, 4-5 C-USA)

• The Bulldogs will play at Northwestern State on Tuesday night before heading to Baton Rouge for the Purple & Gold Challenge
• Louisiana Tech has split its last two Conference USE series, falling to Middle Tennessee at home, but earning the series win at Florida Atlantic two weeks prior
• In between those two series, the Bulldogs also played at then-No. 21 Texas A&M, dropping the single game, 6-3. The Aggies are the only common opponent between the two teams.
• Louisiana Tech’s longest win streak this season is five games
• Josh Taylor is in his second season with the Bulldogs, posting a 58-32 (.644) record since 2022
• BYU leads the all-time series, 5-1, and is 3-0 against Louisiana Tech at neutral sites
• The two teams last played on May 10, 2012, with the Cougars picking up a 6-1 win
• BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is 3-1 against the Bulldogs, and 1-0 against them at neutral sites

NC State (11-20, 4-8 ACC)

• The Wolfpack play North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night before travel to Louisiana for the Purple & Gold Challenge
• NC State was swept at Louisville last weekend, snapping a four-game win streak that including a series sweep of Boston College two weeks ago
• The Wolfpack dropped a 4-2 contest to Long Beach State during the opening weekend of the season, NC State’s only common opponent between the two teams
• In five seasons at NC State, Jennifer Patrick-Swift is 120-101 (.543)
• The Wolfpack and Cougars have never met in softball

BYU will make the drive up to Pocatello next Tuesday, April 4 for a single game at Idaho State before opening West Coast Conference play with a three-game series at Santa Clara on April 7-8 next weekend.