FORT COLLINS, Co. — A three-run homer by Ailana Agbayani and a complete game shutout from Chloe Temple fueled BYU softball to a 5-0 win over South Dakota State in the NISC semifinal at Red Rocks Field on Saturday morning.

BOX SCORE

The win marked BYU head coach Gordon Eakin's 800th-career victory and earned the Cougars (35-16, 11-4 WCC) a spot in the tournament's title game.

Agbayani led the team in the win with four RBI, including the three-run shot in the third inning, the second home run of her freshman season. Temples recorded 10 strikeouts in her second shutout of the year. 

Player Highlights

• Ailana Agbayani: 3-4, R, 4 RBI
• Martha Epenesa: 1-2, R
• Maddie Udall: 1-2, RBI
• Chloe Temples: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 10 K

Scoreless through the first two innings, BYU broke the game open with three runs in the top of the third. Mallory Barber and Alexis Gilio both singled before Agbayani homered out to dead center to put the Cougars up 3-0.

Extending the lead in the following frame, Martha Epenesa led off with a four-pitch walk, advancing to second on a Lauren Flanders sacrifice bunt. Maddie Udall then singled up the middle to score Epenesa, giving BYU a four-run advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, South Dakota State got runners on the corners with a double, wild pitch and walk, but Temples got a fly out and swinging strikeout to get out of the jam unscathed. 

The Cougars had two runners aboard in the fifth and the bases loaded in the sixth, but left them stranded on a tag out at home and ground out.

BYU would ultimately not need any more insurance runs as the Jackrabbits managed just one single in the final six outs, with Temples recording four swinging strikeouts out of the six to finish off the shutout and move the Cougars into the championship game.

Now awaiting the winner of the second semifinal between Iowa and Maryland, BYU is slated to play a 3 p.m. MDT for the NISC title. The game will be streamed on Triple Crown Sports’ YouTube channel. 

Championship Game Notes
The Cougars' all-time records vs. their two potential title game foes are: 

• Iowa
  • Iowa leads 4-0
  • Last matchup: March 15, 2007, Capital Classic — Iowa 4 | BYU 0
• Maryland
  • BYU now leads, 3-2
  • The Cougars avenged their 10-2 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge loss to the Terrapins with a 6-4 victory yesterday

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Fresh off a 6-4 win over Maryland in the second round of the NISC, BYU softball gets set for a Saturday morning semifinal against South Dakota State.

The Cougars (34-16, 11-4 WCC) and Jackrabbits are slated to play in the first of two semifinal games on Saturday, May 20, with a first pitch of 9 a.m. MDT. The winner of the contest will advance to the afternoon's championship game at 3 p.m.

2023 National Invitational Softball Championship

• BYU vs. South Dakota State
• Saturday, May 20 (9 a.m. MDT)
• Live Stream: Triple Crown Sports/YouTube
• Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
• Tickets

BYU got ahead early in its second-round win against Maryland on Friday afternoon, as both Huntyr Ava and Maddie Udall homered for the second game in a row. Ava extended her team-leading home run and RBI totals to 16 and 50, respectively, while Udall launched the second long ball on her young career.

Including Ava and Udall, eight different Cougars tallied a hit in the game, with Maddie Bejarano tallying three and both Hailey Morrow and Martha Epenesa recording two. Tristen Turlington drew a pair of walks and Ava earned one.

Chloe Temples (8-6) earned the start and went 3 2/3 innings, giving up just four hits and two runs while striking out eight Terrapins. Kaysen Korth pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, fanning three. BYU finished with 13 hits to Maryland's six.

Advancing to the NISC semifinal, the Cougars will face the Jackrabbits, who won their opener on Thursday but had to win an elimination game after falling to Iowa earlier on Friday morning.

South Dakota State (39-18, 17-0 Summit League)

• The Jackrabbits have sandwiched two run-rule wins over Tarleton State with a loss to Iowa in NISC play
• South Dakota State fell to Omaha in its Summit League tournament title game last weekend
• The only two common opponents between the Jackrabbits and Cougars this season are Stanford and North Dakota State
• Kristina McSweeney is in her first year at South Dakota State. She is 397-204-1 (.660) in her 11-year career. 
• BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 1-0. The only previous matchup occurred in Provo back in 2008, with the Cougars picking up an 8-0 win in five innings.

With a win over the Jackrabbits, BYU would advance to Saturday afternoon's NISC championship game, slated for 3 p.m. MDT. They would face the winner of Saturday's noon semifinal between Big Ten foes Iowa and Maryland. Since the championship bracket of the NISC is single elimination, a loss to South Dakota State would conclude the Cougars' 2023 season.

Should BYU move onto Saturday afternoon's title game, its all-time series records vs. their two potential title game foes are: 

• Iowa
  • Iowa leads 4-0
  • Last matchup: March 15, 2007, Capital Classic — Iowa 4 | BYU 0
• Maryland
  • BYU now leads, 3-2
  • The Cougars avenged their 10-2 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge loss to the Terrapins with a 6-4 victory in round two of the NISC on Friday afternoon.