FORT COLLINS, Co. — BYU softball fell to Iowa, 9-7 in a back-and-forth NISC title game at Red Rocks Field on Saturday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (35-17, 11-4 WCC) got down early before tying the game twice and taking the lead in the sixth inning, but a five-run seventh by the Hawkeyes proved to be too much to overcome.

BYU tallied eight hits to Iowa’s 11, and left six on base to the Hawkeyes' 10. The Cougars had three players named to the All-Tournament team after their NISC runner-up finish: left fielder Maddie Bejarano, designated player Maddie Udall and left-handed pitcher Chloe Temples.

Player Highlights

• Maddie Bejarano: 1-3, R, 3 RBI
• Martha Epenesa: 1-4, 2 R
• Alexis Gilio: 2-3, R, RBI

Iowa struck first, landing a one-out home run over the left field fence to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

BYU answered back in its half of the second as Martha Epenesa reached on a fielder’s choice, advanced to third on Tristen Turlington’s single off the right field screen and scored on a Udall sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.

The Hawkeyes loaded the bases in the third, but starting pitcher Kaysen Korth got a swinging strikeout and fly out to keep the game knotted at one apiece.

Iowa broke the tie in the fourth with a leadoff single through the left side and a home run poked out to left center, going ahead 3-1 and bringing on Temples in relief for the Cougars.

Adding to its lead in the fifth inning, Iowa sent out another solo home run to go ahead 4-1. BYU again responded, with Ailana Agbayani and Alexis Gilio both beating out infield singles before Bejarano launched a 3-run homer out to center field, tying the game at 4-all.

The Cougars added three more runs in the sixth inning to take their first lead of the game, with Hailey Morrow dropping a single into left and Epenesa reaching on a bunt. Jaelynn Lambert then laid down a bunt and ended up at third after a Hawkeye error where the ball ended up in shallow left field on an attempted throw out.

Gilio singled into center a couple batters later to score Lambert, and make it 7-4, BYU. The Cougars would load the bases after Agbayani walked and Lauren Flanders beat out an infield single, but a line out halted BYU from tacking on more insurance runs.

After two quick outs on three pitches in the top of the seventh, the Cougars had Iowa down to its final strike before the Hawkeyes put together a two-out rally that spanned two pitching changes and plated five runs on four hits, two walks and one error to regain the lead, at 9-7.

BYU drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, but a fly out to left field sealed its fate and finished off the championship game for the Hawkeyes.

The Cougars conclude their 2023 season with a 35-17 overall record and will next take the field in 2024 as members of the Big 12 Conference.

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.