PROVO, Utah – A Delaney Willard home run in the bottom of the seventh gave the BYU softball team (19-8, 3-0) its third win over New Mexico State (18-16, 0-3) this weekend to complete the sweep at Gail Miller Field.

The Cougars easily defeated the Aggies, 9-1, in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. Game two was not won as easily but with the score tied three-all, Willard’s homer gave BYU the 6-3 victory.

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"These wins were huge," said BYU head coach Gordon Eakin following the win. "You always want to protect your home field and it's hard to beat any good team three times so I'm really pleased with the effort of our team in every area. Pitching was great this weekend, defense was superb with the exception of the fifth inning yesterday and we had timely hitting. We played a complete weekend against a real quality opponent so I'm really proud."

JC Clayton led the Cougars with three RBI in game one while Stacie Toney led the team in runs with three. In game two, Willard came up huge for BYU with two home runs and five RBI. Hannah Howell and Tori Almond were the winning pitchers.

Game One

After an inning and a half scoreless, a sacrifice foul by Carly Duckworth brought Willard in for the score to give BYU their first run of the game. The next hitter up for the Cougars, Jenna Goar, hit a sacrifice fly ball that was caught in right field but brought Stacie Toney home with a sliding run.

BYU found their groove in the fourth inning as the Cougars recorded six runs in the inning. In the bottom of the fourth with bases loaded and one out, pinch hitter Katie Manuma stepped up to the plate and hit a line drive to left field that gave both Stacie Toney and Willard runs. Later in the fourth, Jessica Dugas singled to the shortstop and recorded an RBI as Duckworth scored. Still, it was J.C. Clayton whose triple brought Cougar faithful to their feet as three BYU players scored on the play and the Cougars took an 8-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Aggies were able to round the bases for the first time to extend the game with the score 8-1. However, BYU was able to secure the victory off an error that gave the Cougars the 9-1 victory.

Game Two

In game two, fans saw the first home run of the game as Staci Rodriguez belted a two-run homer over the fence to give NMSU their first lead of the weekend, 2-0. BYU made several impressive plays in the field to stop the Aggie run. The homers didn’t stop there for NMSU as Brittany Clifton hit a ball out of the park in the fourth to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.

Willard answered with a two run slam of her own in the bottom of the fourth to bring the Cougars within one. A Clayton single caused Messerschmidt to score and tied the game at 3-all in the bottom of the fifth.

Sophomore Ashlee Brawley made several key plays in the middle innings at the third base position, including a running throw to first on a short hit for an out. Brawley also connected for her first career hit at Miller Field earlier in the game.

Unfortunately for NMSU, Willard, who currently holds the nation’s second-best batting average, stepped up to bat with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh. Her deep shot to center field brought in three runs and ensure the three-game sweep.

"I was just trying to get a good pitch and hit it hard into the outfield," Willard said of her big hit. "Because we really only needed one run but it went over, which was nice." 

Dugas and Clayton each went 3 for 4 in the game with Clayton adding two runs scored.

The Cougars will stay home as they next face University of Missouri, Kansas City in a doubleheader on Mar. 27 beginning at 5 p.m. at Gail Miller Field.  Both games will be televised live on BYUtv.

PROVO, Utah - The BYU softball team hosts its home opener against Idaho State on Tuesday, March 20, before playing its first-ever Western Athletic Conference series this weekend against New Mexico State at Gail Miller Field.

The Cougars will play Idaho State (3-19) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday before playing New Mexico State (17-12) on Friday, March 23, at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:30 p.m. All three games will be nationally televised on BYUtv.

BYU (15-8) has won six of its last seven and currently owns the second-best overall record among WAC teams. Senior outfielder Delaney Willard leads the Cougars with a .493 batting average, the second-best mark among all NCAA Division I players.

Miller Field has hosted 21-straight BYU wins, giving the Cougars the second-best home win streak in the nation. BYU has lost just two home openers all-time (2000, 2004) going 10-2 overall. BYU also has a 9-3 record in conference openers, with its last defeat coming in 2008.  

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU begins its first conference game as a member of the WAC with a three-game series against New Mexico State this weekend. After Idaho State visits Miller Field on Tuesday, the Cougars will host the Aggies on Friday with a doubleheader on Saturday. All games will be televised live on BYUtv.

— The Cougars have never lost to the Bengals or Aggies, posting a 10-0 record against the former and a 1-0 series lead over the latter. This is NMSU’s first visit to Provo.

— Senior Delaney Willard has led the way for BYU this season and is ranked in the NCAA top-15 in four different categories, including batting average (2nd, .493), slugging percentage (9th, .910), on base percentage (11th, .568) and RBI per game (12th, 1.3).

— BYU puts its 21-game home win streak on the line this season after going 14-0 at home in 2011. BYU’s next six games are at home including a doubleheader vs. UMKC on March 27.

— The Cougars have won six of their last seven, with the lone loss coming against No. 5 Arizona State.