PROVO, Utah - The BYU softball team scored in every inning and out-slugged Utah State 15-6 in game one before winning by a 2-0 score in game two of a doubleheader at Gail Miller Field on Friday in Western Athletic Conference action.

In game one, senior Delaney Willard went 2 for 3 and drove in four runs while senior Stacie Toney and freshman Megan Arnold each picked up a home run, two hits and three RBI apiece. BYU (27-12, 6-3 WAC) drew a season-high 12 walks, one shy of tying a program record.

Starting pitcher Hannah Howell pitched all six innings for the Cougars to earn her 13th win of the season while allowing two earned runs and striking out three.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the second, BYU cashed in on some clutch hitting with two outs. Junior JC Clayton picked up a 2-out walk to load the bases for the Cougars. Willard cleared them with a long double off the left field wall, just missing a grand slam, but giving BYU a 4-2 lead.

Arnold stretched the lead with a two-run homer in the bottom if the third inning. BYU added one more, making it 8-2 with a sacrifice fly from Willard to score senior Jessica Dugas.

Utah State capitalized on some productive outs, scoring two runs in the top half of the fourth. With runners on second and third the Aggies used two ground outs to bring in both runs, trimming the Cougars’ lead to 8-4.

Continuing to score every inning, BYU added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Toney singled to center and scored on a double by Arnold. Junior Bailie Hicken came in to run for Arnold and scored on a double to right by pinch hitter Krista Hicks. Hicks later scored on a bases-loaded walk.

Refusing to go quietly, Utah State scored two more on a two-run blast in the top of the fifth, cutting the lead back to 11-6, but BYU answered with another run in the bottom half.

After sophomore Katie Manuma drove in Willard, Toney ended the game early with a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning, her fifth home run of the season, to give BYU the victory.

Game Two

Cougar pitcher Tori Almond pitched a complete game shutout in the second game, striking out six to give the Cougars the 2-0 win.

Clayton went 2 for 3 with a run as BYU eked out two scores in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, Manuma hit a grounder and was out at first but got the RBI. After Toney walked to again load the bases, Arnold hit another grounder that was enough to score Clayton.

BYU will play Utah State in the third and final game of the weekend on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on BYUtv. Check www.facebook.com/byusoftball for changes and updates on game times in the case of inclement weather.

PROVO, Utah - After defeating No. 15 Hawai'i last weekend, the BYU softball team (24-12, 4-3 WAC) plays two in-state opponents, facing Utah Valley before hosting Utah State in a three-game Western Athletic Conference series over the weekend.

Utah Valley
Wed., Apr. 11
6 p.m. MT
BYUtv

Utah State
Fri., Apr. 13
4 p.m., 6 p.m. MT
BYU Radio

Sat., Apr. 14
1:30 p.m. MT
BYUtv


COUGAR QUICK HITS
— BYU is 120-23 (.839) all-time against in-state opponents, including a 22-1 record vs. UVU and a 25-2 record against Utah State. At Miller Field, BYU is 16-0 vs. the Wolverines and 12-1 vs. the Aggies, with the lone loss occuring in 2006.
— BYU head coach Gordon Eakin is five wins away from 400 career victories with a record of 395- 172 in his 10th year at head coach.
— With the newest RPI rankings released on Monday, BYU was ranked 30th, second-highest in the WAC. The Cougars have wins over two current top-10 teams, including Oregon at 9th and Hawai’i at 10th. All but one of BYU’s 12 losses have been to teams ranked 56th or better.
— BYU’s regular season, non-conference home win streak of 39 consecutive games is still intact. The Cougars have not lost since Southern Utah earned a 10-5 victory on Apr. 11, 2006. BYU had a 29-game home win streak, the longest in program history, snapped last weekend in a 1-0 loss against No. 15 Hawai’i.

UTAH VALLEY
•    Utah Valley had a four-game win streak snapped on Tuesday in a 8-7 loss in Logan to Utah State in the third game of an eight-game road trip.
•    Amanda Robinson leads UVU with a .343 average and 37 hits, eight home runs and a .639 slugging percentage.
•    In the circle, Tiffany Mills has a 2.39 ERA to lead the Wolverines. Cassie Herrera is the other pitcher with a 3.63 ERA and 7-4 record.
•    UVU has an RPI of 113, second-best in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference where BYU will play beginning next season.

UTAH STATE
•    The Aggies have an RPI of 187, last among Western Athletic Conference teams.
•    Utah State is 2-7 in the WAC, winning one of two in series against Louisiana Tech and Nevada and being swept at Fresno State last week.
•    BYU has won five-straight against Utah State, outscoring the Aggies 35-6 over that time.
•    This is the first time in 27 games that the two teams will meet as conference opponents.
•    Christine Thomsen has had a great year for USU, hitting .396 with 42 hits on the year while also drawing a team-high 16 walks.
•    Three Aggie pitchers have thrown at least 40.0 innings or more, including Mandy Harmon who leads Utah State with a 6-13 record and a 4.56 ERA.

GETTING OUT EARLY...OR NOT
Of BYU’s 24 wins this season, the Cougars have won eight in less than seven innings so far this season due to the mercy rule. However, in the Cougars’ 16 other victories, seven have come by just a single run.

TOP NOTCH
BYU’s Delaney Willard hit a home run in seven of the Cougars’ first 10 games, including a streak of four-straight games from Feb. 11-17. Willard also hit a home run in four straight in early April last year. The two marks tie the senior for the third-longest such streak in NCAA history and make her the only person in NCAA history to have two streaks of four games or more in a career.

A two-time WAC Hitter of the Week, Willard has emerged as an All-America candidate. The right fielder is ranked in the NCAA top-20 in six different categories, including RBI per game (5th, 1.40), slugging percentage (8th, .920), home runs per game (13th, 0.37), batting average (14th, .440), home runs (14th, 13) and on base percentage (19th, .537).