PROVO, Utah – BYU softball completed a four-game sweep of Saint Mary's 7-6 and 4-1 to clinch the Pacific Coast Softball Conference Championship and earn it's ninth-straight postseason bid Saturday at Gail Miller Field.  

The Cougars (32-23, 19-5) were led by Katie Manuma who went 5 for 5 with two RBI and Alexandra Hudson Shamo who went 3 for 5 with four RBI. With the loss, the Gaels fall to 20-31, 11-13 PCSC.

“This is a bittersweet day because it’s a day that we honor these four tremendous young ladies for their contributions made to BYU softball, our team, our community and the way they’ve represented their families," head coach Gordon Eakin said of his seniors. "These are four wonderful ladies and four wonderful families. We’re not gonna miss them yet, because we have some more work to do but they’re irreplaceable. They will be part of BYU softball forever.”

Game 1

Coco Taualii hit a two-out walk-off single up the middle to give BYU a 7-6 victory and its second-straight walk-off win against Saint Mary’s in the first game Saturday. 

JC Clayton started the rally in the bottom of the seventh, reaching first on an error. Consecutive singles from Gordy Bravo and Katie Manuma loaded the bases with one out. Alexandra Hudson Shamo followed up her walk-off single in yesterday’s game with a two-RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 6-6. Taualii’s single up the middle helped the Cougars walk-off in game three.  

Before the heroics from Taualii and Shamo in the bottom of the frame, Saint Mary’s sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs in the top seventh inning to take a late 6-4 lead. The Gaels started off the inning with a solo home run to left field and then loaded the bases with no outs on three straight singles. Three more singles plated four runs to give Saint Mary’s their short-lived lead.

BYU’s Manuma relieved starting pitcher Hannah Howell in the seventh inning to (5-1) earn the win.

Carly Duckworth and Bravo each singled to get on base for the Cougars in the first. Manuma threaded a single into center field to score Duckworth from second and give BYU an early 1-0 lead in the first inning.

In the third frame, Clayton charged and caught a short blooper and doubled up the runner at first.

Manuma laced a lead-off single in the fourth inning for BYU and advanced to third on a hit from Madisen Robb. Taualii then smacked a single up the middle, scoring Manuma to increase the lead to 2-0.

However, Saint Mary’s answered with a solo home run in the fifth to cut the BYU lead in half, 2-1.

Manuma and Shamo each grabbed an RBI in the bottom of the fifth to extend BYU’s lead to 4-1, before the combined eight runs were scored in the seventh to eventually give BYU the 7-6 victory.

Game 2

Tori Almond (11-6) pitched a complete game no-hitter to earn the win. It was the first no-hitter of her career and the 15th in BYU softball history.

Clayton opened the game with a single to right field and then stole second base. That hit marked her 300^th career hit and the stolen base moved her into a tie for first place in career stolen bases at BYU with 46. Bravo grounded out to second base and plated Clayton to give BYU an early 1-0 lead.

BYU added another run in the third off a sacrifice fly to center field by Shamo to score Bailie Hicken for a 2-0 advantage.

Saint Mary’s responded with a sac fly of their own in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Cougar lead in half, 2-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, BYU added two insurance runs after loading the bases with no outs. Bravo knocked a single into left field to score Hicken and Clayton for a 4-1 lead.

After the final game, the team honored Hannah Howell, JC Clayton, Alexandra Hudson Shamo and Bailie Hicken for their contributions at BYU. 

BYU returns to action on Saturday, May 11 against Utah in the Deseret First Duel at 1:30 p.m. MDT at Gail Miller Field.

PROVO, Utah—The BYU softball team will face Southern Utah in an in-state doubleheader matchup this Tuesday, before playing Saint Mary’s on Friday and Saturday to close out conference play.

Tuesday and Friday’s doubleheaders will both begin at 5 p.m. MDT, while Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. MDT. Following the conclusion of the last game on Saturday, the BYU coaching staff will recognize the four seniors on this year’s roster including JC Clayton, Bailie Hicken, Hannah Howell and Alexandra Hudson Shamo.

BYU QUICK HITS

• BYU’s freshmen stepped it up in the team’s series against CSU Bakersfield. Gordy Bravo hit .462 (6x13) and had five runs scored and four RBI, alongside a triple and double. Coco Taualii hit .417 (5x12) and had one home run, six RBI and two runs scored.
• Sophomore pitcher Caroline Umphlett went 2-0 against CSU Bakersfield to earn her first win since Feb. 9 against Idaho State in the first tournament of the season.
• BYU has an overall record of 42-4 against Southern Utah and is on a 27-game winning streak against the Thunderbirds.
• This will be the first time that BYU and Saint Mary’s will play at Gail Miller Field. BYU has an overall record of 4-0 against the Gaels and this conference series will be the last of the season for both teams.

SENIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

The BYU softball team will recognize its seniors JC Clayton, Bailie Hicken, Hannah Howell and Alexandra Hudson Shamo on Saturday following the conclusion of the series against Saint Mary’s. 

JC Clayton has had a record-breaking year, becoming the all-time leader in career hits at BYU. She also set the single-game record for stolen bases in a game with four against San Diego and is just two stolen bases away from tying the all-time career record at BYU. Clayton was named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2013 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year at the start of the season, is a three-time PCSC Player of the Week and an Easton Second-Team All-American.

Bailie Hicken leads the team in PCSC statistics with a .367 clip. She has nine runs scored in conference play and a career-high five RBI. Hicken hit the first double of her career against Santa Clara and had a career-high three hits, two runs scored and two RBI in the game. Last year Hicken was named to the Academic All-WAC team and is also a WAC Scholar-Athlete.

Hannah Howell pitched just the second perfect game in BYU softball history against LMU on Apr. 13. She was named the PCSC Pitcher of the Week for the week of Apr. 14-20 and PCSC College Madness Player of the Week for the week of Mar. 17-23. Howell has a 1.44 ERA in conference play and has given up just 12 earned runs in 12 appearances. She has 35 strikeouts alongside a record of 7-2 in PCSC play.

Alexandra Hudson Shamo has had the best season of her career, hitting a career-high .350 alongside career highs in hits (42), runs (14), walks (27), triples (2), and putouts (45). Shamo leads the conference with an on-base percentage of .473.

OPPONENT NOTES

SOUTHERN UTAH

With a record of 16-30 on the season, SUU heads to Provo in search of its first win against the Cougars since 2006. The Thunderbirds have three batters hitting over .300 on the season in Kelsey Bryant, Mikkel Griffin and Madison Resley. SUU’s top four batters have 23 of the team’s 25 home runs on the season. Bryant, hitting a .349 clip to lead the team, also leads the team with 28 runs scored and 35 RBI. Pitcher Ariel Zimmerman has made the most appearances on the mound with 36 on the season. She has a record of 10-17 for the Thunderbirds and leads the team with a 4.51 ERA.

SAINT MARY’S

Saint Mary’s has a record of 20-27 on the season and is 11-9 in PCSC play. The Gaels are led by Megan Smith, who is hitting a .309 clip alongside a team-high 26 RBI. Brittany Sabatini provides speed and power for the team, leading them with 25 runs scored and nine stolen bases. She also has four home runs and five doubles on the season. Lujane Mussadi leads the team from the mound with a 1.76 season ERA and a record of 13-10. She’s only given up 44 earned runs in 37 appearances. With a season batting average of .202 Saint Mary’s is way below BYU’s average of .289. However, the Gaels have out-hit BYU in home runs with 23 to the Cougars’ 14.

WHERE TO WATCH

Live stats will be available for all games through the BYU softball schedule page, while Friday and Saturday’s doubleheaders against Saint Mary’s will also be broadcast live on BYUtv and online at byutvsports.com.