BYU battles LMU for conference title in regular season finale

PROVO, Utah – Riding an eight-game win streak, BYU softball looks to earn its fifth-straight West Coast Conference regular-season title with a series win over Loyola Marymount this weekend's season finale.

BYU Game Notes

Both the Cougars (33-20, 11-1 WCC) and Lions (28-21-1, 11-1 WCC) are tied atop the WCC standings with each team having one loss in conference play. In a winner-take-all matchup, the victor of the three-game series will earn both the regular season WCC crown and the league's automatic berth to NCAA Regionals. They will face off in a doubleheader Friday at 5 and 7 p.m. MDT. The series concludes Saturday at 1 p.m. MDT. 

All three games will be televised on BYUtv and can be streamed live as well. Links to live stats will be available on the BYU softball schedule page. 

At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, BYU’s five seniors will be honored: Caitlyn Alldredge, Briielle Breland, Madison Merrell, Arianna Paulson and Alexa Strid.

In honor of Mother's Day the following Sunday, roses will be given to every mom in attendance.

BYU STORYLINES

• The Cougars look to earn their 10th-straight conference title and 13th overall, spanning four conferences. BYU has also won the regular season title each of the past four years it has been a member of the WCC.
• Junior catcher Libby Sugg earned her second WCC Player of the Week award this season. Sugg batted .733 with six runs on 11 hits in five games this week for the Cougars. She tallied seven RBI with five doubles and one home run. Sugg also posted a slugging percentage of 1.267.
• BYU ranks No. 28 nationally and No. 1 in the WCC in home runs per game with 1.02. Twelve Cougars have combined to hit 54 homers in 53 games so far this season, led by Libby Sugg’s 11. Caitlyn Alldredge and Briielle Breland follow with nine and seven, respectively. Rylee Jensen has hit six while Lexi Tarrow and Alexa Strid both have four. Madison Merrell, Bridget Fleener and Allie Hancock have all hit three apiece and Ashley Godfrey has hit two. Emilee Erickson and Olivia Sanchez have also hit dingers.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK
Loyola Marymount (28-21-1, 11-0 WCC)

• LMU is 28-21-1 on the season with its only conference loss also coming to Pacific. The Lions lost 6-4 to the Tigers while the Cougars dropped one game 2-0.
• BYU leads in the overall series 19-8, most recently sweeping LMU in Los Angeles last year.
• Head coach Sami Strinz-Ward is in her second year at the helm of the Lion program and third overall at LMU. She has compiled a record of 80-73-1 while there.