BYU heads to St. George for Trailblazer Tournament

PROVO, Utah — After three weeks on the road to open its 2023 campaign, BYU softball remains in the state of Utah this week, traveling south to play four teams in Utah Tech's Trailblazer Tournament. 

The Cougars will face both Oregon State and Portland State for a second time this season, as well as UNLV and Idaho State, the first of four matchups in 2023 with the Bengals.

BYU went 1-3 at the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, California last week, suffering losses to then No. 21/24 Missouri, Texas A&M and San Diego State before bouncing back with a win over Long Beach State to close out the tournament. 

Outfielder Alexis Gilio led the Cougars with four hits on the weekend, including two doubles in their victory over the Beach. Shortstop Ailana Agbayani tallied three hits and four runs in BYU's four games, with left fielder Maddie Bejarano also scoring four runs.

Third baseman Martha Epenesa and center fielder Violet Zavodnik each recorded two hits on the weekend. Pitcher Kaysen Korth finished 1-1 for the tournament, posting a 5.25 ERA and striking out 16 batters over 14.2 innings.

Bejarano has reached base in each of the Cougars' 13 games this season, leading the team. First baseman Huntyr Ava is on a 10-game reached base streak. 

Continuing to rank in the top-100 of a handful of statistical categories, BYU is No. 23 in fielding percentage (.982), No. 46 in hit batters (3), No. 60 in home runs per game (0.82), No. 77 in scoring (5.18), No. 84 in on-base percentage (.373), No. 95 in shutouts (1) and No. 98 in stolen bases per game (1.27).

Individually, Zavodnik sits at No. 19 in hit-by-pitch per game (0.45), with Korth ranking No. 31 in strikeouts (37) and Bejarano at No. 38 in total hits (15). Ava is No. 51 with three home runs and Bejarano is No. 59 with 0.27 sacrifice bunts per game. 

The Cougars have three players that rank No. 67 in total sacrifice flies. Ava, Hailey Morrow and Zavodnik have all tallied two thus far. Korth comes in a No. 82 with 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings, and Martha Epenesa's 0.78 walks per game close out BYU's individual presence in the top-100. 

• Oregon State (7-8, 0-0 Pac-12)
  • The Beavers tallied wins over Missouri and Iowa at Mary Nutter last weekend
  • Laura Berg is in her 11th season as head coach at Oregon State, going 275-240-1 (.534) in that time
  • The Beavers lead the all-time series, 12-6, but the Cougars took the first matchup between the two teams this season, 3-2
• UNLV (10-5, 0-0 Mountain West)
  • The Rebels went 4-0 at the Frost Classic last weekend, most notably beating Memphis, 4-1
  • In her sixth season with UNLV, Kristie Fox is 168-74 (.694)
  • BYU leads the all-time series, 36-13, and has won eight of the last 10 matchups
  • The Rebels beat the Cougars in Vegas last season, 5-3
• Portland State (4-10, 0-0 Big Sky)
  • The Vikings went 0-3 at Mary Nutter last weekend, also having games against Northwestern and Arizona State canceled
  • Meadow McWhorter is in her seventh season with the Portland State, posting a 100-172 (.368) record
  • BYU leads the all-time series, 9-3 and has won four of the last five matchups
  • The Cougars took the first matchup of the season in walk-off fashion as Epenesa sent out a two-run shot to beat the Vikings, 7-5
• Idaho State (4-9, 0-0 Big Sky)
  • The Bengals played six games last week, falling to Iowa State, Cal Poly and Fresno State
  • Two seasons in as head coach at Idaho State, Andrew Rich is 29-32 (.446)
  • BYU leads the all-time series, 16-2, and has won eight of the last 10 matchups
  • The Cougars beat the Bengals, 5-2 in their lone matchup last season

Following the Trailblazer Tournament, the Cougars will have 11 days off before hosting in-state rival Utah in their home opener at Gail Miller Field. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. MST on Wednesday, March 15 and will be televised on BYUtv.