BYU to host No. 25 Utah in home opener on Wednesday

PROVO, Utah — After an 11 day break and 17 games away from Provo to begin the 2023 season, BYU softball will welcome in-state rival Utah to Gail Miller Field on Wednesday night. The Cougars’ home opener will be broadcast on BYUtv and streamed on the BYUtv app, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT. 

• Television: BYUtv
• Stream: BYUtv app
• Talent: Spencer Linton and Gary Shiede
• Live Stats: Stat Broadcast

Going 3-1 at the Trailblazer Tournament two weeks ago, BYU dropped its opener to Oregon State before winning three-straight against UNLV, Portland State and Idaho State. Striking out 15 Rebel batters, freshman Kaysen Korth tied the school record for most strikeouts in a single game en route to the second WCC Pitcher of the Week honor of her young career. 

Starting all four games behind the plate, freshman catcher Hailey Morrow also led the Cougars at the plate, going 6-for-13 with a .462 average, tallying four runs, two doubles, two homers and eight RBI. The Las Vegas, Nev. native recorded a 1.077 slugging percentage and .533 on-base percentage. 

Junior left fielder Maddie Bejarano continues to lead the team this season offensively, reaching base in all of BYU’s 17 games this year and batting .400 with an on-base percentage of .516. 

The Cougars rank in the top-100 nationally in five statistical categories: hit batters (No. 44, 5), fielding percentage (No. 55, .971), scoring (No. 58, 5.24), home runs per game (No. 66, 0.76) and on-base percentage (No. 74, .370). 

Three BYU players also find their names amongst the top-50 of the individual statistical categories. Korth ranks No. 28 in strikeouts, with 74, No. 32 in strikeouts per seven innings, with 9.8, and No. 33 in victories, at seven. Junior center fielder Violet Zavodnik is No. 30 in hit by pitch per game (0.35), and Bejarano rounds it out with 0.24 sacrifice bunts per game, ranking No. 37. 

BYU and Utah were unable to play last season due to weather. The Cougars took the last matchup in walk-off fashion on April 21, 2021, in Provo. After leading for majority of the game, BYU trailed 6-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Back-to-back home runs by Huntyr Ava and Martha Epenesa helped the Cougars earn the 7-6 win.

No. 25 Utah (19-4, 3-0 Pac-12)

• The Utes have won 10 straight games, with their last loss coming to then-No. 2 Oklahoma at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic
• Utah swept Oregon State in its conference opening series last weekend. BYU split with the Beavers this year, beating them at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe but dropping the rematch in St. George two weeks ago.
• The Utes beat two West Coast Conference opponents, Santa Clara and Pacific, at the Hawai’i Spring Fling tournament the first week of March
• Amy Hogue is in her 16th year as head coach at Utah, going 417-381-1 (.523) in that time
• BYU leads the all-time series, 35-21. The two teams have split the last 10 matchups, with each team earning five wins.
• The Cougars are 18-6 all-time vs. the Utes in Provo. BYU head coach Gordon Eakin has a 30-14 record against Utah, going 16-4 against the Utes at Gail Miller Field.

After BYU’s rivalry matchup with Utah, the Cougars will head to Ames, Iowa for a doubleheader against future Big 12 opponent, Iowa State, on Friday, March 17. BYU will also play a doubleheader against Omaha in Ames on Saturday, March 18.