Cougars head to Los Angeles for series at LMU

PROVO, Utah — After splitting its early week rivalry matchups, BYU softball jumps back into WCC play with a three-game series at LMU this week.

The Cougars (21-10, 3-0 WCC) will take on the Lions in a single game on Friday afternoon and a doubleheader on Saturday.

BYU dropped its Monday night game against Utah, 6-4. After leading 1-0 through five innings, the Utes plated six runs in the sixth inning to take a five-run lead. Center fielder Violet Zavodnik hit a three-run home run down the right field line but the Cougars’ comeback ultimately fell short.

Tallying nine runs on nine hits against Utah Valley on Tuesday night, BYU earned a quick run-rule victory over the Wolverines with a 9-0 shutout. The Cougars were fueled by a solo home run from catcher Hailey Morrow and first baseman Huntyr Ava’s first-career grand slam. Ava totaled six RBI in the game. 

After opening conference play 3-0 with a series sweep at Santa Clara last week, Morrow was named the WCC Player of the Week, BYU’s fifth weekly honor this season. The freshman was tied for the team-lead in batting average, at .444, and also led the Cougars with an .889 slugging percentage.

Dating back to last season, BYU has now won 15-consecutive conference games, the second-longest active streak in NCAA DI softball. LMU was the last team to beat the Cougars in conference play, as they earned a series win after taking two of three in Provo in 2022.

BYU eventually earned a share of the WCC crown, for its eighth-consecutive WCC title, but owning the tiebreaker, the Lions received the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, snapping a streak of 16-straight years that the Cougars had qualified for the postseason. 

Loyola Marymount (17-16, 3-0 WCC)

• The Lions are on a four-game win streak after picking up a mid-week win at Cal Baptist and opening conference play with a series sweep at Pacific last week
• This is LMU’s second four-game win streak this season
• Outside of conference play, the Lions and Cougars share a number of common opponents: Stanford, UCLA, Utah Valley, San Diego State, Utah, Portland State and LSU
• Tairia Flowers has been head coach at LMU for three season, going 76-54 (.585) in that time
• BYU leads the all-time series, 26-12, going 9-5 against the Lions in Los Angeles. Cougar head coach Gordon Eakin is 25-11 versus LMU during his tenure. 

The Cougars will return to Provo after their California road trip and play a pair of non-conference games next week. They will host No. 5 Stanford on Monday afternoon and then head down the road to Utah Valley on Wednesday.