Cougars welcome No. 5 Stanford to Provo

PROVO, Utah — Beginning the week early, BYU softball will host No. 5 Stanford in a Monday matinee at Gail Miller Field. The Cougars and Cardinal with face off at 1 p.m. MDT on April 17, with the game being streamed on the BYUtv app.

LAST TIME OUT
BYU (22-12, 4-2 WCC) went 2-3 last week, dropping a 6-4 contest to No. 25 before beating Utah Valley in a 9-0 run-rule win. The Cougars then took to Los Angeles where they took the third game of a three-game set at Loyola Marymount, fueled by a 3-run homer from freshman catcher Hailey Morrow. 

Morrow and left fielder Maddie Bejarano each hit .500 for the series, with the pair and third baseman Martha Epenesa hitting one home run apiece. Morrow led the team with a 1.000 slugging percentage and .400 batting average for the week. First baseman Huntyr Ava paced BYU with seven RBI.

LET 'EM FLY
Hitting six home runs last week, the Cougars have homered in seven of their last eight games and in 19 of their 34 games this season, totaling 29 long bombs on the year. Seven different players have gone yard, with Ava's eight leading the team and Morrow's seven just behind.

FIRST INNING FIRE
The opening frame continues to be the Cougars' most productive inning, with 43 runs scored to begin games in 2023. BYU's next three best innings are the second through the fourth innings, scoring 35, 29 and 25 runs in those frames, respectively. The Cougars are 13-2 when scoring in the opening inning in 2023, and 18-3 when scoring first.

SERIES WITH STANFORD
The Cougars and Cardinal have met 15 times previously, with Stanford leading the all-time series, 11-4. BYU won last year's matchup, 4-3, but the Cardinal took all three meetings in 2021. The only other time that Stanford visited Provo was two seasons ago, on March 24, 2021, with the Cardinal picking up a 5-4 win. 

THE CARDINAL
Stanford (31-9, 8-7 Pac-12) was swept by No. 25 Utah over the weekend after sweeping then-No. 20 Arizona a week prior. The Cardinal won 21-straight games earlier this season leading into conference play.

Stanford and BYU have played a number of common opponents this year: Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, Boise State, Oregon State and Utah, along with future opponent UCLA.

Head coach Jenna Allister is in her sixth season with the Cardinal, posting a 182-108 (.628) record since 2018. She is 472-215 (.687) for her Division I career. 

ON DECK
The Cougars will make the drive down University Parkway for a matchup at Utah Valley on Wednesday, April 19 at 6 p.m. MDT. The second matchup between the two teams in as many weeks will be streamed on ESPN+.