BYU resumes WCC play, hosts Pacific for senior weekend

PROVO, Utah — BYU softball will resume West Coast Conference play with a three-game series against Pacific on Friday and Saturday, May 5-6.

The Cougars will host the Tigers in their final WCC homestand. Friday’s doubleheader has a 5 p.m. MDT first pitch, with Saturday’s senior day finale set to begin at 1 p.m. Utility player Mallory Barber, second baseman Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss and third baseman Martha Epenesa will all be honored following Saturday’s contest.

First baseman Huntyr Ava and center fielder Violet Zavodnik each homered in BYU’s Monday matinee against No. 2 UCLA. Despite the 7-2 loss, the Cougars also saw production from freshman second baseman Tristen Turlington, who went 2-for-3 with a double in the game.

Ava earned WCC Player of the Week honors on Monday afternoon after she posted a .615 batting average and 1.385 slugging percentage in BYU’s five wins last week. The Rosepark native homered three times and tallied 11 RBI on the week.

Now with a team and conference-leading 12 home runs, Ava ranks No. 21 in the nation, averaging 0.33 homers per game. Her 1.19 RBI per game are good for eighth-best in the country, and a .760 slugging percentage puts her at No. 36 nationwide.

Left fielder Maddie Bejarano also has her name in the top 25 of the national statistics rankings, coming in at No. 14 with 0.26 sacrifice bunts per game. Bejarano (.313) joins Ava (.356), shortstop Ailana Agbayani (.340) and catcher Hailey Morrow (.327) as the four Cougar batters hitting .300 or better this season. Agbayani (8), Ava (7) and Zavodnik (6) lead the team with the longest active hitting streaks on the year.

BYU and Pacific will meet for the eighth and final time in WCC play this weekend. It is the first trip the Tigers will be making to Provo since 2019.

Pacific (10-27, 1-11 WCC)

• The Tigers are on a two-game losing streak after dropping the final two games of their three-game series against Saint Mary's last weekend
• Pacific has one three-game win streak this season, beating Niagara, Fresno State and CSU Bakersfield in early March
• Outside of WCC foes, the Cougars and Tigers share two common opponents: Utah Valley and Utah
• Brian Kolze is in his 31st season as head coach at Pacific, posting an 821-799-2 (.507) record since 1993
• BYU leads the all-time series between the two teams, 23-2. The Cougars are 10-0 against the Tigers at Gail Miller Field, and have won the last eight matchups dating back to 2018.  

Closing out its regular season next week, BYU will embark on its final road trip as a member of the WCC, visiting Saint Mary's in Moraga, Calif. for a three-game set on Friday and Saturday, May 12-13.