BYU at Campbell/Cartier Classic - Week 4

BYU softball is traveling to San Diego to participate in the Campbell/Cartier Classic on Mar. 3-5, facing No. 25 Houston, Long Beach State, No. 23 Fresno State, No. 6 UCLA and Cal Poly.

CLICK HERE to visit the tournament page.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU is a combined 9-13 all-time against this week’s Campbell/Cartier Classic opponents. BYU has already faced Cal Poly this season, winning 8-6 on Feb. 18. The Cougars will also face Long Beach State and UCLA next weekend in addition to this weekend.

— The Cougars are playing their sixth, seventh and eighth ranked teams of the season, facing No. 25 Houston, No. 23 Fresno State and No. 9 UCLA. BYU is 1-4 against ranked teams so far this season.

— BYU currently leads the MWC in runs, hits, walks, stolen bases and opposing batting average.

— BYU senior catcher Jessica Fitu leads the league in batting average (.538), on base percentage (.600), hits (28), RBI (20), home runs (5) and total bases (48). Junior centerfielder Jessica Dugas also leads the league in walks with 13.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

BYU and Houston will face off for the first time in five years on Thursday. The Cougars have climbed up into the Top 25. Houston is led by pitcher Amanda Crabtree who earned Conference USA Pitcher of the Week after throwing a no-hitter last week against Louisiana-Monroe. Houston will bring an eight-game win streak to its contest against BYU, including two wins against No. 20 LSU and a win over No. 18 Oklahoma State.

Long Beach State is also coming off a week in which the 49ers also defeated a ranked team, beating No. 6 Oklahoma, 2-1. Megan Denio hits a team-high .438 with a .548 on base percentage while Erin Jones-Wesley is the team’s leading pitcher with a 5-1 record, 1.59 ERA and 42 strikeouts in nine appearances.

Fresno State is receiving votes in the major polls after winning six of its first seven games of the year, including triumphs over No. 8 Missouri and No. 18 Oklahoma State. Michelle Moses has three home runs and eight RBI for the Bulldogs who are hitting .301 as a team. Pitcher Mackenzie Oakes is 4-0 on the year, sporting a 2.36 ERA.

UCLA, the defending national champions, are facing the Cougars for the first time since 2003 in the first of two matchups between the squads on the year. The Bruins have combined for 25 home runs and 241 total bases in their 16 games. Two UCLA pitchers have ERAs under 1.00, with Donna Kerr’s 0.83 ERA and 5-0 record leading the way.

BYU and Cal Poly are playing each other for the second time this season after BYU claimed an 8-6 win on Feb. 18 in Las Vegas. Sophomore Hannah Howell shutout the Mustangs in five innings of relief. Cal Poly has struggled, sporting a 2-13 record after playing a brutal schedule that has featured 10 ranked teams.

GRAND RECORD

Senior catcher Jessica Fitu hit the fourth grand slam of her career last weekend against Cal State Northridge, setting a new BYU record for most grand slams in a career and tying for third place all-time in the NCAA record books.

WALKING TO A RECORD

Senior second baseman Kristin Delahoussaye moved into second place last week on the BYU career walk list, garnering the 107th of her career. Oli Keohohou is in first place with 200 career walks at BYU.

GOTTA SCORE

BYU is 6-0 when scoring at least six runs and 0-7 when scoring four runs or less. The difference between the Cougars current 7-8 record and something better is slim--seven of BYU’s eight losses have come by three runs or less and three losses have come by a single run.

TEAM CAPTAINS

Seniors Paige Affleck, Caschjen Atagi, Kristin Delahoussaye and Jessica Fitu, along with junior Krista Hicks, have been chosen by their teammates as team captains for the 2011 season.