BYU vs. Loyola Marymount, Seattle in Las Vegas - Week 8

CLICK HERE to follow the BYU softball team on Facebook.

BYU softball is traveling to its final non-conference tournament, playing two games against Loyola Marymount and one game against Seattle on Apr. 1-2 in Las Vegas.

COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU senior catcher Jessica Fitu enters the weekend tied with current BYU assistant coach and former Cougar player Ianeta Le’i for the BYU and Mountain West Conference career RBI mark. Both players are at 211 career RBI. Fitu leads the conference this season with 39 RBI.

— Senior Kristin Delahoussaye had her second giant game of the year in BYU’s last game against Utah State, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, one triple, four RBI and three runs. It was the first multi-homer game of Delahoussaye’s career and the 11 total bases were a new career high. Earlier this year against Boise State, the senior went 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and five RBI.

— Freshman Carly Duckworth has hit a home run in each of the last two games for the Cougars and has four overall this year.

— BYU won its first two home games of the season last weekend against in-state foes Weber State and Utah State.

— BYU currently leads the MWC in runs, hits, walks, stolen bases, hits allowed, earned runs allowed, extra-base hits allowed and runners picked off.

— The Cougars have a 46 RPI in the latest poll released on Mar. 30. BYU’s two opponents this week, LMU and Seattle, have an RPI rating of 136 and 255, respectively. BYU also received three votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, placing the team tied for the 31st-most votes.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

Loyola Marymount travels to Las Vegas for two games against BYU with a 13-16 record. The Lions have had a similar 2011 as the Cougars, playing against tough teams early in the season before hitting their stride, winning their last five games. BYU has outscored LMU 35-0 in the teams’ last four meetings, winning all four.

Danielle Fisher is one of five players on the Loyola Marymount roster currently batting above .300 while also leading the team with 39 hits. Kelly Sarginson has seven home runs and Sam Fischer has six home runs this year, giving the Lions a solid opening lineup. Molly Medeiros has a 7-4 record for LMU in 20 appearances.

Seattle will play BYU for the second time in series history after facing the Cougars early in the 2010 season. Seattle has struggled early, coming in with a 3-19 record, including an 0-12 record on neutral playing fields.

The Redhawks are led by Hannah Klein, batting .346 with 18 hits and seven RBI. Allegra Wilde leads the team with 21 hits and 27 total bases. Seattle plays all three of its pitchers almost evenly, with Kelli Demianew leading the rotation with a 5.73 ERA and Richelle Ashburn coming into the weekend with two wins and 27 strikeouts in 14 appearances.

ROUNDING UP BASES

Senior Kristin Delahoussaye racked up 11 total bases (two home runs and a triple) versus Utah State on Mar. 29, tying for the fifth-most in a game by a Cougar in program history and equaling the most in a game for BYU since Angie Quiocho had 12 off three home runs against UNLV on May 7, 2010.

GRAND RECORD

Senior catcher Jessica Fitu hit the fourth grand slam of her career 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.

NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE

Senior catch Jessica Fitu became the first BYU player in history to record five hits in a game, going 5-for-5 against Cal State Northridge earlier this season. Fitu hit a grand slam and had four singles on her way to finishing with six RBI and one run.

ALL-TIME CONFERENCE WINS LEADER

Already the record holder in all BYU career pitching categories, senior Paige Affleck became the winningest pitcher in Mountain West Conference history on Mar. 19, winning the 74th game of her career over No. 9 California in the Hawaii Spring Fling Tournament championship game.

TAKING MORE

BYU has 12 players with at least one stolen base so far this year, led by freshman Lacey Millett’s eight steals. Eight players have three or more. The Cougars have 40 stolen bases overall, already ninth-most in a season by a BYU team, and had a season-high four stolen bases against Florida State and Iona.

GOTTA SCORE

BYU is 12-0 when scoring at least six runs and 14-0 when leading after five innings. In addition, 11 of BYU’s 14 losses have come by three runs or less.