Hosting New Mexico, Colorado State - Week 11

PROVO, Utah -- BYU softball hosts its first conference games of the season on Thursday, Apr. 21, against Colorado State and a two-game stand against Colorado State Thursday and Friday, Apr. 22-23, at Gail Miller Field.

Thursday, Apr. 21

BYU vs. New Mexico

Gail Miller Field

6 p.m.

Televised live on BYUtv

Friday, Apr. 22

BYU vs. Colorado State

Gail Miller Field

6 p.m.

Televised live on BYUtv

Saturday, Apr. 23

BYU vs. Colorado State

Gail Miller Field

2 p.m.

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COUGAR QUICK HITS

— BYU has won 17 of its last 19 games, including a streak of 12 wins before a 1-0 loss in extra innings at SDSU on Saturday. The Cougars have outscored their opponents 120-21 in the last 19 games.

— Junior first baseman Stacie Graham was named MWC Co-Player of the Week and senior pitcher Paige Affleck was named MWC Pitcher of the Week for their efforts last week at UNLV and at San Diego State. The honors were the sixth and seventh of the season for BYU.

— Graham, a 5-10 junior from Farmington, Utah, hit the game-winning home run, the first of her career, in BYU’s 1-0 win at San Diego State a day after going 2-for-3 with a double, single, hit by pitch, three runs, and three RBI in BYU’s 14-0 shutout of UNLV in Las Vegas.

— Affleck won the fourth MWC weekly honor of her career after pitching to all but a single batter over BYU’s three games last weekend. Affleck finished with a 0.00 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched, including shutouts at UNLV and San Diego State.

— Junior center fielder Jessica Dugas became the 16th player in BYU history to earn four hits in a game, going 4-for-4 at UNLV last week. Dugas also had a career-high three RBI along with two stolen bases and a run scored in the Cougars’ 14-0 win.

OPPONENTS SERIES NOTES

New Mexico comes into Provo with a 3-2 MWC record, 17-18 overall after most recently losing to New Mexico State on Tuesday, 6-0. In conference play, the Lobos have two wins over Colorado State and one win against UNLV with losses coming against UNLV and San Diego State. BYU currently holds a nine-game win streak over New Mexico.

New Mexico is led by Jessica Garcia, one of the best hitters in the MWC. Garcia is batting .436 with 51 hits, including eight home runs and 14 doubles with 28 RBI. As a team, the Lobos are batting .302. In the circle, pitchers Kaela DeBroeck and Kari Gutierrez split duties, with both appearing in 22 games with 17 starts apiece. DeBroeck sports an ERA of 4.35, narrowly better than Gutierrez at 4.78.

Colorado State comes in on a six-game losing streak, including two against New Mexico, two against San Diego State and one against UNLV in conference play. The Rams are allowing opponents to bat .359 on the year compared to the team’s own .255 batting average.

Brittany Palish leads the team batting .325 while Caitlin Stem has a team-high 33 hits, including 10 doubles. Three CSU pitchers have over 20 appearances, led by Alexa Cash with the lowest ERA on the team at 10.26 in 86.0 innings pitched and a 1-14 record. Kelsey O’Brien leads the team with a 3-13 record.

HOME RUN HIT STREAK

Junior right fielder Delaney Willard hit five home runs in four games recently against Seattle, Loyola Marymount and a doubleheader vs. Southern Utah. Willard’s four-game home run streak was the longest for a BYU player since Stephanie Hopkins hit one out in four straight in April 2008. Her five homers are the most in a four-game span since Angie Quiocho hit six out of the park also in April 2008.

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. Affleck has now won 80 games in her career.

TAKING MORE

BYU has 13 players with at least one stolen base so far this year, led by freshman Lacey Millett and junior Jessica Dugas with nine steals apiece. Eight players have four or more. The Cougars have 54 stolen bases overall, already seventh-most in a season by a BYU team, and had a season-high four stolen

bases against Florida State, Iona and UNLV.

GOTTA SCORE

BYU is 17-0 when scoring at least six runs and 20-0 when leading after five innings. In addition, 12 of BYU’s 15 losses have come by three runs or fewer.