LOS ANGELES — BYU softball dropped the opening game of its series at Loyola Marymount, 3-2 at Smith Field on Friday afternoon.

BOX SCORE

The Cougars (21-11, 3-1 WCC) rallied to tie the game in the fourth, but were unable to score again, tallying just three hits to the Lions’ five and leaving eight runners left in base. 

Player Highlights

• Martha Epenesa: 1-2, R
• Ailana Agbayani: 1-3
• Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss: 1-3

LMU struck first in the bottom of the first, drawing a two-out walk and then hitting a two-run home run to right field, going ahead 2-0.

Hailey Morrow earned a leadoff walk in the top of the second, moving around to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, but BYU was unable to bring her in to score. 

The Cougars intentionally walked a Lion to load the bases in the bottom of the third, but first baseman Huntyr Ava reached up over the top of the LMU dugout to record a foul out and get BYU out of the jam. 

A two-out attack helped the Cougars draw even in the top of the fourth, as Epenesa singled to third base on a ball that settled on the infield after a couple bounces. Maddie Udall was then hit by a pitch and Alyssa Podhurcak-Foss reached on a Lions error to score Epenesa.

Taryn Lennon came in to pinch run for Udall, and she came home from third on a wild pitch. BYU would load the bases after a Maddie Bejarano walk and Ailana Agbayani single, but a strikeout would end the inning. 

LMU answered in the bottom of the fourth, again homering with two outs, this time a solo shot down the left field line to retake the lead at 3-2. 

Podhurcak-Foss tripled down the right field line with two outs in the top of the sixth, but a strikeout would leave her stranded and keep the deficit at one. 

Holding the Lions scoreless in the home half of the sixth, the Cougars had the top of the order due up in the seventh. Violet Zavodnik drew a two-out walk, but a pop out prevented any further rally and closed out the game. 

BYU will wrap up its three-game set at LMU with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 15. First pitches are scheduled for 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. PDT, and both games will be streamed on the WCC Network. 

PROVO, Utah — After splitting its early week rivalry matchups, BYU softball jumps back into WCC play with a three-game series at LMU this week.

The Cougars (21-10, 3-0 WCC) will take on the Lions in a single game on Friday afternoon and a doubleheader on Saturday.

BYU dropped its Monday night game against Utah, 6-4. After leading 1-0 through five innings, the Utes plated six runs in the sixth inning to take a five-run lead. Center fielder Violet Zavodnik hit a three-run home run down the right field line but the Cougars’ comeback ultimately fell short.

Tallying nine runs on nine hits against Utah Valley on Tuesday night, BYU earned a quick run-rule victory over the Wolverines with a 9-0 shutout. The Cougars were fueled by a solo home run from catcher Hailey Morrow and first baseman Huntyr Ava’s first-career grand slam. Ava totaled six RBI in the game. 

After opening conference play 3-0 with a series sweep at Santa Clara last week, Morrow was named the WCC Player of the Week, BYU’s fifth weekly honor this season. The freshman was tied for the team-lead in batting average, at .444, and also led the Cougars with an .889 slugging percentage.

Dating back to last season, BYU has now won 15-consecutive conference games, the second-longest active streak in NCAA DI softball. LMU was the last team to beat the Cougars in conference play, as they earned a series win after taking two of three in Provo in 2022.

BYU eventually earned a share of the WCC crown, for its eighth-consecutive WCC title, but owning the tiebreaker, the Lions received the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, snapping a streak of 16-straight years that the Cougars had qualified for the postseason. 

Loyola Marymount (17-16, 3-0 WCC)

• The Lions are on a four-game win streak after picking up a mid-week win at Cal Baptist and opening conference play with a series sweep at Pacific last week
• This is LMU’s second four-game win streak this season
• Outside of conference play, the Lions and Cougars share a number of common opponents: Stanford, UCLA, Utah Valley, San Diego State, Utah, Portland State and LSU
• Tairia Flowers has been head coach at LMU for three season, going 76-54 (.585) in that time
• BYU leads the all-time series, 26-12, going 9-5 against the Lions in Los Angeles. Cougar head coach Gordon Eakin is 25-11 versus LMU during his tenure. 

The Cougars will return to Provo after their California road trip and play a pair of non-conference games next week. They will host No. 5 Stanford on Monday afternoon and then head down the road to Utah Valley on Wednesday.