No. 25 BYU heads back to California to play in the Fresno State Invitational

PROVO, Utah – Following a successful trip to San Diego last week, No. 25 BYU softball will head back to California to participate in the Fresno State Invitational from March 10-11.

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars (11-6, 0-0 West Coast Conference) will play the host team Fresno State (13-8, 0-0 Mountain West) along with Sacramento State (4-7, 0-0 Big Sky) in doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday. They will play the Hornets and Bulldogs on Friday at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. PST, respectively. Then on Saturday, BYU will face the same two teams, battling Sacramento State and Fresno State at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. PST, respectively.

Live stats will be available for all four games on the BYU softball schedule page. Fans in the Fresno area can listen in to 790 AM ESPN2 Radio for the matchups against Fresno State. 

BYU Storylines

• After throwing 11 strikeouts against Miami, senior McKenna Bull became BYU’s career strikeout leader. In the sixth inning, she surpassed Paige Affleck’s record of 803 to take the top spot. By the end of the weekend, Bull upped her total to 808. She now owns the career records for strikeouts (808), saves (11), shutouts (24) and complete games (77) at BYU. For her efforts, she was named WCC Pitcher of the Week and the College Sports Madness WCC Softball Player of the Week.
• The Cougars came out of the San Diego Classic Ilast week with a 4-1 outing, including two run-rule wins. The 16 runs scored against Detroit Mercy notched a season high for BYU, including 7 runs in one inning.
• Following one week sitting on the outside of the rankings, BYU jumped back to No. 25 in thisweek’s USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25. The Cougars have been ranked as high as No. 23, reached back in week 3. They are receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. Neither of BYU’s opponents this week receivedvotes.
• For the second time this season, BYU swept the WCC weekly awards. The Cougars have had at least one player in the weekly awards since the beginning of the season. McKenna Bull earned the WCC Pitcher of the Week nod, her second of the year, and Libby Sugg took her first WCC Player of the Week honor. Bull broke the BYU career strikeout record en route to throwing 25 Ks with a 0.33 ERA over her four games played. Sugg hit her second career grand slam in the win over Boston University. Over the week, she had a .467 batting average and a 1.133 slugging percentage.

Opponents Outlook

Fresno State (13-8, 0-0 Mountain West)

• The Bulldogs have played a tough schedule in 2017, playing three ranked teams en route to a 13-8 record so far.
• They finished 2016 with a 42-12-1 overall record, going 22-1 in conference play. They advanced to the NCAA Fullerton Regional, winning one and losing two.
• BYU trails 9-5 in the series history against Fresno State, with the Bulldogs holding a 7-2 advantage in Fresno.

Sacramento State (4-7, 0-0 Big Sky)

• The Hornets have a 4-7 record so far in 2017 and are playing two more games on Tuesday and Wednesday before the Fresno State Invitational.
• They went 28-22 in 2016 with a 15-6 record in Big Sky play, finishing in second place.
• The series history between BYU and Sacramento State is tied 3-3. The Hornets hold a 3-2 edge at neutral sites.