Cougars open 2019 season in Mexico at Puerto Vallarta College Classic

PROVO, Utah – The BYU softball team will open the 2019 season in Mexico at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge from Thursday to Saturday this week. 

BYU Game Notes

The Cougars will face two ranked teams, No. 9 South Carolina and No. 18 Baylor, in a doubleheader on Thursday to start the season.  The first game against the Gamecocks begins at 10 a.m. CST with the game against Baylor at 3 p.m. CST. On Friday, BYU will take on Liberty at 10 a.m. CST and a game on Saturday against North Carolina at 12:30 p.m. CST.

All of the games will be played at the Nancy Almaraz Stadium in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with streaming available on FloSoftball with a subscription. Links are available on the BYU schedule page.

BYU STORYLINES

Ranked Opponents. BYU will face two ranked teams at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge: No. 9 South Carolina and No. 18 Baylor. Liberty also received 30 votes, good for No. 28.

Power at the Plate. BYU captain Libby Sugg returns for her final season at BYU. The two-time captain has been named to the USA Softball College Softball Player of the Year watch list and was named NFCA All-American Third Team after the 2018 season. She finished the season ranked nationally as No. 7 in RBI (67), No. 10 in RBI per game (1.16), No. 32 in batting average (0.414),  No. 33 in on base percentage (0.707) and No. 58 in slugging percentage

Back to Mexico. This is the third time that BYU has traveled to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. At their last appearance at the tournament in 2017, the Cougars came home with a 2-2 record. They lost to No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Auburn but beat No. 13 Washington and Nebraska. In 2015, BYU won all four of its games. 

Senior Leadership. The Cougars return four seniors: Libby Sugg, Allie Hancock, Olivia Sanchez, Ashley Godfrey and Lexi Tarrow. Sugg and Hancock have been named captains of the team while all four players could be starters for the Cougars. Sugg and Tarrow were named All-WCC First Team following the 2018 season. 

OPPONENTS OUTLOOK 

South Carolina | Thursday, Feb. 7 | 10:00 a.m. CT | FloSoftball

• The Gamecocks finished the 2018 season with a 49-17 record, 15-9 in SEC play taking the third place spot. 
• South Carolina advanced to the its second-ever super regional, going into the NCAA postseason tournament as the No. 9 seed.  After advancing through the regionals, Carolina ultimately lost to Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional. 
• This is the first meeting between the two teams. 
• Head Coach Beverly Smith enters into her fifth season with the Gamecocks compiling a 378-196 record.

Baylor | Thursday, Feb. 7 | 3:00 p.m. CT | FloSoftball

• In 2017, the Lady Bears had a 38-18 overall record, going 10-8 in the Big 12.
• Baylor competed in its seventh-straight NCAA Regional after the 2018 regular season.
• The series between the teams are split 1-1. The Cougars took the most recent win last season in March defeating the Lady Bears 3-1.
• Glenn Moore is in his 17th season as the head coach for Baylor, posting a 872-388 overall record.

Liberty | Friday, Feb. 8 | 10:00 a.m. CT | FloSoftball

• The Lady Flames posted a 49-14 overall record during the 2018 season, including being 18-3 in the Big South taking the title for the conference.
• Liberty qualified for the NCAA Regional Final for the first time taking down Hofstra in their first NCAA Regional victory in program history. 
• The game in Puerto Vallarta will be the first time the two teams will meet.
• Dot Richardson starts the fifth season with the Lady Flames recording a 166-142 overall record. 

North Carolina | Saturday, Feb. 9 | 12:30 p.m. CT | FloSoftball

• In 2018, the Tar Heels went 30-26 and a 14-9 mark in the ACC 
• North Carolina fell to Pitt in the ACC tournament ending their 2018 campaign finishing third in conference. 
• The Cougars took the only win in the series back in 2008.
• Donna Papa enters her 30th season leading the Tar Heels compiling an overall record of 1,257-704-5