OKLAHOMA CITY — No. 6 seed BYU softball scored the first seven runs of the game as it downed No. 3-seed Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinal at OGE Field at Devon Park on Thursday afternoon.

The Cougars (31-22, 11-16 Big 12) were led by senior lefty Chloe Temples, who tossed her third complete game and the team’s fifth of the season, giving up just a pair of earned runs while striking out six.

BYU plated two runs in both the second and sixth innings, and three runs in the fourth, including two extra base hits. Both teams tallied seven hits in the game but the Cougars benefitted from five Oklahoma State errors.

The win over the third-seeded Cowgirls, who are ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll, marked the team’s third win over a Top 10 team this season, the most in program history.

After BYU went down in order to open the game, starting pitcher Chloe Temples worked around a bloop single in the bottom of the first inning, posting two swinging strikeouts before a sliding catch in right by Aleia Agbayani ended the inning.

The Cougars sent seven batters to the plate in the second, with Hailey Morrow tripling down the right field line to get things started. Lily Owens singled up the middle to score her, and Owens came home on an OSU fielding error, that put BYU in front, 2-0.

Oklahoma State picked up two one-out singles in the bottom of the third inning, but momentum slowed on the second as its lead runner got caught in a run down and Temples snagged a liner on the next batter.

In the top of the fourth, Owens beat out an infield single before Keila Kamoku double off the wall in right. Owens would score as Maddie Bejarano reached on a fielder’s choice, knocking the ball out of the catcher’s glove on a sliding play at the plate.

After chasing the Cowgirls’ starter Ivy Rosenberry out of the game, Ailana Agbayani singled down the right field line to score both Kamoku and Bejarano for a 5-0 Cougar advantage.

In the top of the sixth inning, BYU sent seven batters to the plate again. Maddie Udall singled through the right side and Kamoku reached by beating out a sacrifice bunt attempt. An Ailana Agbayani sacrifice fly scored Taryn Lennon, pinch running for Udall, and as Jaelynn Lambert reached on an error, Abbey Gillespie, running for Kamoku, scored, making it 7-0.

With back-to-back doubles and a single in the home half of the sixth, Oklahoma State finally broke through, plating two runs to cut the BYU lead to five, at 7-2.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Temples shut the door on the Cowgirls, inducing two pop outs sandwiched by a groundout to close out the upset quarterfinal win.

With the win, the Cougars advance to the semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. MDT. BYU will face the winner Thursday’s quarterfinal game between No. 2-seed Oklahoma and No. 7-seed Kansas.

UVU Softball advances to WAC semifinals

SEATTLE — No. 3 seed Utah Valley punched its ticket to the WAC Tournament semifinals with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over No. 2 California Baptist on Thursday morning at Logan Field.

Payge Armendariz and Halle Morris combined to hold the Lancers to one run on five hits. Armendariz pitched the first four innings before giving way to Morris, who pitched the last three to earn the save.

Angelique Mann went 2-for-3 and Britney Moreno went 1-for-2, both with an RBI and a run scored. Armendariz also went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Ry Binne went 3-for-3 out of the leadoff spot and reached base in all four plate appearances.

Armendariz was perfect through the first 3.1 innings before surrendering the lone run of the day in the fourth. Three singles and a wild pitch plated a run for the Lancers, but Armendariz was able to get out of the jam without allowing any more runs with a strikeout and a grounder to second.

Utah Valley wasn’t behind for long, with Armendariz and Mann getting back-to-back hits to start the fifth. Armendariz sliced a double down the left field line, then Mann smoked a line drive to right to bring in Armendariz. Moreno and Binne reached on a hit by pitch and a single respectively to load the bases, then Morris was hit by a pitch to score a run on what would’ve been ball four anyways.

Mann sparked another rally in the sixth with a two-out single and a stolen base to get into scoring position. Moreno then crushed a double down the left field line to switch places with Mann and push the lead to 3-1.

CBU put runners on with two outs in both the sixth and seventh, but Morris was able to bounce back with a groundout each time.

Utah Valley awaits the winner of No. 1 GCU and No. 4 Seattle U, and will play for a spot in the championship game tomorrow at 2 p.m. MT. All WAC Tournament games are streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UVUStats.com.

Phillips adds assistant coach to UVU men’s basketball staff

Utah Valley University head coach Todd Phillips has announced the hiring of Adam Jacobsen as an assistant coach on his men’s basketball staff. Jacobsen brings over 20 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level.

Jacobsen joins UVU after a successful tenure at Cal Baptist University, where he served as the assistant coach from 2019 to 2023.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Adam Jacobsen to our team,” said Phillips. “Adam’s impressive track record as a coach and his profound offensive expertise will be invaluable to UVU basketball. His ability to develop strong relationships and his deep understanding of the game will greatly benefit our program.”

Jacobsen brings a wealth of experience to Utah Valley, having contributed significantly to California Baptist’s basketball program. Under his guidance, the Lancers enjoyed consistent success, including a 21-win season in 2019-2020 and achieving high national rankings in scoring offense. His strategic acumen was further evidenced by leading CBU to its first-ever WAC tournament win in 2022 and another victory in 2023.

Prior to his role at CBU, Jacobsen was the Associate Head Coach at the University of Hawai’i from 2015-19. During his tenure, the Rainbow Warriors captured both the Big West regular season and tournament championships in 2016 and secured a landmark NCAA tournament victory. His leadership contributed to the team leading the Big West in scoring and winning a school-record 28 wins.

Before his time at Hawai’i, Jacobsen coached 14 years at the University of the Pacific, including two years as associate head coach. He won five Big West championships and made four NCAA tournament appearances.

Jacobsen was a standout player at Pacific where he holds the record for career three-pointers made and career assists. He also earned multiple Big West All-Conference honors. He led Pacific to two Big West Championships as a player and was inducted into the Pacific Hall of Fame.

In addition to his extensive coaching credentials, Jacobsen also made significant contributions in the field of sports analytics, working as a senior associate at HD Intelligence (HDI), the premier college basketball analytics company. At HDI, he collaborated with numerous Division I teams, utilizing data-driven strategies to enhance their performance and competitiveness.

“Coaching at Utah Valley is an extraordinary opportunity,” said Jacobsen. “I am eager to contribute to a program that is on the rise and to work with Coach Phillips to elevate UVU basketball even further.”

Jacobsen and his wife, DeAnn, have three children: Presley, Ava, and Luke.

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