Led by homers from Hailey Morrow and Maddie Udall, BYU softball shut out Kansas, 3-0 in its series and regular season finale at Arrocha Ballpark on Saturday afternoon.

With their second series sweep and third series win of the season, the Cougars (30-22, 11-16 Big 12) secured a 30-win season for the 23rd time in the 24-year history of the program, excluding the COVID-canceled 2020 season.

BYU broke a scoreless tie and no hitter in the fourth with a solo Hailey Morrow home run, before adding two more in the seventh on a two-run shot by Maddie Udall.

Senior lefty Chloe Temples nearly went the distance for the Cougars, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up just two hits and striking out six Jayhawks before freshman Kate Dahle came in and induced the game-ending double play.

A pitcher’s dual through the first four innings, 13 consecutive BYU batters were retired in order, and Kansas had just two base runners on a walk and hit by pitch.

Morrow helped the Cougars break through in the top of the fifth, launching a towering solo shot to left field for a 1-0 lead.

After Kansas landed its first hit in the home half of the fifth frame, BYU turned a 5-4-3 double play, erasing the Jayhawk single and getting the Cougars out of the inning.

BYU added a couple insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning. With two outs and Morrow on second, Udall crushed a two-run opposite field home run, putting the Cougars in from 3-0 heading into the final frame.

KU made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases after a BYU error, but the Cougars turned a 1-2-3 double play, with Morrow getting the force out at home before throwing to Udall at first to seal the series sweep.

BYU will head to Oklahoma City next week to play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship, beginning either Wednesday, May 8 or Thursday, May 9. Final seeding for the tournament will be released on Sunday evening after the regular season concludes.

Cougar baseball hits four homers in win at Miami

BYU baseball used four home runs from four different batters to score eight unanswered in an 8-2 win at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field on Saturday afternoon.

Despite allowing just two Miami runs through the first five innings, BYU had yet to get on the scoreboard and faced a 2-0 deficit headed into the top of the sixth. True freshmen Kuhio Aloy and Ryker Schow stepped up to the challenge and woke up the bats to jump start an 8-0 game-winning Cougar run.

“This was a good bounce-back win for us,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt. “For us to come from behind, get the lead and then hold onto it, that’s a step in the right direction. Our young guys are starting to grow up more and more.”

Aloy recorded his seventh and eight hits of the series while Schow posted a new career-high three RBI. Schow, Aloy, Easton Jones and Collin Reuter pitched in a bomb a-piece.

BYU’s pitching staff fanned nine batters and allowed just one walk as Ben Hansen (5-5) earned the win with a season-long-tying six innings pitched. Hansen and Stone Cushing each recorded three strikeouts, with Cushing closing the door on the Hurricanes late.

The Cougars (18-26) totaled eight runs on 10 hits with seven left on base, while Miami’s (21-25) two runs came on 11 hits with 11 runners stranded.

After three-and-a-half scoreless innings, Miami put BYU in 2-0 hole with to solo homers in the bottom of the fourth. The Hurricanes came threatening again in the fifth with a pair of hits and a stolen base to put runners on second and third. Hansen kept BYU in striking distance as he worked his way out of the jam and ended the threat with a groundout and third strikeout of the day.

Aloy led-off the sixth with a single to left that sparked the Cougar offense for the remainder of the game. Collin Reuter followed Aloy at the plate and wasted no time bringing the designated hitter home with a two-run homer to left that squared the game 2-2.

Cooper Vest then got in on the action with a single to right center. Schow brought Vest home moments later with another two-run bomb, this one giving BYU a 4-2 lead. Aloy extended the Cougar lead to 5-2 in the top of the seventh with a two-out blast.

BYU kept the runs coming with two more in the top of the eighth.

Brock Watkins opened the inning with a single to short and scored as Vest tripled down the first base line. Schow then notched his second hit of the day and plated Vest with a double to left that put the Cougars up 7-2. Easton Jones added another run for good measure with a team-leading 13th homer of the season to cap the 8-2 win.

The Cougars retake the field on May 7 in a crosstown clash with Utah Valley at UCCU Ballpark in Orem, Utah. Watch the matchup between BYU and the Wolverines at 6:05 p.m. MDT on ESPN+ or listen live on BYU Radio 107.9 FM and the BYU Radio App.

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