BYU roundup: Cougar softball rolls to series win at Iowa State
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- BYU softball players celebrate after winning the Big 12 game at Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday, April 5, 2025.
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- BYU players celebrate winning a point during the match against Stanford in the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday, April 4, 2025.
BYU softball hit four home runs as it shut out Iowa State, 13-0, to claim a series victory at Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars (23-10, 7-5 Big 12) took a 3-0 lead after the first frame, and added an insurance run in the third, but blew the game open with nine runs in the fifth, earning their second Big 12 series win this season.
Ilove’a Brittingham and Lindy Milkowski each hit a pair of homers in the game, including consecutive shots in the fifth inning. BYU out-hit Iowa State 13-2 en route to its eighth shutout of the year.
The Cougars came out firing, tallying three runs on three hits in the top of the first inning. After Hailey Morrow drew a full-count walk, Brittingham hammered a two-run shot to center field. Milkowski and Keila Kamoku both picked up base hits on the first pitch they saw, forcing an early Cyclone pitching change with BYU in front, 3-0.
Dahle worked around a hit batsman in the bottom half of the first, closing out the inning with a swinging strikeout.
A single and a walk on a pitch clock violation put two on for Iowa State in the bottom of the second, but consecutive groundouts left the ISU runners stranded in scoring position, keeping the Cougars ahead by three.
BYU added to its lead in the top of the third inning as Milkowski led off with a solo homer to right, a shot that sailed past the outfield wall in the direction of the wind for a 4-0 cushion.
With a walk and fielding error, the Cyclones put two on again in the bottom half of the frame, but another strikeout by Dahle got the Cougars out of the jam.
Looking to extend its advantage in the fourth, a Lauren Flanders single and Owens walk put two on with just one out for BYU, but a foul out and pop-up stranded them on the base paths.
The Cougars put up a nine-spot in the fifth, doing all of their damage with just one out. BYU batted around the order in the frame with 13 hitters coming to bat. Kamoku tripled, Aleia Agbayani was hit by a pitch before Kamoku and Abbey Gillespie executed a double steal. Continuing the run, Maddie Udall-Woolley walked, Tristen Turlington doubled, Bre Townsend walked, Owens and Morrow both singled ahead of Brittingham and Milkowski who hit back-to-back homers to complete the barrage of runs.
Iowa State quickly put runners in scoring position in the home half of the fifth on a full-count walk and double to right center, but Dahle induced a ground out before the Cougars turned a 3-2 double play to complete the shutout and series win, 13-0.
BYU will return home to begin an eight-game homestand next week, starting with a midweek against Utah Tech on Tuesday, April 8 at 5 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.
BYU men’s volleyball gets back-to-back wins over Stanford
The No. 7 Cougars sealed another win (25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17) against No. 12 Stanford at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo on Friday night.
“At times you have to win ugly,” said BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead. “Credit to the guys for letting us be able to pick people off the bench and putting different people out there. They were all giving it their all. When it did go our way, we were really able to capitalize. It was a team effort, and we had to rely on everybody.”
Hitters Luke Benson and Lucas Torres recorded 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Keoni Thiim and Niko Hales came off the bench and hit 1.000 on the night, contributing a combined total of seven kills, all of which were recorded in the fourth set. Setter Tyler Herget tallied 12 of the team’s 46 digs tonight, along with a match-high 41 assists.
Senior middle blocker Teon Taylor recorded a career-high 10 kills on a .714 hitting percentage to go along with two blocks.
The Cougars (17-7, 5-3 MPSF) finished with a .216 hitting percentage compared to Stanford’s .271 team clip. The Cougar defense shined with 46 digs compared to Stanford’s 19, BYU’s second-highest total in digs this season.
The Cougars will face the UCLA Bruins on Apr. 11 and 12 in Los Angeles, CA for its final road matches of the regular season. The match will be streamed live on the Big 10+ Network.
Cougar baseball loses to TCU in 11 innings
BYU baseball lost a heartbreaker to TCU, 13-12, in 11 innings on Friday night in the final game of a Big 12 three-game series at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth. With the victory, TCU improves to 25-8 (8-4) on the year, while BYU falls to 15-14 (4-8).
BYU scored 12 runs on nine hits, including a grand slam by Luke Anderson, while TCU had 13 runs on 16 hits.
“A loss like tonight stings–it hurts a lot,” said BYU head coach Trent Pratt, “I’m proud of how hard the guys played. They have a lot of heart, and they don’t quit. We’ll get back to work and find ways to get better.”
After the Cougars led 12-6, the Horned Frogs rallied, including three runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game in extra innings.
After a scoreless 10th inning, TCU walked off the win with three singles in the 11th for a final score of 13-12 in a game that lasted four hours and 20 minutes.
Next up, BYU baseball travels to St. George, Utah for a midweek game at Utah Tech on Tuesday, April 8 at 4:00 p.m. MDT at Bruce Hurst Field. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and BYU Radio.
Hoekstre, Hutchins have elite performances for BYU track
Gretchen Hoekstre threw BYU’s No. 2 all-time mark in the shot put Saturday afternoon at the Triton Track & Field Stadium in San Diego.
Hoekstre threw 16.99m/55-9 to place second in the women’s shot put at the Triton Invitational and earn an outdoor personal best. The senior from Seaside, Oregon was previously tied for BYU’s No. 2 all-time mark with a throw of 16.27m/53-4.5 at the BYU Cougar Invitational in May of 2021.
“I wasn’t expecting much at first, but when I started warming up, I felt something in the air,” said Hoekstre.” I’ve had some big fouls this year and I knew I’d be able to put one in the sector this meet. I’m super happy about that performance and I am hoping to add to it.”
Hoekstre owns BYU’s discus school record, is No. 2 in the indoor shot put and No. 2 in the outdoor shot put.
On Friday in Stanford, Calif., Jenna Hutchins moved up to No. 2 all-time at BYU in the 5000-meters at Cobb Track & Angell Field.
Hutchins ran an 18-second personal best to win the 12.5 lap event. The junior from Johnson City, Tennessee clocked 15:16.95 for BYU’s No. 2 all-time mark and the 17th-fastest time ever run in the NCAA.
“The race felt great and I was so grateful for Lexy (Halladay-Lowry) and her amazing pacing job,” said Hutchins. “Everything lined up perfectly and I wanted to take advantage of the great conditions. Most importantly, I wanted to inspire younger girls in the sport and show them that anything is possible with the right support system and the determination to never give up on your goals.”
BYU track and field will compete Saturday for day two of the Triton Invitational in San Diego. Live results can be found here.
Huang continues winning but Cougar women’s tennis loses to OSU
Aided by three default wins for No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 55 BYU (16-8, 6-5 Big 12) lost 6-1 to the Cowgirls, with senior Bobo Huang contributing the Cougars’ sole singles victory during the Big 12 match in Stillwater, Okla.
Huang’s win puts her overall singles record at 17-2, with a 10-1 record against Big 12 opponents. She has currently won nine singles matches in a row.
The Cougars will return home for their final two matches of the regular season on Apr. 10 and 12 against No. 17 UCF and Houston. Links to livestreams and live stats will soon be added to the BYU women’s tennis schedule.
