Softball team hosting Regionals in Provo

PROVO — The good news just kept rolling in for the Brigham Young University softball team last week.

A Mountain West Conference championship, a berth in the national tournament, the chance to host an NCAA regional and a slew of players named to the all-conference team.

Not a bad way to end a successful regular season.

First up was Thursday's clinching of the regular-season MWC championship with a doubleheader sweep of UNLV. The victory over the Rebels also gave the Cougars (41-18) their third consecutive 40-win season, which included a 16-game winning streak in the middle of the year.

After splitting a series with San Diego State to end the regular season, the Cougars garnered the conference's automatic bid in the NCAA Women's College World Series.

Sunday the NCAA announced the Cougars would be hosting regional tournament games, with No. 7 Arizona State (49-15), Cal Poly (39-15) and Southern Utah (29-29) coming to Gail Miller Field. Games will be played Thursday and Friday, with the championship game scheduled for Saturday at noon.

The winner of the Provo Regional moves on to play in the Super Regionals May 25 and 26. The Cougars open play Thursday at 3 p.m. vs. Cal Poly.

To top off the week, the MWC released its All-Conference softball awards Monday, with BYU senior Jodi Norton being named the conference's Player of the Year. Additionally, four other Cougars were named to the 20-member All-Conference team. Senior Jennifer Whitely, junior Emi Snow and freshmen Angeline Quiocho and Christie Zinanti joined Norton as All-Conference honorees.

Norton's player-of-the-year award is the fifth-consecutive for BYU. Norton, a Mesa, Ariz., native, set a school record for home runs in a season with 23, a total good enough for fourth-place in the nation. She also tallied 56 RBI on the year, with a slugging percentage of .772.

BASEBALL: The Cougar baseball team will wrap up its regular season this weekend with a three-game home stand against the University of Utah.

The series opens Thursday at 7 p.m., with games following Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. Senior ace Jesse Craig (9-2) will take the mound Thursday against the Utes, with Jake Wortham (6-4) and Jordan Muir (5-4) set to start Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Cougars stand at 14-7 in conference play, two games ahead of Utah for second place, with league leader TCU out of reach at 18-2.