BYU softball: Cougars bounce back, beat Aztecs to keep their eyes on the MWC prize

PROVO — The Mountain West Conference softball title once again lies within the BYU Cougars' hands.

After winning on Friday night, all San Diego State had to do was win out and the MWC title would belong to the Aztecs.

But the Cougars have plans of their own for winning that championship. They want to bring it to Provo, and they took a huge step in the right direction after defeating the Aztecs 4-0 on Saturday to split the season series and improve their MWC record to 6-2. With one game remaining against the Aztecs, now 5-2, both teams have their eye on the title, and both teams plan on winning out in the regular season.

The game on May 6 between the conference's top two teams looms large.

"Our goal is to be in first place. It's our expectation to win every game from here on out. I hope we learned from yesterday's experience," BYU coach Gordon Eakin said about the Cougars' 9-4 loss on Friday.

Even with the split, the Cougars have hit San Diego State pitcher Samantha Beasley better than any team they've faced this season, said Eakin. They've scored seven earned runs against the Aztecs' pitcher, who boasts an 0.78 ERA and had only given up three runs throughout the rest of her MWC season.

"We were facing one of the best pitchers in America. She just doesn't give up runs," said Eakin.

But the Cougars are no normal hitting team, either. They've faced some stiff competition across the nation this season and they've held their own, going 3-5 against top 25 opponents. But against the Aztecs, the Cougars were playing what could be termed as shorthanded, as the team's top hitter was a game-time decision and almost didn't get on the field against San Diego State on Saturday.

"Angeline Quiocho was a game-time decision. But we decided it was important to play her because just her presence in the lineup changes the game," Eakin said of the Cougars' third baseman who is suffering from a scratch on her eye. She had some trouble in the field and didn't get on base, which is unusual, but the Cougars still had plenty against the tough Beasley.

The Cougars are now 31-10 overall this season and hope to get a nice position in the NCAA championships. And a big reason for that, if it happens, could be that sophomore right fielder Delaney Willard came up big against San Diego State with four RBIs on a three-run homer and a triple.

"Delaney had two huge hits. It was just a big-time game. She's the perfect package. She can run and she drives the ball," said Eakin.