BYU last played in a softball tournament in 2006. They won the Mountain West Conference Tournament that year, and they hope to repeat that performance this weekend at the WAC tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.
The Cougars finished the regular season with an overall 40-13 record and a 15-4 record in the conference. They head into the tournament with a No. 2 seed behind Hawaii.
With recently named WAC Player of the Year Delaney Willard and First Team Jessica Dugas and JC Clayton, the Cougars feel optimistic about winning the tournament.
Willard has 83 RBIs, which approaches the BYU record of 90. Her slugging percentage is sixth in the nation at .904 and she has 13 home runs this season. Dugas has a .324 batting average and has played in 182 games in her career. Clayton is on a 11-game hit streak with 25 hits and 63 RBIs.
Competition, however, is steep as the Cougars face No. 1 Hawaii. The Rainbow Wahine boast a 43-5 overall record and 17-3 conference record. Their pitcher, Stephanie Ricketts, recently won the WAC Pitcher of the Year.
The Cougars play Thursday at 2 p.m. The championship game will be played Saturday at 2 p.m.