McKenzie St. Clair prepares to run home in a game against Oklahoma State. St. Clair hit a three-run homer against USU.
Outfielder Lacey Hofstedt hit a career-high five RBI in BYU softball's 13-2 win over the Utah State Aggies on Tuesday.
The Cougars trounced the Aggies in just five innings. Sydney Broderick and McKenzie St. Clair both hit home runs — St. Clair's first home run of the season and Broderick's fourth.
'Everybody will tell you that defending a conference championship is difficult,' BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. 'We just want to make sure we don't let our guard down, that we play strong every inning.'
BYU accomplished that goal by scoring in every inning against the Aggies. The team scored five runs in the first two innings on RBI from Hofstedt, Gordy Bravo and Mercedes O'Connor. Four of the runs were earned off four hits in the top of the second.
Utah State's pitcher gave up the sixth run when she hit Hofstedt in the top of the third with the bases loaded. The Aggies added one run in the second half of the inning and shortened the gap to 6-1.
Broderick's three-run homer and Hofstedt's final two RBI put the Cougars up 11-1 after the fourth inning. Ashley Thompson entered the game as a relief pitcher for McKenna Bull in the bottom of the fourth.
St. Clair scored the final two runs for BYU with a two-run homer in the top of the fifth. Utah State earned one more run, but the game finished before the Aggies could come any closer.
BYU improved its record to 22-8. The team will travel to California April 3–4 to compete in a three-game series against St. Mary's.