BYU clinched its fourth WCC title after sweeping Santa Clara.
(Kimberlie Haner)
The BYU softball teams took both games from Santa Clara in a doubleheader to seal its fourth West Coast Conference championship in a row on Friday May 5 before completing the series sweep with a 19-5 win on Saturday.
“The two wins (on Friday) showed the same resiliency and fight we’ve had all year,” said BYU head coach Gordon Eakin.
This is the ninth conference championship in a row for the No. 20 Cougars, spanning four conferences.
McKenna Bull pitched a complete game in the opening game and came in relief in the second, pushing her scoreless innings streak to 52.
BYU was led offensively by Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge, who went 4-for-7 and Lauren Bell, who had two RBI.
The Cougars defeated Santa Clara 5-0 in the first game, with Briielle Breland leading the offense. Breland went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs.
In the second game of the day, the Cougars were held scoreless for the first four innings. In the top of the fifth BYU tied the game 1-1 after Bell hit a single which brought in Rylee Jensen for the Cougars' first run.
In the bottom of the seventh, Bell struck out the final batter, and BYU won the WCC title.
The Cougars wrapped up the series against the Broncos with a win on Saturday.