The BYU softball team is off to a slow start.
The Cougars are 1–8, with their only win coming against Notre Dame, 8–5, at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Going into the fourth inning of that game, the Cougars trailed 5–4. Then Lily Owens stepped up to the plate. Owens, who leads the team in runs scored with eight, hit a home run to tie the game at five. Later, in the sixth inning, Owens scored the go-ahead run off a Hailey Morrow triple.
Since that game, BYU has lost six straight, including four last week against Incarnate Word, Texas State, No. 18 Clemson, and No. 9/11 Arkansas. Their final game of the States Up Invitational against Wichita State was canceled due to inclement weather.
Owens has led the Cougars through a very tough schedule to open the season. BYU has played three ranked teams and three other teams receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, including undefeated and current No. 1 Tennessee.
She leads the Big 12 in walks with 12, despite having only 19 at-bats. To put it simply, other teams don’t want to give her any opportunity to hit. But that doesn’t seem to bother her.
“As a leadoff, I just go up there thinking I’m going to give my teammates the best opportunity to see as many pitches as possible,” she said.
Not only is Owens trying to get on base, but she is also allowing her teammates to scout the opposing pitcher and understand the types of pitches they will see throughout the rest of the game.
In a way, Owens’ role is to set the tone. Her coaches then work with each player to understand their “zone,” or where they are most likely to make solid contact and generate power.
“I try to be really aggressive on pitches that are in my zone and lay off anything else," she said.
This approach has allowed Owens to reach base 58% of the time, good for fourth in the Big 12.
With many early-season invitationals, BYU is constantly on the road and often plays five games in three days, but Owens is taking it “one pitch at a time.”
“The now is all that matters, and we will get to the other games when we do,” she said.
For Owens, “staying in a positive mindset means remembering that a lot can change in one pitch, so stay up because we can always turn things around.”
BYU and Owens will look to turn things around this weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California. This marks BYU’s 19th appearance in 27 seasons at the tournament.
So what has been Owens’ biggest focus in helping her team turn things around?
“The biggest focus is keeping the confidence that wins and losses don’t determine who we are," she said. "We are still a great team, and we’ve seen countless times teams starting slow but finishing big.”