Kaysen Korth thrives under pressure, leads BYU softball past Arizona in series finale

After playing 26 games away from home, the BYU softball team was eager to compete in front of its home fans at Gail Miller Field for the first time this season.

Its time on the road finally came to an end this past weekend, as the Cougars faced the No. 11 Arizona Wildcats, who were second in the Big 12 standings with a 31-5 record and had won 10 of their last 11 games.

After losing their first two games against the Wildcats on Thursday and Friday by a combined score of 23-6, the Cougars had an opportunity to end the series on a high note Saturday afternoon.

The game started similarly to the previous two, as BYU quickly fell into an early deficit after allowing three runs in the opening inning. Arizona’s Devyn Netz delivered a home run with two runners on base to put the Wildcats ahead.

After BYU’s pitchers struggled the night before giving up 15 runs, Kaysen Korth took the mound looking to turn things around.

"Kaysen had a shaky start and had every reason to give up against a very strong Arizona team," coach Gordon Eakin said. "But what makes Kaysen great is that she is a fierce competitor."

After being down 4-0 at the bottom of the second inning, momentum began to turn in the Cougars in the favor when Keila Kamoku belted her third home run of the season.

This continued in the fourth inning after Lily Owens drove in Jaelynn Lambert to make the score 4-2. Ilove’a Brittingham, who leads the Cougars in batting average this season, stepped up with runners on second and third and hammered a three-run home run, giving BYU its first lead of the series at 5-4.

In the top of the sixth, down by only one run, Arizona remained within striking distance. After hits from Kiki Escobar and Dakota Kennedy, the Wildcats had runners on second and third with two outs, creating a high-pressure moment for Korth.

Korth talked about what goes through her mind during high-stakes moments like this one.

"Not a lot, honestly. It's just mostly telling myself I got this and not thinking too much about the outcome," Korth said. "The focus is all on getting this batter out."

With a full count — three balls and two strikes — Korth came up big, striking out Kaiah Altmeyer, one of Arizona's top hitters this season.

Afterward, BYU extended its lead when Brittingham delivered again, driving in two more runs. On the very next play, Lindy Milkowski stretched the lead to 9-4 with her ninth home run of the season.

As rain began to pour in Provo, Korth had to come up big once again to seal the deal and clinch BYU’s first home win of 2025.

With the bases loaded, Korth struck out Arizona’s Jenna Sniffen to secure the Cougars' first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

After struggling on the mound in BYU's 8-0 loss on Thursday night, Korth reflected on what she did differently to change the outcome this time around.

"Mostly, I just changed my mentality — kind of going in with a little bit more confidence and just attacking the hitters instead of trying to figure them out," Korth said. "I watched some film and looked at why my pitches weren't moving as much and made some physical adjustments."

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Eakin was impressed with the resilience of Korse under pressure, especially after being critical of the pitching performance in prior games.

"She not only didn't quit, she held one of the best hitting lineups in the country to five scoreless innings," Eakin said. "She's a warrior."

BYU will have tough competition once again this coming weekend with a series in Iowa against the Cyclones, who sit third place in the BIG 12.