Knightmare averted: BYU softball ends losing skid with a win over UCF

The BYU softball team entered Saturday morning’s matchup desperate for a win over the UCF Knights, who had their number the two previous nights.

After winning back-to-back road games in Iowa and then scoring 12 runs in a victory over Utah Tech, the Cougars were flying high when the visiting Knights came to Provo on Thursday.

BYU was quickly brought down to Earth when UCF laid the hammer down in the series opener with a 9–1 victory, led by redshirt senior Stormy Kotzelnick, who drove in four runs with three hits in her only three at-bats of the game.

The contest ended after only five innings because of the rule that allows a game to be called if a team is winning by eight or more after the fifth inning.

The next evening, while the game was much closer, the Cougars struggled to score with players on base, as three solo home runs from Haily Morrow, Lindy Milkowski and Maddy Udall-Woolley weren't enough in a 4–3 loss.

Photo by https://byucougars.com/news/2025/04/11/byu-drops-4-3-contest-to-ucf

Entering Saturday, winning at home had been a struggle for BYU, as it was only 2–5 at Miller Park while holding a 10–3 record on the road and 12–4 in neutral-site games.

In the top of the first, UCF picked up where they left off by scoring in the opening inning once again with a deep right-field hit from Izzy Mertes, which gave them a 1–0 lead.

It didn't take BYU long to even the score, as Aleia Agbayani was walked with the bases loaded to make it 1–1. The Cougars failed to take the lead, leaving three on base after Bre Townsend was struck out.

In the top of the third, BYU made a pitching change from Gianna Mares to Jada Villegas after a couple of Knights players were walked. With the bases loaded and two outs, Villegas ended the inning with a clean slate after UCF’s Beth Damon hit a short fly ball.

The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the third, when Ilove’a Brittingham hit her team-leading 15th home run of the season. BYU doubled down when Townsend bounced back with a big home run with a runner on base to make it 4–1.

Townsend spoke about what it was like stepping up for the Cougars when they called her number.

"Especially as a freshman, getting to play at a stadium like this and getting a grip on the lead is so unreal," she said. "As soon as I hit it, I looked at it for a little bit and then started running."

Townsend also said that she and the rest of her team were inspired by their head coach, Gordon Eakin, to keep working together as a team and not get caught up in what had transpired the first two games of the series.

BYU's offensive firepower continued in the bottom of the fourth when Brittingham hit another home run while Morrow was on base, increasing the lead to 6–1.

Brittingham, a freshman from Oaks Christian School in Los Angeles, has been thriving in her first year of NCAA softball. In Saturday's contest, she recorded hits in all four of her at-bats, drove in three runs, and posted her fifth multi–home run game. She leads the Big 12 in several categories, including batting average (.444) and in RBIs with 55.

With momentum on its side, BYU took further control of the game when a hit from Miranda Mansfield brought Lauren Flanders home.

After UCF was held off the board for the fifth straight inning, the Cougars put an exclamation point on a crucial home win when Keila Kamoku sealed the game with her sixth home run of the season to make the final score 9–1.

One of the key players for BYU was Villegas, who pitched a little over three innings, allowing no runs and only three hits. She spoke postgame about how important a win like this was for the morale of the team.

"Our main thing today was making sure that even if we don't win the series, we couldn't lose this third game and knew we had to come out strong," Villegas said. "After we hit that first home run, we knew right away that it was going to be a good day for us."

Photo by https://byucougars.com/news/2025/04/12/brittinghams-two-homers-push-cougars-to-9-1-victory-over-knights

It’s been an up-and-down season for the Cougars to this point, as they now sit in fifth place in the Big 12 with an 8–7 record against conference opponents.

BYU will try to protect its home field when Fresno State visits on Monday at noon. The Bulldogs, who have lost four of their past five games, are playing at Utah State on Sunday before the Cougars welcome them to Provo in a matchup that hasn’t happened since 2020.