Softball

Season Review

After a strong opening to the 2020 campaign, BYU softball’s season was cut short after just 23 games due to the spread of COVID-19.

The Cougars had just traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take on two top-10 teams, No. 10 Alabama and No. 3 Texas, in their final road series before their home opener. On March 12, concerns about coronavirus led to the cancelation of the tournament, sending BYU home. Later in the day, the NCAA announced the cancelation of all its remaining championships and BYU and other programs across the country suspended all athletic events. The Cougars closed the season with a 14-9 record.

"Having the season cut short was disappointing but it was the right thing to do," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said. "Our team is filled with selfless individuals and that is where our strength lies. We are actively helping and doing our part any way we can. I am optimistic and excited for the future."

BYU started the year with six-straight road tournaments traveling across the country as well as to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In their first tournament in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, the Cougars took back-to-back wins to open the season on Feb. 6. A walk-off single from freshman Huntyr Ava gave BYU a 1-0 win followed by a 6-1 win over Nevada. BYU then held now-No. 9 Oregon and now-No. 4 Oklahoma to only three runs in two 3-1 losses.

BYU’s high point of the short season started at the Mary Nutter Classic coming away with a 4-1 record with two wins against Power-5 schools. Those wins included a 4-1 win against Nebraska and a 6-2 win against Mississippi State.

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The two Power-5 wins catapulted a six-game win streak for BYU that led into the Judi Garman Classic. In the first game in Fullerton, California, the Cougars took down Cal Poly in a 9-1 five-inning win, followed by a 7-6 win against Illinois immediately after. Against the Fighting Illini, senior Rylee Jensen-McFarland went a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, a triple and a home run while Ava recorded her first BYU multi-homer game sending two balls over the fence.

The following day, BYU took down now-No. 19 Texas Tech in a 7-5 victory, as Jensen-McFarland and Ava again hit balls out of the park. Jensen-McFarland continued her home run streak against Boise State with her third consecutive game with a dinger.

However, the Cougars’ win streak came to an end with a 5-1 loss to Boise State, but BYU closed out the tournament with a 10-3 win over Cal as Ava and Martha Epenesa smashed homers.

Following the Judi Garman Classic, BYU ranked No. 2 nationally in home runs over that weekend with a team total of 12 as Ava led the team with five.

In its final tournament of the season, BYU dropped three of four at the Bulldog Classic in Fresno, California.

Although BYU did not play any West Coast Conference games, at the beginning of the season the Cougars were picked unanimously to win the WCC title for the seventh-consecutive season. Jensen-McFarland, Arissa Paulson, Autumn Moffat, Marissa Chavez and Taylei Williams were also selected to the preseason All-WCC First Team.

In her senior campaign, Jensen-McFarland had set her expectations high, chasing an All-America honor when her season was cut short. Jensen-McFarland started every game as BYU’s leadoff hitter, splitting her time between left and center field duties. At the conclusion of the 23-game season, Jensen-McFarland led the team in nearly every category, including batting average (.441), runs (24), hits (30), doubles (5), triples (2), slugging percentage (.838), walks (11) and on-base percentage (.518).

In her freshman campaign, Ava made her name known as a contender, playing in all 23 games, starting 22, in what could have been a freshman season with several newcomer or freshman honors. In the only game Ava did not start, the freshman came in as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the six and hit a 3-run shot for her first collegiate home run during her only at bat in the game against Nevada. Although her freshman season was cut short, among freshman in the nation Ava ranked No. 3 in RBI per game (1.22), No. 4 in homers (8), No. 5 in RBI (28) and No. 13 in total bases. Despite only playing 23-games, her eight homers ranks fifth among all freshmen in BYU history.

At the conclusion of the season, Moffat had solidified her position in the starting rotation, finishing with the lowest ERA on BYU’s pitching staff at 1.80 through 12 games. She began the climb in the BYU career records by finishing the season at No. 6 in walks per seven innings (2.25); No. 10 in appearances (77); No. 11 in starts (48); and No. 12 in ERA (2.70), opponent batting average (.257), strikeouts per seven innings (4.64), wins (29), innings pitched (311.0) and strikeouts (206).