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BYU Softball: Cougars get tough draw in NCAA Regionals

By Shaun Gordon

8 Jul 1998: A general view of a batting glove during the USA Softball Challenge at Erv Ling Field in Portland, Oregon. Team USA defeated the Allstars 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Harry How /Allsport
8 Jul 1998: A general view of a batting glove during the USA Softball Challenge at Erv Ling Field in Portland, Oregon. Team USA defeated the Allstars 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Harry How /Allsport /
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BYU Softball faces a tough region in the NCAA Tournament, where they’ll travel to No. 1 seed Oregon and take on two Top 30 teams.

The path to the Women’s College World Series can’t get much tougher for BYU Softball.

The Cougars will head to Eugene, Oregon to play in the regional hosted by No. 2 Oregon. The Ducks clinched the PAC-12 Championship on Saturday, and their reward is the No.1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Fortunately, the Cougars don’t have to take on the Ducks in the first game of the tournament. Unfortunately, their first opponent isn’t a whole lot easier.

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BYU will face off against No. 29 Drake. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 43-10 record and won the Missouri Valley Conference title. Drake has the fourth best team ERA in the nation, giving up only 1.21 runs per game. Oregon sits at second in the nation with a 1.12 ERA.

The Cougars’ game against the Bulldogs is Thursday at 4pm MDT, and it will be streamed online by ESPN. The rest of the schedule for the regional will be released later.

Each four-team regional plays a double-elimination tournament, so if BYU can get past Drake, they’ll take on the winner of Oregon and Albany. The Great Danes went 32-14 this season, winning the America East Conference.

If the Cougars manage to advance past the regional, they’ll take on the winner of the Kentucky regional, which features No. 19 Kentucky, No. 16 Michigan, Notre Dame, and lllinois-Chicago.

When you look at potential to advance past the regional, BYU couldn’t have received a worse draw. They’ll have to take down two Top 30 teams, including the top overall seed. Both Oregon and Drake excel at preventing runs, and Oregon excels at scoring them too.

Fortunately for the Cougars, they’re playing their best softball of the season. BYU has won 10 straight games and 18 of their last 20. They’ve averaged 7.1 runs per game in that stretch, which would rank No. 1 in the nation.

The Cougars are hot at just the right time, and they’ll have to carry that heavy hitting into the regional if they want to stun the nation.

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