OREM, Utah—Brigham Young's run in the top of the first inning would be all the Cougars would need in a 1-0 win over Utah Valley University softball Wednesday afternoon at Wolverine Field.
 
With the win, BYU improves to 24-17 overall on the season. The Wolverines fall to 6-33 with the loss.
 
"I was proud of our performance today. We did a nice job of working together and our pitchers did a great job of keeping their bats quiet," head coach Nikki Palmer said. "Offensively we could've swung it a little bit better, but I thought that we showed good discipline against a tough pitcher."
 
BYU scored the lone run of the game in the top of the first inning as Libby Sugg singled through the left side to drive home Gordy Bravo from third base.
 
The Wolverines best chance to score came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Brittney Vansway came to the plate with two outs and the tying runner on third base and the go-ahead runner on second. During the at-bat, the junior slugger fouled a ball over the left field fence just left of the foul pole before flying out to center field to conclude the inning.
 
McKenna Bull picked up the complete game shutout in the circle for the Cougars as she improved to 18-11 on the year. Bull gave up just two hits on the day with six strikeouts. The Wolverines used four pitchers on the day with each giving up only one hit. Bailey Moore was the tough-luck loser on the day for UVU after allowing the lone run of the game in the top of the first inning.
 
Tiani Hensley and Kendall Ohman registered the only hits of the day for Utah Valley. Hensley singled up the middle in the bottom of the fifth inning, while Ohman reached on a single to second base in the sixth.
 
Utah Valley will close its home season when Grand Canyon comes to town for a three-game WAC series. Game one of the series is set for Friday, April 22 at 2 p.m. MT.
 
"That's a good team. I think that there are a lot of positives that can be taken away from this game and into this weekend's series," added Palmer. "If we keep playing the way that we did today, along with a couple of other things, then we'll have a good shot against Grand Canyon."