February 29, 2008

Provo, UT (UWIRE) -- The BYU softball team will compete in the Wilson/Demarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., today and Saturday against Drake, Creighton and Arizona State.

Drake and Creighton have 4-6 and 9-3 records, respectively, and Arizona State is ranked No. 2 with a 16-1 record for the season. This will be BYU's third face-off of the season against a top 25-ranked team. The Cougars fell to both No. 9 Oklahoma 8-5 and No. 3 Tennessee 82 but defeated No. 22 Missouri 40.

BYU will enter the tournament with a 9-5 record this season.

The Cougars will play two games on Friday, the first against Drake at 11 a.m. and then Creighton at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, BYU plays Creighton again at 3:30 p.m. and will wrap up the tournament against Arizona State at 5:30 p.m.

"We are steadily getting closer to the level of play that we are capable of," BYU head coach Gordon Eakin said in a news release. "I expect to play close to our expectations as a team because of the amount of talent we have."

The last time the Cougars and the Arizona State Sun Devils played was at the 2007 NCAA Regional Championships where BYU was defeated 3-6.

The Cougars defeated Drake 121 when they met in 2004. This will be the first time BYU played the Creighton team.

(C) 2008 The Daily Universe via UWIRE