Utah softball head coach Amy Hogue reached a significant milestone on Thursday, recording her 500th and 501st career wins with the program. The University of Utah team secured victories over Southern Utah (4-3) and Weber State (9-1) at Karl Brooks Field in St. George, Utah.
With this achievement, Hogue joins a select group of Utah coaches who have surpassed 500 wins during their tenure. This group includes former gymnastics coach Greg Mardsen, former women’s basketball coach Elaine Elliott, and recently retired volleyball coach Beth Launiere.
The Utes improved their season record to 13-5 following these two games. “Raci and [Hailey] Maestretti each had good outings,” said Hogue. “The defense behind them continues to get better all the time. It was important to start the weekend with some early runs, so getting four in the first inning of the first game made me very happy.
“This team is plenty capable of putting up a dozen runs on teams, so I’m looking forward to having them break out this weekend.”
In the opening game against Southern Utah, Utah scored four runs in the first inning after six singles from their lineup. Payton Crank and Kayla Lyon drove in the initial runs before Emily Capobianco added two more with a single through the middle. Pitcher Raci Miranda held Southern Utah to just two singles over five innings and finished with her fourth win of the season.
Southern Utah managed one run in the sixth inning and threatened again in the seventh by scoring twice more before Hailey Maestretti ended their rally, earning her second save of the year.
Against Weber State, Mia Gomez hit two home runs while Lyon and Danika Wilson also contributed solo homers during a five-run third inning for Utah. Hailee White added an RBI double and Proctor delivered a run-scoring single as part of an offensive surge that led to a 9-1 final score.
Maestretti allowed only one run on four hits without issuing any walks, striking out four batters en route to her fourth win this season.
Utah will next face Utah Tech on Friday at 3 p.m.
Fans can follow updates about the team through social media channels including Twitter (@Utah_Softball), Instagram (@utahsoftball), and Facebook (Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
