Baton Rouge Beckons for 5-0 Utah Softball | Picryl by Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Baton Rouge Beckons for 5-0 Utah Softball | Picryl by Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
SALT LAKE CITY – After spending the season's first week putting together a dominant showing at the La Jolla Invitational in San Diego, the University of Utah softball team is ready to get back on the road, this time for a weekend in Baton Rouge, La., where they'll play five games against three teams in three days at the Tiger Classic, which will take place from Friday through Sunday.
The Utes will start the weekend with a Friday evening matchup against the Central Arkansas Bears that will begin at 2:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. MT), followed later that day by a clash with the No. 18 LSU Tigers at 7:30 p.m. CT. On the docket for Saturday is a 1:30 p.m. CT date with the Ohio Bobcats before the Utes and the Tigers collide again at 4 p.m. CT. Utah will cap off its time in Baton Rouge by taking on the Bobcats on Sunday at 9 a.m. CT.
Tiger Classic Schedule
Date | Game | Live Stats/Watch |
Feb. 17 | Utah vs. Central Arkansas | |
Utah at No. 18 LSU | ||
Feb. 18 | Utah vs. Ohio | |
Utah at No. 18 LSU | ||
Feb. 19 | Utah vs. Ohio |
How to Follow
Fans can tune in to both of Utah's matchups against No. 18 LSU through SEC Network+. Keep up with live game action throughout the weekend by following @Utah_Softball on Twitter or through live stats links provided above.
Last Time Out
Utah's 5-0 opening weekend was a complete team effort, as the Utes batted .368 and stole 26 bases, the highest total in the nation, and the pitching staff crafted a 0.44 ERA, the 12th-best mark in the NCAA. Utah's hurlers also posted the country's eighth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio while holding the opposition to a .147 batting average.
Three of the team's five victories in San Diego belonged to Mariah Lopez, who, over 14 1/3 scoreless innings, permitted only five singles, didn't walk a batter and struck out 21, tied for the NCAA's 13th highest total. Lopez's 21 punchouts are the most of any pitcher in the nation who has not issued a walk and her efforts were rewarded with the year's first Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week award.
Run support for Lopez and her fellow pitchers came in bunches, as four different Utes who were in the starting lineup for every game finished opening weekend hitting .400 or better. Aliya Belarde led the way with a .471 clip, followed by Haley Denning and Ellessa Bonstrom at .438 and Karlie Davison at .400. Belarde and Denning fueled their team's running game by each swiping five bases, putting them tied for first in the Pac-12 in steals.
Davison made the most of her first weekend of college softball, belting a pair of home runs and collecting in nine RBIs, the most on the team and tied for the fourth-highest total in the Pac-12. Bonstrom drove in a run in each of her team's first five contests and is tied for 10th in the conference with seven RBIs.
Scouting the Opposition
All three opponents on the docket for Utah in Baton Rouge are sporting winning records, with UCA and LSU having sailed through the season's first week undefeated.
UCA's 4-0 record is largely due to the excellent work of their pitching staff, led by reigning Atlantic Sun Pitcher of the Week Kayla Beaver. The junior right-hander did not allow an earned run in 17 1/3 innings while handing out only one walk against 26 strikeouts. She struck out 15 in a three-hit shutout against Idaho State in her season debut, then capped the weekend with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief work against McNeese State to earn a save.
The Tigers romped their way to five straight wins, three of which came via the run-rule, including a 12-0 trouncing of No. 19 Oregon State. No one swung a hotter bat than Taylor Pleasants, who smacked four homers, drove in 13 runs and batted .533 to earn the SEC's Player of the Week award. Pleasants, an all-region first-team pick a year ago, is currently tied for the national lead in homers and sharing third in RBIs.
LSU's pitching staff is lead by another 2022 all-region selection in Ali Kilponen, who won each of her first two starts while pitching to a 1.61 ERA. After defeating New Mexico in her first outing, Kilponen silenced the OSU lineup in her next start, throwing a complete game and giving up just two hits as LSU came out on top, 3-0.
The Bobcats showed off some offensive firepower and strong pitching of their own during their first three games, with their rate of six homers in three games tied for second-best in the country. Three of those dingers belong to junior Annali Paoli, who homered twice on opening day against George Mason. Ohio's best work in the circle was done by sophomore Skipp Miller, who didn't allow an earned run over seven inning in two appearances.
Team Stat Leaders (as of 2/15/23)
Batting Avg. | .471 | |
Slugging % | .867 | |
On Base % | .500 | |
Runs Scored | 7 | |
Hits | 8 | |
RBI | 9 | |
Doubles | 2 | |
Home Runs | 2 | |
Stolen Bases | 5 | |
ERA | 0.00 (14.1 IP) |
K's | 21 |
National Rankings - Individual
- Among pitchers who own a 0.00 ERA so far in 2023, Mariah Lopez has thrown the eighth-most innings. Lopez is also tied for 13th in strikeouts with 21 and only one pitcher in the nation has thrown more innings without walking a batter.
- Karlie Davison's nine RBIs are tied for 15th in the country.
- Haley Denning and Aliya Belarde are tied for fourth in the nation in steals, each having stolen five bases.
National Rankings – Team
- Utah's 26 steals are five more than any other team in Division I.
- The Utes' pitching staff has struck out 28 batters compared to only three walks, giving them a 9.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio that is the NCAA's eighth-best.
- The team's 0.44 ERA puts them 12th in the country.
- The Utes' .364 average ranks 22nd in the nation.
More History for Hogue
One season after becoming the all-time wins leader in the history of Utah softball, head coach Amy Hogue has already surpassed two more milestones in 2023. With her team's win on Friday over Northern Colorado, Hogue became the first coach to reach 400 wins in program history and, two days later, she picked up the 600th victory of her college head coaching career.
Thick as Thieves
Utah's prowess on the basepaths during the season's first weekend produced an historic performance against UC San Diego on Feb. 11. The Utes rattled off 10 stolen bases in that contest, breaking the previous program record of nine, which had been set in 2022.
Milestone Watch
Ellessa Bonstrom and Haley Denning both entered the year with significant milestones within their reach and they've continued to close in on those accomplishments. Bonstrom, who has driven in seven runs so far in 2023, is 45 away from becoming the program's all-time leader in that statistic and she's also 25 walks and four sacrifice flies from reaching the top of the Utah leaderboard in those categories.
Denning has swiped five bases through her team's first five games and those thefts pushed her ahead of her head coach and into third place all time in school history with 72 steals. She needs 28 more to become only the third Ute to ever reach 100 career stolen bases.
Lopez Named First Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week
For the first time since 2017, a Utah pitcher was honored with a weekly award. Mariah Lopez earned the title of Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week after starting the season with 14 1/3 scoreless innings and three straight victories. The last Utah pitcher to receive a weekly award was Miranda Viramontes, who was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in 2017.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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