The University of Utah softball team defeated the Weber State Wildcats, 13-0, on Mar. 24 at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City. Four different Utah players—Jolie Mayfield, Kennedy Proctor, Shonty Passi and Cian Noli—each hit a home run during the game.
The win brings Utah’s record to 25-8 for the season. The Utes built an early lead in the first inning after loading the bases with three walks. Payton Crank singled in one run before Noli drove in two more. Mayfield then hit her first home run of the year, bringing Utah’s lead to six runs.
Coach Amy Hogue said she was pleased with her team’s effort when facing two outs. “I was really impressed with the way we competed with two outs today,” Hogue said. “We had nobody on and two outs in the first inning and Danika started things off with a walk. Before you knew it, we had batted through the lineup and had six runs on the board. As long as we had an out to work with, we kept competing to score.” In later innings, Proctor led off with a solo homer while Passi and Noli each added another round-tripper.
Utah continued its offensive performance throughout the game while holding Weber State scoreless. Pitcher Shelbee Jones improved her record to 9-3 by allowing only three hits over four shutout innings before Hailey Maestretti finished out a scoreless fifth frame.
Hogue also commented on her pitchers’ performances: “I thought Shelbee threw a clean game and Maestretti really came in and spun the ball well,” she said. “We didn’t pick it up well but still found a way to get the shutout. We are going to need to clean up those mistakes because lots of teams will cash those in for runs against us.” Looking ahead, Utah is set for a three-game series against Oklahoma State beginning Friday at 5 p.m.
