For Utah’s Maddy Woodard, playing for Utah has represented the peak of her softball career.
The senior from Murray High School, plays left field for the team, which is a position a little bit unfamiliar to her. But Woodard has embraced it and has become an important contributor for the squad.
Woodard’s softball journey started as just a little tike, with her dad placing her rec leagues until she was 12 years old. Softball would be put on hold for a couple of years, though as Woodard decided to take on the closely related sport — baseball.
Woodard’s baseball career was on the mound. She pitched, and she pitched well — you could even say it is in her genes.
Woodard’s dad played for the Salt Lake City Trappers before the team went away in 1992.
“I liked to pitch the ‘baseball’ way,” Woodard said.
But while Woodard enjoyed her time on the mound, opposing male batters didn’t experience the same sort of feelings. Woodard recounted what would happen a lot of the time while she played baseball.
“It was funny because they would come to the plate all confident, and then I would strike them out, and their head would just kind of sink as they walked back to the dugout to jeers of teammates saying, ‘You just got struck out by a girl’,” Woodard said.
As Woodard got closer to high school age, she decided to go back to playing softball. Woodard played all four years at Murray where she played the middle infield positions, but also saw some time at third base.
She helped her team to two runner-up finishes in the state championships, and after her high school career, Woodard went on to play for Salt Lake Community College. Woodard led SLCC with 16 home runs during one of her two seasons there, before making the decision to come to the University of Utah.
“The campus was beautiful and the team was very welcoming, which was important to me,” Woodard said.
One of Woodard’s most exciting moments during her time as a Ute came earlier this season against Ohio State. Utah was clinging to a one run lead in the seventh inning and the Buckeye had both the tying and winning run on base, when a high fly ball was hit in the direction of Woodard.
“Us outfielders were playing up and the girl hit it way far, but I felt like I could get to it,” Woodard said. “I wasn’t sure where the fence was though and how close I was.”
As Woodard ran to track the ball down, she soon found out.
“I remember feeling the collapsible fence hit my leg as I went up to catch the ball,” Woodard said.
Woodard made the catch but her momentum carried her over the fence. What followed was some brief confusion from both teams.
“I got up celebrating the catch, knowing I had saved a game winning home run,” Woodard said.
But while Woodard was excited, her teammates were calling for her to throw the ball in because both Ohio State players had tagged up and scored — presumably thinking they had won the game.
However, after an explanation from the umpires regarding the “catch and carry rule”, the Ohio State runners were only able to advance one base since Woodard had caught the ball before falling out of play. The Utes went on to beat Ohio State in extra innings.
Katie Donovan was on the mound for Utah during that game and said that the defense was essential to that victory.
“The defense caught balls and got outs with great plays that were not easy,” Donovan said.
Falling over a fence making a game-saving catch definitely fits that description.
“It definitely ranks in my top five plays I’ve made,” Woodard said.
It was a special play in the midst of what Woodard and the Utes hope to be a special season.
@brock_jensen02