The Utah softball team traveled to Corvallis over the weekend to take on Oregon State in a three-game series. Overall, the series went well for the Utes, sweeping the Beavers on their home turf in convincing fashion, while also notching their first Pac-12 road sweep since joining the conference.
“It was a big weekend for us,” said Utah coach Amy Hogue. “We are really playing some of our best ball right now.”
Utah played together as a team, and it had solid showings in all aspects of the game. Ute pitchers pitched well, batters were making contact and the team defense proved enough to propel the Utes to their third straight conference series win.
Hogue has consistently preached to her athletes and the media that getting out to quick starts is important in both a series and in individual games. The Utes did both in game one of the series with the Beavers.
Utah shut out Oregon State in the series opener 6-0, as the pitchers had their way with Oregon State batters. Katie Donovan led the way for Utah in this game, going six innings and allowing just one hit to improve her season record to 11-6. She also struck out six batters in the process and did not allow a single walk.
Kayce Nieto came in to relieve Donovan in the seventh inning and didn’t need very much time to put the game in the books for the Utes. Nieto sealed the victory by retiring three straight Beaver hitters.
The Utah hitters sure benefitted from the pitching, as the offense was clicking on all levels. Utah had nine hits in the contest, including two home runs from Shelby Pacheco and Heather Bowen.
In game two, Utah’s win didn’t come as easily, but the outcome was the same. Led by third baseman Kristen Stewart and rightfielder Bowen, the Utes, once again, outhit their opponent 10-8. Stewart went 2-of-3 at the plate, accounting for two runs scored, while Bowen showed that her home run in the first game wasn’t just a fluke when she parked another one.
“Their pitcher was throwing a lot of down balls,” Bowen said. “I just had to be patient and wait for her to miss one high.”
Miranda Viramontes picked up the win for Utah, while Donovan closed it out and recorded the save. Utah was also able to capitalize on three Oregon State errors in the game, but the final inning brought some drama. Down five runs, the Beavers put on their rally caps and tacked on three runs to pull within two, but that’s as close as they would get as Utah kept its poise to record the 7-5 win.
“They were resilient in game two,” Hannah Flippen said of Oregon State. “But we had some clutch late at-bats that helped seal the victory.”
Utah completed the series sweep with a 5-2 win in game three on Sunday. The bats stayed hot for the Utes, compiling 13 hits compared to four from the Beavers. Five Utes each had two hits.
“It was a really big team win because it wasn’t just one individual,” Flippen said. “We all contributed towards the win.”
With the sweep, Utah is now 29-14 overall and 7-8 in the Pac-12. The Utes will have a full weekend to prepare for their next series, which will be at home against Arizona. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT on Friday.
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