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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Softball: Utes expecting battle against ASU in Tempe

Softball: Utes expecting battle against ASU in Tempe

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The Utah softball team will travel to Tempe, Ariz. this weekend to play Arizona State in a three-game series. They still have another home series against Washington remaining on their schedule, but it will be the end of the road games after this weekend.

Against the Sun Devils, the Utes will be hungry to continue making strides in what has already become an accomplished season.

“We just need to keep doing the same things physically,” captain Hannah Flippen said. “We’ll take the confidence we gained from the series win over Arizona into the Arizona State series.”

Flippen is the perfect example of confidence right now. The second baseman just earned her second straight Pac-12 Player of the Week award, as she is averaging .374 at the plate, and is tied for the team-high in runs scored and home runs.

But Flippen will need some help when Utah travels to Tempe — the entire team will need to bring its ‘A’ game. The Sun Devils enter the series with an overall record of 29-16, 7-7 in conference play, and is a very comparable team to the Utes.

As the season winds down, this series has postseason implications. Utah and ASU — along with Washington — are tied for fourth place in the Pac-12 standings, and while time will sort these ties out, both teams will be fighting to win this series as they vie to get that invite to an NCAA Regional.

Arizona State comes into the series on a good note, winning its last series against Oregon State. As it was last week against Arizona, the most important test for the Utes will be trying to stop this Sun Devil offense. Utah and its pitching stood up to the test last weekend and hopes to do the same this time around.

One Sun Devil that Utah will need to watch out for is Amber Freeman, who leads her squad with an admirable batting average of .433 and 14 home runs. Freeman is a rare player who not only has the power to be the top long-ball hitter on her team, but also the lead contact hitter for ASU. If Utah hopes to leave Tempe with the series win, it will have to start with stopping Freeman.

The Utes don’t worry all that much about what their opposition brings to the table — rather they are more concerned with their own game. The Utes are playing under the old adage that if they play their game, it won’t matter who they are playing against.

“We just need to keep doing what we have been doing,” assistant coach Cody Thomson said. “We need to keep knowing and believing that we are one of the best teams in the country.”

Utah has certainly been playing like a top team, validating Thomson’s statement after four consecutive series victories. All elements of the game are clicking for the Utes right now, and the coaches know they need to consistently bring that game each night if they hope to rack up some more wins.

“We won’t play anyone that will just give us a game,” Thomson said.

The first game of the series is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. MT on Friday.

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