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The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Transfer Talent Adds Experience, Depth to Skilled Utah Squad

Transfer+students+to+the+Womens+Softball+team%3A+junior+Sarita+Leon+%28left%29%2C+junior+Delilah+Pacheco+%28center%29%2C+and+junior+Kay+Kay+Fronda+%28right%29%2C+Wednesday%2C+February+10th%2C+2016%2C+Peter+Creveling+Utah+Chronicle
Transfer students to the Women’s Softball team: junior Sarita Leon (left), junior Delilah Pacheco (center), and junior Kay Kay Fronda (right), Wednesday, February 10th, 2016, Peter Creveling Utah Chronicle

On the heels of an NCAA Regionals appearance that capped off one of the program’s best seasons in the Pac-12 era, expectations are high for the members of the Utah Softball team as they kick off the 2016 campaign.

For the team’s three new junior college transfers, whose talent captured the attention of head coach Amy Hogue and who were brought onto the team in the offseason, expectations are even higher.

The Utes returned a majority of the players from last season, and Hogue said the team expects to be even more successful than last year on account of the increased experience. Even so, the Utes still have a few areas in their roster where the new transfers could have an impact.

“We graduated some people in the outfield, and we can mix in a lot of the new kids out there and show quite a different look [than last season],” Hogue said. “We graduated practically our entire outfield, with the exception of Heather Bowen, who played last year, but who has never played outfield before. So we really didn’t have a true outfielder on our roster until this season.”

One of the team’s transfers, experienced outfielder Delilah Pacheco, has already been selected to fill one of the open positions. An addition from Blinn College, the NJCAA All-American boasted a .391 career batting average and a .438 on-base percentage with the Buccaneers. Now with the Utes, Pacheco has emerged as the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter.

Pacheco, who came to the U partly because of how well she fit in with the other Utah players during her official visit, feels all the new players have had a vital role in strengthening team chemistry heading into the season.

“I think everybody’s role is really important, whether you’re playing or not,” Pacheco said. “If you’re not playing and you have a bad attitude, then it’s going to drag the whole team down and if you’re playing with a bad attitude, it’s even worse than when you’re not playing.”

Another skilled candidate for filling out the vacancy in the Utah outfield is Palomar College transfer Kay Kay Fronda. Like Pacheco, Fronda was a junior college All-American, and the outfielder possesses a tremendous power-hitting ability, having accumulated a .445 batting average in her two years at Palomar.

When asked about the transition from playing with Palomar in Southern California to competing with the preseason 28th-ranked Utes, Fronda said there were a few slight differences in the pace of play but that getting used to the facilities and resources of a Division I program were the biggest change for her.

“There’s been a little bit of change. We have the mechanics down because we’ve played in college, but the game is faster,” Fronda said. “I think it’s honoring, and it’s exciting to be able to play at this level. Coming from a JC, I personally didn’t know where I was going to go — D2, D3, NAIA — so I feel pretty great about being here.”

Rounding out the list of Ute transfers is utility player Sarita Leon, who came to Utah after having two accomplished seasons at Ohlone and Spokane Community Colleges. Leon brings even more experience to a Utah infield already loaded with upperclassmen and Pac-12 standouts.

Like the other two transfers who selected Utah over several other teams, she says her decision to come to the U was influenced by the team’s resources, the quality of education, the nationally-recognized coaching staff and good chemistry with the rest of the team.

“[The transition] hasn’t been hard. Everyone here has been really nice, and the facilities are great,” Leon said.

Hogue says that with these players and across the board improvements to the rest of the team, the Utes will have a new look this season and have the potential to be a force within the Pac-12.

“I think now, [the team] expects to be a top three team in the conference, which is the next step, and then we have a shot to go to the final eight,” Hogue said. “I think they would be dissatisfied with anything less.”

The Utes will have debuted their revamped team over the weekend at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe and will have their second outing the DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas Feb. 19.

[email protected]

@tylerfcrum

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