In the first tournament of the season, the Utah softball offense was not performing to head coach Amy Hogue’s expectations. The year before, the Utes had batted .287, scored 4.3 runs per game and outscored their opposition 259-182.
Through their first tournament spanning six games, however, Utah was averaging just 3.2 runs per game, and 17 of their 21 runs in the Kajikawa Classic came in two games against inferior opponents.
“We haven’t quite gotten comfortable offensively yet, so that will certainly be a focus of ours this week as we prepare for our second weekend,” Hogue said after the tournament in Tempe.
Hogue put an emphasis on attacking the ball early in the DeMarini Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
“[The team’s] mindset was a little different this weekend,” Hogue said. “We encouraged them to attack early in the count, and they did a much better job of that this weekend.”
The Utes took their manager’s words to heart. Utah scored 42 runs over the weekend in Sin City, winning all five games against Robert Morris, San Jose State, UC Davis, Boise State and Hawai’i.
Hannah Flippen, who hit three home runs during the tournament, echoed the importance of staying aggressive early in the pitch count.
“We talked a lot about being dangerous at the plate and coming in aggressive,” Flippen said. “When we come in passive, teams go right at us, and it’s harder to hit when you’re passive. We talked a lot about hitting that first strike, and I think that was very successful for us.”
Flippen had a fantastic weekend at the plate, driving in seven runs and scoring eight of her own. Flippen currently leads the Utes in multi-hit games, multi-RBI games and currently holds a five-game hitting streak.
Also key to Utah’s offensive explosion is Delilah Pacheco, a transfer from Blinn College in Corpus Christi, Texas. Pacheco leads the Utes with a .429 batting average and has scored 10 times, driving in an additional five runs. Heather Bowen has been another powerhouse hitter for the Utes. Bowen bombed two home runs during the DeMarini Desert Classic and has eight RBIs on the season, tied for second on the team.
After the weekend tournament in Vegas, the Utes are now batting .310 on the season, and scoring an average of 5.7 runs per game, an improvement from the weekend before. During its offensive tear, Utah has hit nine home runs and 15 doubles.
Coming up next, the Utes will play six games in four days, facing No. 9 Oklahoma, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, No. 1 Florida, Cal State Northridge and New Mexico State. To keep their five game winning streak alive and win their first game over a ranked team this season, the Utes will have to keep their bats hot.
@JoeColesChrony