The Utah softball team is looking to build some confidence.
The Utes are hoping to find assurance in their last two games before beginning Mountain West Conference play, as they take on Utah State and Utah Valley University in home matchups this week.
“We need to get some wins, to gain confidence and get on a role going into conference,” said head coach Amy Hogue.
After starting out the season with a promising 7-3 record, things quickly turned sour for the Utes as the lack of offense left them with a 13-19 record going into their final pre-games.
With the pitching staff improving every day and having played solid defense all year, Utah’s performance at the plate is what has been holding the team back.
In their last several losses, the Utes have gotten the hits but failed to score runners once on base and in scoring position. Batting with runners on base has been a point of emphasis for Utah in practice this week.
“We’ve been struggling with having good at-bats with runners in scoring position, and our focus has been there,” Hogue said. “We’ve been focusing on live at-bats with runners in scoring position and staying focused on “What is my best pitch to hit?'”
The majority of the problems at the plate are mental for the young Utah squad.
“We’ve got to get out of our heads,” said center fielder Kara Foster. “In game situations, we start over-thinking. We just have to get back to what we do best, which is have fun and play the game we love.”
Utah will begin their final preseason games with a matchup against the Aggies, a team the Utes beat 10-0 in five innings in their season-opening tournament six weeks ago.
Although the Utes have faced both Utah State and UVU in games earlier in the season, having seen both teams will be of no help to the struggling offense.
“They can always bring a different pitcher,” Hogue said. “It helps defensively because we’ve seen their hitters, but offensively, which is what we’ve been struggling with, it doesn’t matter that much.”
For the Utes, getting two wins this week would be just the confidence boost they need heading in to MWC play next week.
“These are huge games and for us to get these wins and to get on a roll and build our confidence, we need to go out and never give up,” Foster said. “I think we could be unstoppable if we play like we know how, just having fun, taking it easy and taking names.”
The game against Utah State is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. at Ute Field today.