Spending Spring Break in California and Hawaii isn’t a bad way to pass the time.
While many might bask in the sun given this opportunity, the Utes will be hard at work. Beginning Saturday, Utah will play nine games in seven days.
The Utes will begin their slew of road games on Saturday against Idaho State and Cal State Fullerton at the Mayfair Classic in Fullerton, Calif. Utah has played and lost to both teams already this season. The Utes lost to Idaho State 9-8 on Feb. 15 and fell 8-0 to Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 16. Since the game against Cal State Fullerton, Utah has been on an eight-game unbeaten streak.
“The first two [games] are both revenge games,” said Utah head coach Amy Hogue. “They are thankful that [Idaho State and Fullerton] are in our schedule. We are ready to play both of them again and beat them.”
The following day, Utah will play two new teams — South Alabama and Bethune Cookman. The Jaguars are a talented team and are off to an 18-2 start. On the other hand, Bethune Cookman has been struggling thus far and is only 3-15.
After the Mayfair Classic, Utah will fly to Hawaii where it will be pitted against Syracuse and Hawaii in a doubleheader next Wednesday. The next day, the Utes will play their toughest opponent yet: the Baylor Bears. Baylor is ranked No. 20 in the country with a 19-3 record and boasts an impressive victory over No. 3 Arizona State. The stint in Hawaii will conclude with two tournament games a week from Saturday. Those matchups have yet to be announced.
Despite the tough tests Utah will have this weekend and moving forward, catcher Shelby Pacheco said the team is excited about getting out of Utah to enjoy the change in weather. However, she said the trip will be much more fun if the Utes continue their winning ways.
“We’ve just got to stay focused, and I feel like knowing we can beat these teams will be big,” Pacheco said.
While the Utes are on an unbeaten streak, Hogue was not happy about how the team performed offensively in their narrow win over Utah Valley University on Tuesday. She said the team has been practicing hitting the most because of the lack of scoring during the first six innings Tuesday.
“It’s not just that we are not getting hits in the situations … we are striking out or hitting it weak,” Hogue said. “We’re an easy out with a runner in scoring position, and that is not OK.”