The Utes are once again on a streak. However, this time it is a losing streak.
Tuesday’s home loss to Utah Valley University increased the Utes’ drought to eight games. Up next, Utah (13-14-1, 0-3 Pac-12) faces No. 17 Arizona in a three-game home series starting today and running until Saturday. Today marks the first Pac-12 home opener for the Utes in their new stadium, and the Utes will have an uphill battle.
Arizona (21-10, 1-2) has three strong pitchers and six players hitting over .300, which is double what Utah has. After the UVU game, outfielder Kate Dickman said the performance was not an accurate indicator of the team’s potential.
“We’re really excited to play Arizona,” she said. “We just had a really good talk after the game [against Utah Valley], and everyone is going to refocus and get our minds right and just forget about this game. We’re ready to play someone who is, on paper, better than us, and we’re going to prove that we are just as good and that we can beat them.”
Similar to Dickman, pitcher Mariah Ramirez is confident, despite the poor performance.
“We just need to play as a team, and I think we’re fully capable of going out there and doing our best against Arizona,” Ramirez said. “So it’s going to be a good week.”
Like Utah, Arizona hasn’t fared well in the Pac-12. The Wildcats lost two out of three games to Washington last weekend. Arizona is ranked in the bottom half of the conference but is still a dangerous opponent.
Arizona has the higher ranking and a better record, but the Utes have fared better against common opponents. Both teams have played Loyola Marymount, Ohio State and Long Beach State. Utah beat all three teams by a greater margin than Arizona, and the Wildcats lost to Ohio State.
However, Utah won’t get any runs for beating a team Arizona didn’t, even though they have needed every run they can get of late. Offense has been a problem during Utah’s slide. Head coach Amy Hogue said there are problems the coaching staff can help with, but confidence isn’t one of them.
“There are girls who have holes in their swings that we need to fix, but the confidence level and some of the things, we can’t do for them. They’re going to have to do on their own,” Hogue said.
Utah has adopted the goal of finishing the regular season with a .500 record, which is looking like more and more of a challenge after Utah’s recent disappointing play. However, Hogue is excited to move ahead and remove Tuesday’s loss from the team’s mind. In her opinion, playing loose is the cure.
“We don’t have to be perfect to win every other game,” Hogue said. “So I think we play the game a little too uptight and tense. You know, [the coaches] have asked [the players] to really pay attention to that and to make an adjustment so they can play to the best of their abilities, because we know their abilities and they’re not showing what they’re capable of.”