Utah is headed to California this weekend to play in the So-Cal Collegiate Classic, where they will get their first real game action this season. After practicing against each other for so long, the team is ready and excited to play against some different opponents.
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The Utes will start off their five-game tournament against 24th-ranked Texas A&M; on Friday. They will play No. 22 Notre Dame right after that game against the Aggies and these first two games give Utah an exciting opportunity early on to make some noise and set the tone for the season.
On Saturday, Utah has games with Long Beach State and Idaho State. The Utes will then conclude the tournament with another matchup against the 49ers on Sunday.
Interestingly enough, Utah head coach Amy Hogue will see a familiar face when her team squares off against Texas A&M.; Aggie head coach Jo Evans is the former coach of Hogue, who played under Evans here at Utah years ago.
With two ranked teams right off of the bat, the Utes feel as if they’re ready and able to compete with some of the top teams in the country.
“We have quite a bit of talent,” senior and captain Kate Dickman said.
One of her coaches echoed Dickman’s sentiments.
“We’ve done all the work necessary, and so we will see how we fare against top teams in the country,” assistant coach Maggie Livreri said.
It’s not going to be an easy task getting wins against top teams, but the young core of the Utes has the enthusiastic belief that they can tackle any team.
“I’m excited to do things that we haven’t been able to do before,” sophomore second baseman Hannah Flippen said.
Flippen and the rest of the infielders are all returning to their starting positions from last year. This should be very beneficial during the first part of the season, because the players have already been on the field with one other. As a result, there won’t be much confusion among the infielders, as each player knows the others’ tendencies and where they will be at on the field.
This experienced infield is an important asset for this team and will be relied upon heavily early on.
Depth is something that Utah will benefit from this season and according to Livreri, this is the deepest squad Utah has had in recent memory — particularly in the pitcher position.
A good portion of this depth has come via two freshmen pitchers, Katie Donovan and Miranda Viramontes. Both pitchers will look to see the mound over the weekend and help out a pitching staff primarily led by sophomore Sammy Cordova.
It is also important to note that the results of these first few games should be taken with a grain of salt. While they are important, these games don’t necessarily reflect what kind of season the Utes are capable of. The season is still way too young, as evidenced by the snow still on the third baseline at the Utah softball stadium.
This group has promise and they are prepared for a long and rewarding season ahead.
“I’m most excited to see this group start to win games,” Hogue said. “They’ve been preparing in ways they never have before.”
Hogue continued to say that the preparation for this year started the day the season ended last in 2014 — the Utes are all in.
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