Miranda Viramontes, a freshman from Chino, Calif., is quickly getting acquainted with college softball life.
Viramontes makes up one half of a freshman pitching duo that Utah is already heavily relying on this season. It’s nothing she isn’t used too.
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During Viramontes’ four year high school career she only lost one game, all while helping lead her team to back-to-back state championships as a sophomore and a junior.
She came a run away from a third straight title.
Viramontes entered the final game of her senior year — the state championship game — with a perfect record of 25-0. Unfortunately for Viramontes and her team, the storybook ending wasn’t meant to be.
Despite pitching what she described as one of her better performances, her team fell short in the championship and lost 1-0. Even though Viramontes said it stunk to have her first loss come in the championship game, she kept everything in perspective. She still had led her team to two state titles and would soon be on to college.
Viramontes may have been the lone ace while in high school but at Utah she has some talented teammates who can help carry the load. Specifically fellow freshman pitcher Katie Donovan.
For these young pitchers it hasn’t been so much about who can beat the other one out for playing time but rather how they can help the team as a whole.
“Me and Katie have a really good relationship both on and off the field,” Viramontes said. “I love when we get to pitch together in the same game, our games compliment each others really well.”
That was evident last weekend in the teams extra inning win against Long Beach State.
Donovan pitched five solid innings of work but neither team could pull away from the other. Viramontes’ number was called in the middle of the sixth inning and she was ready. Viramontes didn’t have her best game the last time she played Long Beach State and she was looking for some redemption.
“I just had to go right at them and let my defense play and get outs.” Viramontes said.
She pitched 3.2 innings and allowed just one unearned run, setting up for Bridget Castro’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. That home run gave Viramontes her first win as a Ute.
Castro is glad she could help in this process.
“I’m just so proud of [Viramontes], she plays a crucial position for the team,” Castro said. “She has done everything the coaches have asked.”
Getting the win was a welcomed relief for a pitcher that had grown accustomed to winning. It’s something she hopes to get used to while at Utah.
Viramontes knew her sophomore year of high school that she was going to be a Ute, and she verbally committed to the school.
“I really liked the coaches. I got the right vibe from them, and they had the right incentives,” Viramontes said.
Having no real prior connection to Utah, the decision was a bit puzzling for some of her acquaintances.
“I lot of people were surprised. They would ask me ‘Why Utah,’” Viramontes said. “They didn’t understand. They didn’t visit here. Utah felt like home for me, I could really picture myself playing here.”
Now she’s not just picturing, she’s doing.
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