The Utah softball team went on the road this weekend to Palo Alto, California and achieved something years in the making.
The Utes took their three-game series against Stanford with wins on Friday and Sunday and in the process accomplished something they hadn’t done since joining the Pac-12 — win a conference road series.
WE SAW IT COMING: UTES READY TO SHOW THEIR STUFF IN WEEKEND SERIES VS. STANFORD
“It’s hard to win games in this conference, and it’s hard to do it on the road,” said Utah coach Amy Hogue. “Winning this series was a pretty big deal for us.”
In the first game of the series on Friday, Utah put up two runs in the first inning and kept tacking on runs after that.
Stanford was able to match runs for a time, but it didn’t end up being enough in the end, as Utah won 6-3.
The Utes had 10 hits, including three from senior Marissa Mendenhall. The right-fielder for the Utes went 3-of-4 from the plate.
“The coaches just really had us prepared for their pitching,” Mendenhall said.
Miranda Viramontes was on the mound for the Utes and pitched a complete game. She surrendered seven hits on her way to improving to 8-6 on the season.
In game two, Stanford came back with a counter-punch and took the game 4-2. The Utes outhit the Cardinal 8-4 in the loss but left nine runners on base.
Mendenhall was again a top performer for the Utes, going 2-of-4 at the plate. Heather Bowen also had a good day hitting, going a perfect 2-of-2.
Utah concluded its stay in California on Sunday. After splitting the first two games, both teams were hungry to get the last win and take the series, but this game was all Utah’s from the start.
The Utes started strong, scoring three runs in the first two innings before adding four more runs in the fourth, and it proved to be too much of a deficit for Stanford to overcome.
Utah tallied 11 hits in its final game and gave up just two runs in the 7-2 victory.
Viramontes and Katie Donovan combined for a great Utah pitching performance. They contained the bats of Stanford and only gave up four hits. Viramontes tallied five strikeouts in just four innings of work.
“The pitching was great. I have a lot of belief and faith in those two to get their jobs done on the mound,” Mendenhall said.
Mendenhall concluded the series with yet another solid day at the plate. She went 2-of-3 and added two RBIs.
“It just felt really good to have a tournament hitting,” Mendenhall said.
Kate Dickman also helped lead the team to a convincing victory with three hits and two runs scored.
The Utes won’t have their normal rest this week, as they will play Southern Utah in a double header on Tuesday. First pitch will be at 4 p.m. at Utah Softball Stadium.
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