The Utah softball team will travel to Corvallis this weekend to take on Oregon State in a three-game series. The two teams go into the weekend with similar records. The Beavers come in with a 23-14 overall record, 4-8 in Pac-12 play, while the Utes are 26-14 overall and 4-8 in conference action.
But these teams are similar in many more ways. Both have shown improvement from last season — Oregon State only notched 13 wins last season and is already on its way to doubling that this year. Utah, similarly, is showing its ability to beat some of the tougher teams in the conference, even on the road.
“We want to go to Corvallis and win the series,” said Utah head coach Amy Hogue. “I think we’re capable of doing that.”
Hogue has good reason to believe her team can do that, based on the way her athletes have performed recently. Utah is coming off back-to-back Pac-12 series wins for the first time since joining the conference. Just last weekend, the Utes picked up a pair of top-25 wins against Cal. In those two games, Utah hitters combined for 28 hits and 20 runs.
“We just all had confidence and were excited to play,” said third baseman Kristen Stewart. “The hitting just started to get contagious. When someone starts to hit, everybody else does too.”
Utah is hoping the contagious hitting can carry over into this weekend as the Utes face a talented Oregon State pitching staff, led by Beverly Miller with a 15-9 record and 3.23 ERA.
Despite the strong Beaver pitching, the Utes should have opportunities to get on base, but they will need to convert when they get those chances. A lot of the time, the opportunity to convert in these situations can come down to the basic aspects of the game, something Utah has been working on.
“That’s the difference in some of the wins and losses we’ve had,” Hogue said. “Missing a pitch by an inch, or an ill-advised fielding decision can turn into a run. Every decision is big.”
After a busy weekend, Utah finally got the chance to have a few practices this week, and Hogue said it gave the team the chance to work on and fine-tune some of the small and minor details. Though the Beavers aren’t the same caliber as the teams Utah has played recently, the Utes will be challenged in every contest.
The first game of the series will take place on Friday at 2 p.m. MT.
@brock_jensen02