Utah Softball is headed to Sin City for a five-game slate in the DeMarni Desert Classic over the weekend. Utah will face Robert Morris and San Jose State on Friday, UC Davis and Boise State on Saturday, and cap off the trip with Hawai’i on Sunday.
The Utes are currently sitting at 3-3 after the season-opening Kajikawa Classic in Tempe. Playing ranked teams at this tournament to start off the year plunged the Utes headfirst into the season.
“It’s great for the new kids to see the level of ball that we compete, the sooner the better,” said head coach Amy Hogue. “It helps them to see how intense it is and how every little thing that we’ve been teaching them is important.”
One aspect lacking from the Utes so far against hard competition has been offense. Utah only mustered one run in their two games against ranked opponents thus far in 2016.
“We haven’t quite gotten comfortable offensively yet. That will certainly be a focus of ours,” Hogue said.
First up on the Utes’ buffet in the Entertainment Capital of the World is Robert Morris. The Colonials are 2-2 on the year but are currently on a two-game slide.
Kaitlin Ellzy and Lacee Collins are the only two Robert Morris pitchers to have appeared for the team in four games. Ellzy, a freshman, is 2-1 in three appearances and two starts, holding a 0.89 ERA in 15.2 innings of work. Collins, also a freshman, is 0-1 with a 5.42 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched.
On the offensive side of the ball, junior Jordan Gurganus and junior Stacey Capp lead the Colonials. Gurganus, a left-handed batter, is hitting .500 with seven hits and three runs, while Capp has four hits, three of which were doubles. She’s driven in three runs, tied for most on the team.
Later that day, Utah faces San Jose State. The Spartans are 1-5 after Kajikawa, their only win a 10-1 walloping of Virginia. Freshman Ashley Penney and junior Katelyn Linford are the two top pitchers for the Spartans so far. Penney is 1-0 with an 8.31 ERA in 8.2 innings, and Linford is 0-3 with an 8.53 ERA in 12.2 innings.
Brittany Abacherli and Alyssa Martinez lead SJSU on offense. Abacherli is batting .400 with eight hits, six RBIs, four runs, a home run and two doubles. Martinez is hitting .333 with five hits, a run and four RBIs.
On Saturday, Utah starts with UC Davis. The Aggies are 2-2 after their first homestand, beating CSU Bakersfield and Santa Clara. Leah Munden leads UC Davis, pitching 16 innings with a 1.31 ERA.
Alexis Carney and Megan Bradbury lead the Aggies on offense. Carney is batting .545 with six hits, two doubles and two RBIs. Bradbury has two runs, three hits, a home run and nine RBIs in 13 at-bats.
After UC Davis, Utah faces 0-5 Boise State. The Broncos’ pitching staff has gotten off to a bad start, averaging a 9.60 ERA, providing a good opportunity for Utah’s offense to reemerge.
Cassidy Edwards leads the Broncos on offense with six hits, three RBIs and two runs on 16 at-bats. Freshman Rebekah Cervantes hit Boise State’s only home run of the season so far, while also tallying three hits and two RBIs in 14 at-bats.
The Utes close out the DeMarni Desert Classic on Sunday against Hawai’i. The Warriors are 4-2, led by Hawai’i pitchers Kanani Aina Cabrales and Brittany Hitchcock. The duo teamed up to pitch four straight shutouts to kick off the campaign.
On offense, freshman Sarah Muzik leads Hawai’i. She is batting .333 with four runs and six hits. Heather Morales leads Hawai’i in RBIs, batting in five of her teammates and adding two home runs and four hits.
The Utes are excited to see what they are made of in the second weekend of the season.
“From here on out, it’s a great way to see where we’re at and to keep working,” Donovan said. “We found out a lot of things that we’re good at and a lot of things we need to work on.”
@JoeColesChrony