Utah Softball went 4-1 over the weekend at the UCF Spring Fling in Orlando, Fla., beating Indiana State, Florida Gulf Coast and Purdue, twice.
“I was proud of how we recovered after our midweek doubleheader with South Florida,” said head coach Amy Hogue. “We came back and had a chance to win all five games at the tournament and just fell short against UCF.”
The Utes started off tournament play against Indiana State, beating the Sycamores 6-0. Utah got its bats going early, scoring three runs in the first inning, courtesy of Hannah Flippen, Anissa Urtez and Kristen Stewart. Both teams were held scoreless through the third, until the Utes broke the spell in the fourth. Delilah Pacheco scored Peterson from third, and then Urtez scored Pacheco on a single to make it 5-0.
The Utes added another run, courtesy of a Heather Bowen RBI double, in the fifth to make it 6-0.
Katie Donovan bounced back from her loss at USF, throwing a one-hitter through five innings to pick up her seventh win of the season.
After beating Indiana State, Utah battled host UCF on its home diamond. The No. 25 Knights handed Utah a 4-3 loss on a walk-off single, the fifth time Utah has lost against a ranked opponent this season.
UCF struck first when Samantha McCloskey singled to left field to score Linnea Goodman in the opening inning. The Utes struck back in the third inning on a Flippen solo shot to left-center field to tie the ballgame up at one. Utah then took the lead in the fourth on a Bella Secaira (pinch-hitting for Pacheco) RBI single.
In the fifth frame, the Knights took a 3-2 lead, but in the sixth, Utah tied the game up again when Flippen singled home Kay Kay Fronda.
Donovan held UCF scoreless through the sixth, but with runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh for the Knights, Cassady Brewer singled to left center, scoring Tiffany Lower for the winning run for UCF.
Donovan took the loss for the Utes — her record now stands at 7-5 on the year.
On Saturday, Utah played its first game of a doubleheader against Florida Gulf Coast. Both teams were held scoreless until the third, when the Utes broke through in the bottom of the inning, scoring five runs on six hits. The Utes added two more runs in the sixth inning, courtesy of a Shelby Pacheco RBI double and an Eagle error.
Miranda Viramontes, Donovan, Hailey Hilburn and Sammy Cordova combined for a shutout, and Utah continued its pattern of winning a game after a loss.
Later in the day, the Utes kept their win streak rolling, squeezing past Purdue, 3-1. In the third inning, Utah put its first runs on the scoreboard. Maddie Roth hit her first home run of the season, sending home herself and Shelby Pacheco to put the Utes up two. Utah tacked on another run in the fifth via a Flippen RBI single that scored Aubrey Peterson. The Boilermakers got their first run of the day in the sixth inning when Katie Harrison singled home Mary Gooding to draw Purdue within two runs.
Donovan, who pitched a complete game to improve her record to 8-5 on the year, put down the Boilermakers in order in the last inning to seal the victory for the Utes.
Utah played Purdue again on Sunday, beating the Boilermakers 4-2 to extend its win streak to three.
Again, the Utes scored their first run of the game in the third inning. Urtez singled to left field, bringing in Peterson to make it 1-0 early on. The Utes added another run in the fifth when Urtez singled home Delilah Pacheco to extend Utah’s lead to two. The Boilermakers closed the gap to one in the sixth inning when Heather Knight hit a home run to left field.
In the top of the seventh inning, Hilburn pinch-hit for Bridget Castro with the bases loaded. Hilburn knocked the ball to left-center field, scoring Urtez and Flippen to give the Utes a 4-1 lead. The two RBIs were Hilburn’s first of the season.
Purdue scored one in the seventh inning, but it wasn’t enough as Utah walked away with the win.
Hogue was happy with the wins but said the offense needs to capitalize more.
“I was proud that we recovered, but I still feel like we’re leaving too much on the table when it comes to offense,” Hogue said.
Utah plays rival BYU on Tuesday at Dumke Family Softball Stadium. First pitch is at 4 p.m. MT.
@JoeColesChrony