With a sweep to start off Pac-12 play, the University of Utah softball team rose to No. 11 in the national rankings, but after failing to secure one win this past weekend against the Oregon Ducks, Utah fell four spots.
Now seated at No. 15, Utah is heading to Stanford to compete in a three-game series this Friday through Sunday, March 31-April 2.
“We have a few days to prepare for the Stanford series, and I’m looking forward to those few days of prep,” said head coach Amy Hogue. “We need to work through some things, and I feel confident we can get hot again this weekend.”
With a loss on the back of her mind, senior Bridget Castro is determined to push past it. The Utes are trying to focus on themselves and on the things they can control.
“I think all the adjustments we need to make are controllable,” Castro said. “Going into this week, we are just going to try to stay confident.”
After giving up a season-high of twelve runs and only being able to hit singles in both games against Oregon over the weekend, Castro is hoping her team will be able to make the right adjustments to be more competitive this weekend.
“We had a team discussion about it,” Castro said. “These are things that are minor and can be controlled. I just think we are going to work on the little things and stay with what has been working for us. Just keep thinking positive thoughts and throw away the negatives, and just go with that.”
First pitch on Friday is set to begin at 7 p.m. MT, followed by Saturday and Sunday’s games at 2 p.m. MT.
“This group is so talented and they are putting a lot of pressure on themselves to be successful,” Hogue said. “We need to get back to enjoying playing the game that we love and start to loosen back up out there on the field. That’s how we perform the best.”
@emileewhiteee