After playing at home for six straight games, the No. 10 University of Utah softball team will be on the road this weekend as it heads to Tempe, Ariz. to play against the No. 23 Arizona State Sun Devils starting on Friday, April 21.
Head coach Amy Hogue and the Utes haven’t been too worried about what the Sun Devils are bringing to the table and have instead been focusing on themselves.
“It’s about us doing our thing,” Hogue said. “I do know that ASU has quite a few pitchers, and they use all of them so, we can’t really have one game plan, but it’s better when we face an opponent like that because we only focus on ourselves and adjusting to whatever they bring and keep playing our game.”
As of now, Hogue said her team’s game has been confident and aggressive on offense and on defense, and her girls need to keep doing those things so the wins can take care of themselves.
Senior Anissa Urtez thinks that all her team needs to do in this weekend against the Sun Devils is continue to play hard and give it their all. If the Utes can focus on that, everything should work itself out.
“We can’t worry about who we are playing,” Urtez said. “All we need to worry about is our community, our Utah bubble and just playing with energy just like we have been playing all year.”
Something Hogue wants her girls to keep in mind while they prepare for ASU is that while they might not have their best personal game, it could very well be a great game for the player in front of or behind them and that’s all that matters.
Hogue added that when her team faces a difficult opponent, some of the “superstars” might struggle, but they need to keep their emotions in check because it’s about the team and not the individual performance. Hogue is finally beginning to see her team become selfless.
“The two kids that were the coldest against Arizona, they might be the hottest against ASU,” Hogue said. “They believe that, and that’s why we have a chance. These kids are firm believers in how good they are and as long as they stay close to that, then someone will get hot and we will win games.”
Friday’s pitch is set to begin at 8 p.m. MT, followed by Saturday’s game at 5 p.m. and Sunday’s game at 12 p.m. Freshman Ryley Ball thinks if the Utes focus on the team aspect, like her coach has emphasized, then the team will have a strong performance.
“If we go into the ASU series like [how we did against Arizona] — relying on each other — then we will come out playing hard and win,” Ball said.
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