In their final weekend of Pac-12 play, the University of Utah softball team hosted the Oregon State University Beavers in a three-game series. Utah fell in their first two games.
Thursday evening’s game resulted in a 5-9 loss to OSU. Senior Miranda Viramontes had a successful game on the mound, coming just one strikeout away from matching her career high.
Utah took an early 3-0 lead, but tied in the third. One inning later, the Beavers scored four more runs going up 7-3. Utah gained one run in the fourth from a single by Alyssa Barrera.
The Beavers capitalized again in the sixth on two outs to score two more runs, and the Utes answered back in the next inning with a triple from Kelly Martinez to score one run. Unfortunately, Utah could not pull any more runs, and Oregon took the victory for the game.
“I think we put some good numbers on the board this weekend with hits,” said senior Heather Bowen. “We did really well this weekend with that, and it is something that we have been looking for all season.”
Game two on Friday evening brought a close 7-8 loss for Utah, despite some strong plays from the Utes. OSU scored the first run of the game in the second inning, then added two more in the third. The Utes managed one run in the third, but were still down 5-2 going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Thanks to some timely hitting, the Utes came back with a five run inning in the bottom of the fourth. BreOnna Castaneda and Hailey Hilburn both got hits, and Camryn Woodall followed with an RBI single. Julia Noskin and Bowen followed with big hits, providing three runs between the two of them and bringing the Utes up to a 6-5 lead.
A three run fifth inning for the Beavers provided them the lead, and Utah only managed one more run in the fifth before two more scoreless innings resulted in a loss for the Utes.
Saturday afternoon was a rainy senior day, and the final game of the season for the Utes. Miranda Viramontes got the start for the Utes and struck out a number of batters in the first two innings. Utah scored first in the bottom of the first off of a base hit Martinez. Oregon State then walked in the next two runs for Utah.
“We knew that we were lucky to get the game in because of weather, so we just went out there and played every inning like it was the last one,” said senior Katie Donovan.
In the bottom of the second, Martinez started off the rally and put two runs across with a ground ball to shortstop. Castaneda hit a bomb off of the top of the wall for a double to score Martinez, putting the Utes up 6-0.
Rain and weather conditions cancelled the game, and this series marked the end of the 2018 Utah softball season.
“It was surreal to be able to start in a game that is so special and to have the opportunity to pitch well on a day like today. It meant a lot to me to be able to pitch today,” said Viramontes. “I just went out there and did my best to keep the ball dry. I knew that I had nothing to lose, so I just went all out.”
