For their first road trip in three weeks, the University of Utah softball team is heading to Palo Alto, California to face Stanford University.
Utah has come out victorious in each of the past five meetings between these teams and they won the last two times that they were in the Bay Area.
Scouting the Utes
Utah is sitting on a 13-24 overall record, with a conference record of 2-7. They are currently in sixth place in the Pac-12, above Oregon, Oregon State and California.
In their last time out, the Utes fell hard to No. 5 Arizona in three games. Utah managed only six hits in their 48-3 overall defeat.
In the field, the Utes lead the conference in double plays with 19 turned so far this season. Middle infielders Julia Noskin and BreOnna Castaneda have a combined 166 assists, which is the most in the Pac-12.
Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford is currently third in the Pac-12 with an overall record of 28-6 and a conference record of 5-1. They are behind only Arizona and UCLA.
The Cardinal is coming off of two big wins against Santa Clara who they beat 13-0 in five innings. Thanks to two home runs and two triples, the team came out of the game with a combined six extra-base hits.
Their most recent Pac-12 matchup was against Oregon State. Due to weather, only one game was played, and Stanford won 3-2.
Utah Players to Watch Out For
Alyssa Barrera is a junior outfielder from Chino Hills, California who is tearing it up in the batter’s box. She is currently leading the league in triples with five. This number also has her ranked seventh nationally. She is hitting .389 with 42 hits on the season.
Senior outfielder Ally Dickman is also a force to be reckoned with on offense as she leads the team with four home runs and 15 RBI’s. Dickman has gotten a hit in each of the last 10 games and she has reached base in 12 straight games. Additionally, she has only struck out five times in 91 total at bats.
Stanford Players to Watch Out For
Taylor Gindlesperger is a freshman from Chandler, Arizona and she hit her first career home run as a grand slam last weekend. Against Santa Clara, she went 2-3 and helped out with five RBIs.
Junior catcher Montana Dixon hit the second of two home runs against Santa Clara. This Lakewood, California native is returning to the diamond this year after missing out on conference play last year due to an injury. She is currently hitting .292 for the Cardinal.
Game Notes
All three games this weekend will be played in the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium in Stanford, California. Game one will be played on Friday, Apr. 12 at 7 p.m. PT and will be followed by games on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. and noon, respectively.
