The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Utes Prepare for No. 3 Washington

University+of+Utah+junior+outfielder+Alyssa+Barrera+%2816%29+threw+the+ball+in+an+NCAA+Softball+game+vs.+Arizona+at+Dumke+Family+Softball+Field+in+Salt+Lake+City%2C+UT+on+Saturday+April+06%2C+2019.%0A%0A%28Photo+by+Curtis+Lin+%7C+Daily+Utah+Chronicle%29
Curtis Lin
University of Utah junior outfielder Alyssa Barrera (16) threw the ball in an NCAA Softball game vs. Arizona at Dumke Family Softball Field in Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday April 06, 2019. (Photo by Curtis Lin | Daily Utah Chronicle)

 

Returning to Salt Lake, the University of Utah (14-26 overall, 3-9 conference) softball team is preparing to host the No. 3 University of Washington (35-6 overall, 12-3 conference) in a three-game series.

The Huskies won the last four series in which the two teams have competed.

Scouting the Utes

Utah had a successful outing last weekend in Palo Alto against Stanford. They only won one game against the No. 25-ranked Cardinal, but they put up a strong fight with four team home runs.  

The Utes are holding down the sixth spot in the Pac-12, and they remain above Oregon State, Oregon and California in the rankings. This is an improvement from last year when Utah went 2-21 on the season, earning them the last place in Pac-12 play.

Scouting the Huskies

Washington is riding high after a weekend sweep of Arizona State in which they scored 23 runs and extended their winning streak to 13 straight games. Their only three conference losses came against UCLA.

The Huskies are third in the Pac-12 as well as nationally, falling behind only Arizona and UCLA.  Last season, Washington was ranked fourth in the conference.

Utes to Watch Out For

Ally Dickman is on fire in the box — she hit a key two-run home run last weekend to lift the Utes over Stanford in their only win for the series. She is leading the team with seven home runs, and she has gotten hits in each of the last 10 games and owns a 12 game on-base streak. Dickman is hitting .372 in 25 games, and she has only five strikeouts in her last 100 at-bats.

Hailey Hilburn is a force to be reckoned with on the mound as well as in the batter’s box. She threw her second career complete game and had plenty of success against Stanford hitters. In the box, Hilburn launched two home runs in Game 2 of the series and she is currently third place in the conference with five doubles.  

Ellessa Bonstrom has also seen a lot of success as a batter, and she hit her fourth home run of the season this past weekend. She has a .500 on base percentage and has worked eight walks this season. She is an up-and-coming freshman on the team and has nowhere to go but up in future seasons.

Huskies to Watch Out For

Gabbie Plain is a Huskie pitcher who has seen immense success this season. She is 15-1 this year, only a sophomore. Last weekend against the Sun Devils, she earned two wins and struck out 22 batters over 13 innings of play. Last week, Plain was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week.

Sis Bates is a junior infielder who is a strong hitter for the Huskies. She is hitting .545 in her last 10 games and provides a solid line of defense on the field. Bates competed with the USA national softball team last summer.

Morganne Flores is a redshirt junior who recorded her third game with multiple home runs this season against the Sun Devils. She has nine home runs in Pac-12 play. When she is not competing with the Huskies, Flores is a member of the Puerto Rico national softball team.  

Game Notes

Game 1 of the series will be on Thursday, Apr. 18 at 6 p.m. in Dumke Family Softball Complex. Games 2 and 3 will follow on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 12 p.m.

[email protected]

@CaseyOverfield

Leave a Comment
About the Contributor
Casey Overfield, Sports Editor
Casey Overfield is the sports editor.

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *