With the end of the final season of Pac-12 softball fast approaching, the Utes traveled to Corvallis, Oregon for a slate of games against the Oregon State Beavers. Utah looked to extend their winning streak against OSU, who they swept in a series of three last year at home.
Game 1
The Utes started out strong on Friday, with Aliya Belarde first up to bat. After flying out, Kaylah Nelsen was up next with a double to get on base for Utah. Abby Dayton followed close behind, singling to third and subsequently stealing second. Julia Jimenez earned a walk before Sophie Jacquez came up to bring the two already on base home, nabbing a double RBI. Shonty Passi stepped up with the fourth Utah hit of the morning, pushing Jimenez to third ahead of Jacquez. Taylor Jacobs delivered the last hit of the inning, claiming an RBI of her own as Jimenez crossed the plate.
Oregon State was quick to respond in the bottom half of the inning, coming straight out of the gate with a triple before putting two more runners on first and second. The Beavers’ designated hitter came out to put the nail in the coffin, sending a homerun to kick Oregon State up to 3-4. Utah came close to pushing ahead in the top of the second, but ultimately fell short with two left on base. Neither side could match the energy for the remainder of the match, handing Utah the loss at a close 3-4.
Game 2
The Utes started Saturday’s game off easy, with Belarde walking to first ahead of Haley Denning’s single to third. A hit from Dayton pushed the two up before Nelsen marked a double RBI as the two made it home. Oregon State was slower to respond this time around, earning a run in the second inning after an error from Utah’s center. The Utes managed a couple of hits spread across the second and third, but it wasn’t enough before the Beavers found their footing in the fourth and rattled off four hits to tally five more runs.
Down four in the fifth inning, Utah did what they could to make up the gap. Belarde took advantage of a handful of errors from the Oregon side, ultimately recording an unearned run after a hit from Jimenez. This was the best the Utes could manage to catch up, accepting their second loss of the weekend at 3-6.
Game 3
Thankfully, Utah came back with a vengeance in the final game of the weekend. Both sides held off on scoring until late, though the Beavers came close in the third when bases were loaded before Utah shut it down. Passi got the ball rolling for the Utes in the fifth, coming straight out with a homer to get on the board. Jimenez followed suit in the top of the seventh, and before long the bases were loaded with Passi, Karlie Davison and Belarde all lined up to go home.
A hit from Dayton paved the way for Passi, and Nelsen secured her second double RBI of the weekend after a single saw Davison and Belarde through. The outfielder got as far as second before the inning turned over to Oregon State, who couldn’t manage any hits, giving the Utes the shutout at 5-0.
Utah Softball has one more series lined up for the season when they welcome the University of Washington to Salt Lake this coming weekend. After that, the Utes will try their luck in the Pac-12 tournament in hopes of making it to a second straight College World Series.
