Upcoming Event: Softball versus UCSB on February 6, 2026 at 2 p.m.
2 p.m.
Softball
vs UCSB
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Hosts In-State Rival Utah State, Wednesday
3/26/2001 12:00 AM | Softball
March 26, 2001
Salt Lake City - COMING UP: The University of Utah softball team (18-15-0) continues its 2001 campaign at home, when it takes on the Utah State Aggies (4-21-0), Mar. 28 at 3:00 p.m. (MST) at Ute Field. On Fri., Mar. 30, the Utes open MWC play with a doubleheader at New Mexico (27-13-0) at 1:00 p.m. Utah heads to Fort Collins, Colo., for a twinbill with the Colorado State Rams (3-21-0) on Apr. 1 at 12:00 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT UTAH: Utah enters this week's games 18-15-0 overall. Last week, the Utes dropped two games (8-3, 10-2) to the No. 2 ranked Arizona Wildcats, in Tucson, Ariz.
Most recently, the Utes received 13 votes in the Mar. 21st USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Utah entered the 2001 season ranked No. 25 and has received votes for the past eight consecutive weeks. The Utes return five starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad. The Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, Utah ended its 2000 campaign with a 42-23 (.646) overall record and a 15-5 (.750) conference mark. Last year, Utah made its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1997 and its ninth NCAA appearance overall. The Utes own a 16-21 NCAA record, including a 15-13 mark in NCAA regional play, and have advanced to the Women's College World Series four times (1982, `85, `91 and `94) with a 1-6 slate.
The Utes received 67 votes and a No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll, released Fri., Jan. 26. The Division I Women's Softball Committee produces a poll which is used as part of the championship tournament selection process. They rank the top ten teams in each region and last year, Utah was ranked fourth in the West Region in the Mar. 30, April 13, April 27 and May 11 poll. Utah received 156 votes to rank 20th in the 2000 final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll.
UP NEXT: On Tues., Apr. 3, Utah hosts Southern Utah at 1:30 p.m. The Utes will take on the San Diego State Aztecs on Fri., Apr. 6 at 1:00 p.m. (DH) in San Diego, Calif. On Sun., Apr. 8, Utah travels to UNLV for a doubleheader match-up at 12:00 p.m.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE: The Utah State women's softball team is currently 4-21-0 overall. The Aggies dropped their last five games to Brigham Young and Cal State Northridge. Utah State lost 11-1 and 8-0 to the Cougars on Tues., Mar. 21. On Sat., Mar. 24, the Aggies fell 2-1 and 3-0 to Cal State Northridge. The Matadores defeated Utah State, 3-2 on Sun., Mar. 25.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO: New Mexico is currently 27-13-0 overall. The Lobos are on a seven-game win streak and won the March Madness Tournament hosted by Texas A&M Corpus Christi last weekend. They beat Brown University 11-1 and 8-0, Centenary College 3-0 and Texas A&M Corpus Christi 11-1 and 4-0.
SCOUTING COLORADO STATE: The Colorado State women's softball team is currently 3-21-0 overall. Last week, the Rams did not play as the University of Iowa cancelled the Hawkeye Classic due to inclement weather. CSU will face Nebraska on Mon., Mar. 26 in Lincoln, Neb. before matching up with Utah.
ARIZONA RECAP: The University of Utah softball team took to the road to face No. 2 ranked Arizona Wildcats in two games on Mar. 23-24. The Utes were out-matched by the Wildcats in both contests, suffering two losses. The losses dropped the Utes to 18-15 on the year, while Arizona improved to 36-2.
Utah fell behind early in Friday's first game, giving up a two-run home run in the second inning and two more runs in the third. The Utes trailed 4-0 heading into the fifth inning, when Niki Hayhurst smashed a home run to put Utah on the board. Utah rallied in the sixth, scoring two runs on a Christa Pfeninger single to right field. The Ute rally was ended by Arizona's Leneah Manuma and Lindsey Collins who hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth to seal a 8-3 Wildcat victory. Hayhurst finished the game 2-for-3 in the Utah loss.
The Utes' bats were troubled in Saturday's game, as the Utes tallied five hits in a 10-2 loss. Arizona jumped out ahead early with a three-run first inning. Utah was shutout until the sixth inning. Michele Larsen hit a home run in the sixth to give the Utes their first run. Pfeninger scored later in the sixth off a Masie Ota single. The Wildcats came through in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs, including a game-winning double by Lauren Bauer.
SOFTBALL REACHES 750TH WIN: Utah, as a team, reached its 750th career win. The Utes notched their 750th win on Fri., Feb. 23, with a 7-0 shut-out win over UC Riverside.
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK (MAR. 19): Utah shortstop Lindsey Trevis, a junior from Glendora, Calif. (Glendora HS), was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Mar. 19. Trevis went 9-for-19 (.474) with seven RBI, seven runs scored and a pair of home runs and doubles in six games last week at the Florida State Tournament. She recorded at least one hit in five of six contests, including three multi-hit games, while striking out four times and walking once. Her best outings of the week came against Georgia State, Connecticut and Bethune-Cookman. In the 2-0 win over Georgia State, she went 1-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored. In the 4-2 victory vs. Connecticut, Trevis connected on 2-of-3 from the plate with a home run and two RBI. Her best performance came in the Utes 10-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman where she went 3-for-4, with three RBI, two doubles and one run scored. The Utes went 4-2 last week and Trevis was one of nine players selected from 14 teams to the all-tournament team. This was the second player of the week honor in a row for Trevis.
MWC PLAYER AND PITCHER OF THE WEEK (MAR. 12): Utah third baseman Lyndsey Trevis and right-handed pitcher Kristin Arbogast were the Mountain West Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week, on Mar. 12. This was the first player and pitcher of the week award for both players this season.
Trevis, a junior from Glendora, Calif. (Glendora HS), went 11-for-24 (.458) with 11 RBI, three home runs, two doubles, and eight runs scored, while walking five times in eight games last week. She had at least one hit in seven of the eight contests, with her best outing coming in the Utes 10-0 victory over Massachusetts where she went 3-4 at the plate, with all three hits coming via the home run (Utah school record). Trevis also tallied seven RBI and three runs scored vs. the Minutemen. She collected two more multiple-hit games in the tournament vs. Georgia Southern and Temple. She went 2-for-4 vs. Georgia Southern with a double and a run scored, while recording three RBI and three runs scored in a 2-for-3 day at the plate vs. Temple. The Utes went 6-2 and finished third out of 24 teams at the South Florida Speedline Tournament.
Arbogast, a senior from Eugene, Ore. (North Eugene HS), went 5-2 in eight appearances for Utah at the South Florida Speedline Tournament. She pitched 44.1 innings and had five complete games, while posting a 1.43 ERA. In those eight appearances, Arbogast gave up only nine earned runs and nine walks, while striking out 35. She was also one of nine players (out of 24 teams), along with teammate Lyndsey Trevis, selected to the all-tournament team.
Arbogast's best performances came in two shutouts vs. Temple (11-0) and Massachusetts (10-0). Against the Owls, she allowed a pair of hits and walks, while striking out four in five innings of work. In six innings on the mound vs. the Minutemen, she gave up just one run and struck out six.
MWC PRESEASON POLL: Utah has been selected to repeat as Mountain West Conference softball champions in a vote by the league coaches. Utah received five first place votes for a total of 25 points to capture the top spot in the poll. New Mexico was picked second after collecting 20 points and the only other first place vote. San Diego State was third with 15 points followed by Colorado State (11), BYU (10) and UNLV (9).
UTES IN THE POLLS: Utah entered the 2001 season ranked No. 25 and has received votes for the past seven consecutive weeks. Most recently, the Utes received 13 votes in the Mar. 21st USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. Utah broke into the national rankings (25th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, 67 votes) for the first time this season on Fri., Jan. 26.
Utah climbed into the Top 25 for the first time ever during the 1980 season (6th in the 1980 national final poll.
USA TODAY/NFCA PRESEASON POLL (Jan. 24): The University of Utah softball team received 67 votes and a No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll released on Jan. 24. The Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, Utah ended its season with a 42-23 (.646) overall record and a 15-5 (.750) conference mark. Utah made its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1997 and its ninth NCAA overall. The Utes own a 16-21 NCAA record, including a 15-13 mark in NCAA regional play, and have advanced to the Women's College World Series four times (1982, `85, `91 and `94) with a 1-6 slate.
"I think it is good that we made the Top 25," said head coach Mona Stevens. "I'm glad we are No. 25 because I think it will give our kids motivation to work harder. There are a lot of teams in the Top 25 that we beat last year, but that was last year, and this year, we need to prove ourselves once again. I'm glad that we had the recognition to get in the Top 25 and we'll have our work cut out for us. We want to move up in the poll and, although we are excited to be recognized, it will motivate us towards moving higher."
Utah was the only Mountain West Conference team to enter the 2001 season in the top 25. New Mexico was the other MWC team recognized in the preseason poll with 10 votes.
HEAD COACH MONA STEVENS: Mona Stevens, who has built a reputation as one of the top coaches in the nation on both the national and international levels, is in her fifth season as head coach at Utah.
A former Ute player and assistant coach, the Provo, Utah, native came home in September of 1996, following a two-year stint at the University of Massachusetts. Stevens was the associate head coach for the Minutewomen during the 1995 and `96 seasons, and was named head coach at UMass in June of `96, three months prior to being hired by her alma mater.
Stevens has the best winning percentage in school history. She posts a 168-104 (.618) career overall record and a 64-39 (.621) career conference record in four seasons. Her 2000 team was the NCAA Region 1 Tournament runner-up, and placed third in the NCAA Regional Tournament in 1997. Stevens was selected as the 2000 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and posted her 150th career win at the NCAA Region 1 Tournament with a 4-1 win over Mississippi State on May 20.
NCAA STATISTICAL LEADERS: As a team, Utah was sixth in the nation last year in home runs (58), ninth in slugging percentage (.450), 17th with a .301 team batting average and 18th in scoring (5.14). Many Utes ranked among the nation's statistical leaders in the individual categories.
COVERING THE UTES: The sports information office at the University of Utah welcomes your interest in the Utah softball program and will make every effort to ensure that your coverage of the Utes is an enjoyable experience. Press credentials, weekly releases and game results are available by calling Assistant Sports Information Director Julie Lapomarda at (801) 581-3771. To request permission to broadcast Utah home games, send a request on station letterhead to the attention of: Julie Lapomarda, Assistant Sports Information Director, University of Utah, 1825 E. South Campus Dr. Front, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0900.
WEEKLY INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview head coach Mona Stevens should contact her at her office (801) 581-3514 in the morning on weekdays. Interviews with the athletes should be arranged through Julie Lapomarda (801) 581-3771.
POST-GAME SERVICES: Head coach Mona Stevens and Utah players will be available for interviews outside the Utah dug out following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Utah sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the game. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEDIA INFORMATION: Javan Hedlund, Assistant Director of Communications, handles all information requests related to softball at the Mountain West Conference office. The MWC address is 15455 Gleneagle Drive, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. The MWC telephone number is (719) 488-4040. The fax number is (719) 487-7241. Hedlund can be reached at (719) 487-4051.
Utah Softball's Hailee White Feature
Tuesday, April 15
Utah Softball's Jolie Mayfield Feature
Friday, March 28
Utah Softball - The Inaugural 1976 Team
Wednesday, March 19
University of Utah Athletics - A Storied History
Friday, August 02