Completed Event: Softball versus No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State on May 7, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 7
Final Score
Softball
0
vs No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State
7
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Notes
2/22/2005 12:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 22, 2005
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The Lineup - The University of Utah softball team (5-5 overall) continues its run through non-conference tournaments. The Utes will try to right a three-game losing streak with five games this weekend. Utah will play at the Palm Springs Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. Oregon State is the host school. The Utes play doubleheaders on Friday, Feb. 25 (vs. Oklahoma State and Kansas at 10 a.m., and 12:30 p.m) and Saturday, Feb. 26 (vs. Bethune Cookman and Mississippi State at 12:30 and 3 p.m.). A 9:30 a.m. single game against Wisconsin is on the docket for Sunday, Feb. 27. All times are Pacific Standard Time.
Quoting Head Coach Mona Stevens:
On the Palm Springs Classic: "I think that we are right there with all of the opponents that we'll face in Palm Springs. But, right now, the opponent is insignificant. Our focus is to stop trying so hard. We need to get back to the free and easy play that I know we're capable of playing.
"If we can start hitting well and keep up our defense, we'll be fine this weekend."
On the Campbell/Cartier Tournament: "We have to get the hitting monkey off of our backs. Our pitching staff and defense have been solid all year and I know we have great hitters in our lineup. But, we have to get that monkey off of our backs. We need a weekend where we hit the ball solidly. We need to relieve all the pressure and stress that we have placed on ourselves. Once we do that, I know that we will hit as well as we did at the end of last year."
Scouting the Palm Springs Classic Opponents - Teams from the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern Conference highlight this week's opponents.
Oklahoma State (11-4 overall) and Kansas (4-5) are Utah's Big 12 rivals. The Utes are 1-0 against the Big 12 this season, having topped Texas Tech, 8-2, two weeks back. KU has won three of its last four while the OSU has won five straight.
Wisconsin (0-1) barely has its season underway. It fell to South Carolina by a 9-0 margin last week. The Utes faced one other Big Ten opponent this year, a 7-1 loss to No. 8 Michigan.
Utah will battle its first SEC and Mid-Eastern Athletic rivals of the season as well. Perennial SEC power Mississippi State (9-3) and MEAC defending champion Bethune Cookman (6-7) are also on Utah's docket. MSU has won its last two games while BCC is in the middle of a five-game skid.
Kansas is the only opponent that Utah saw last season, falling 3-1 and 2-1 to the Jayhawks.
Hitting Slump - The Utes went into the Campbell/Cartier Tournament in San Diego, Calif., hitting a smooth .339 for the season. However, the bats went silent during the tournament as Fresno State no-hit Utah, which hit a mere .176 for the weekend. For the season, Utah's average has slipped to .292 which ranks fourth in the conference.
Hard-Hitting Ute - Ivette Hernandez has homered in each of the last two games. The junior first baseman homered against Notre Dame and Santa Clara to plate three RBI and score two runs. She is currently hitting .273 but her five home runs and .727 slugging percentage are tops on the team.
Utah Ace - Brianna Gourdin continues to be one of the top hurlers in the conference. She is fifth in the Mountain West with a 1.40 earned-run average while her .244 opponent batting average ranks seventh.
Playing the Field - Fielding continues to be the strength for the Utes so far this season. Despite fielding a meager .910 in committing eight errors last weekend, Utah is still fielding a smooth .955 for the season. The Utes rank second in the conference in fielding (to UNLV's .970) while their 13 errors are the third fewest among league members.
Stepping In and Stepping Up - Freshman Diana Phillips continues to be one of the top performers on the team. Last weekend, she was one of three Ute batters to tally multiple hits in going 2-for-9 (.222) with a double. For the year, Phillips is second on the team in hitting .370 (10-for-27). Her batting average ranks fourth among freshmen in the MWC.
"En-Durrence" - Bryanne Durrence led the team in hitting last weekend. After going 0-for-2 against Fresno State, the senior catcher rallied to hit 3-for-5 in the last two games. Her .429 average led all Utes last weekend and boosted her season numbers up to a team-leading .417.
Setting the Example - Ute leadoff batters reach base 40 percent of the time. Jackie Wong leads all Utes with a .583 (7-for-12) average. Other top performers of note: Diana Phillips, .545 (6-for-11), Bryanne Durrence, .500 (3-for-6) and Ivette Hernandez, .429 (3-for-7).
Rain, Rain Go Away: The Utes have lost three games to rain so far this season. An uncharacteristic deluge in both Las Vegas, Nev., and San Diego, Calif., has cancelled games against two nationally ranked teams in Oregon State and UCLA as well as Central Michigan.
Hit and Runs: Utah is hitting .311 with runners on and .330 with runners in scoring position ... Bryanne Durrence is 4-for-5 (.800) with runners in scoring position ... Ivette Hernandez ranks third in the league in both home runs (five) and runs batted in (12) ... The Utes are second in the MWC in slugging percentage (.446) and on base percentage (.363) but rank second to last in hits (76) ... Bryanne Durrence and Ivette Hernandez have tallied a hit in each of the last two games ... Diana Phillips leads the Utes with four multi-hit games ... freshman Meghan Crouse has played in all 10 games, starting seven. Her first four starts were in the outfield. But, last weekend, she started all three games at second base, filling in for the ill-stricken Jackie Wong.
At the Helm: Mona Stevens is in her ninth season as Utah's softball head coach. Stevens is 265-215-1 all-time and owns a 100-72-1 record in conference play. She has led her squad to four NCAA regional appearances and has coached three All-Americans. Stevens has also coached 12 all-West Region players including Glennis Donnelly and Melissa Stahnke in 2004. Her teams have won one MWC regular season title and three MWC tournament titles, including the 2004 tournament championship.
On Deck: Next week, Utah is at Texas A&M's tournament on March 4-6. The Utes play five games, facing McNeese State, Texas A&M and Miami (Ohio). The following week is Utah's home opener against Southern Utah on March 15. Then the Utes venture off on their last non-conference tournament road swing, playing a single game against Iowa on March 16 and in the Stanford Tournament on March 19-20.
Players Mentioned
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