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
3/23/2005 12:00 AM | Softball
March 23, 2005
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The Lineup: After spending six weeks and 23 games on the road, the University of Utah softball team (9-14 overall) is ready for the 2005 home opener. The Utes begin a five-game homestand when they host Utah Valley State in doubleheader action on Saturday, March 26. First pitch at the Utah Softball Field is set for Noon. The game date has changed from the original schedule that had the two squaring off in a single game on Friday, March 25.
Quoting Head Coach Mona Stevens:
On UVSC: "Todd (Fairbourne)'s teams always show up and play well. We can't go into the game expecting a win. We need to go out there and play our best.
"We need to work out our pitchers a little bit. Our pitchers weren't as strong last weekend as they had been throughout the season. If the pitching returns and we get through some nagging injuries, we'll be fine."
On playing at home: "It's a big difference when you can sleep in your own bed and then show up to play on your own field. We travel so much to be competitive and by doing so, you become weary. I think every cold-weather team in the nation is weary from traveling right now.
"But, playing at home revitalizes us. It gets our energy flowing and our spirits up. And, we get to play in front of friends and family -- in front of a supportive crowd."
On Iowa, Princeton and Stanford: "It's been a wet spring. Waiting in a hotel room for the rain to stop and then going out and playing a game is tough to do. But, we've done a good job of it.
"We went in knowing nothing about Princeton and we played well. It seems that we tense up when we play a team that we know we can beat and worry too much about the good teams. But, against Princeton, we beat a good team and we didn't even know it. We need to go into every game like that -- without regard for the names on our opponent's jersey. Now that we have done that, we need to capitalize on it, especially in the next couple of weeks."
Scouting This Week's Opponent: The UVSC Wolverines bring an 8-16 overall mark to Salt Lake City. UVSC and Utah have already clashed twice this season with the Utes victorious in both games at the BYU/UVSC Tournament, 9-0 and 10-3. Rachel Hartgrove leads the team in both hitting (.430) and doubles (nine). Jackie Roberts is tops in the circle, owning a 5-6 mark and a 3.15 earned-run average.
Tallying Those RBI: Junior Lynsey Wall had a four-RBI game in the 13-7 loss to Iowa last week. That ties a career high for the outfielder who hasn't had a four-RBI outing since her freshman campaign (vs. New Mexico, 4/13/03). Against Iowa, Wall hit a three-run home run (her third home run of the season) and drew a bases-loaded walk. It was only the second four-RBI game by a Ute this season. Ivette Hernandez had a four-RBI game against Texas Tech (2/12/05). She racked them up on an RBI single and a three-run home run.
Halted at Nine: Sophomore Devina Quintero stretched her hitting streak to nine games when she tallied two hits in the loss to Iowa. The streak ended when she would combine to go 0-for-5 over the next two games. The nine-game hitting streak is the longest by a Ute thus far this season.
Better Than Average: Senior catcher Bryanne Durrence continues to show the most improvement at the plate for Utah. Last weekend, she hit a team-best .375 (3-for-8) to up her season average to .311. Her season average this year is almost 80 points better than her career average. That mark checks in at .238.
Offense-A-Plenty: The Utes surrendered 13 runs and 16 hits to Iowa. Both of those numbers are the most by a Utah opponent thus far this season. Moreover, the Utes and Hawkeyes combined for 20 runs on 22 hits, another pair of season highs.
Offense-A-Plenty (Part 2): The Utes have yet to win a game in which they scored fewer than three runs. Utah is 2-11 on the season when it plates less than three runs. However, when Utah puts three or more on the board, it is 7-2.
Double-Double: Sarah Lyman belted a three-run double against Iowa. With one swing of the bat, Lyman almost doubled her RBI total for the season, upping her RBI to seven for the season. That was Lyman's second multi-RBI game this year. She had a two-RBI outing against Cal-Riverside earlier this season.
Hit = RBI: Kate Nygaard has slowly shirked off her hitting woes. She has had a hit in three of the last six games. But, every time she gets a hit, Nygaard also plates an RBI. She had one hit and two RBI in each the McNeese State (3/5/05) and Miami (3/6/05) games, and a hit with one RBI against Princeton (3/20/05). While she is 3-for-16 (.188) in the last six games, she has also plated five of her 10 RBI during that span.
Hit and Runs: Ivette Hernandez missed her first three games of the season last weekend. She suffered a head injury in pregame warm-ups against Iowa and her availability will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis ... The Utes, who lost their first four one-run games, have won their last three nip-and-tuck outings ... Utah has cancelled or postponed seven games so far this season. Five of them were to inclement weather while the other two were to traveling conflicts ... Brianna Gourdin gave up three earned runs in three appearances last weekend. Her earned-run average bumped up to 1.62 after that, the highest it has been all season ... Bryanne Durrence has had a hit in four of the last six games. She is hitting .333 during that span, 22 points higher than her season average of .311 ... Jackie Wong continues to be a valuable asset when leading off an inning. She is hitting .519 (14-for-27) when she is the first one to bat in an inning.
At the Helm: Mona Stevens is in her ninth season as Utah's softball head coach. Stevens is 269-224-1 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: The five-game homestand continues when the Utes host Utah State and Brigham Young University. The Aggies come to town on Wednesday, March 30, for a single game at 3 p.m. Mountain West Conference play begins when Utah entertains BYU on Saturday, April 2. The first pitch of the doubleheader with the Cougars is set for noon.
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