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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Travels to Arizona for Kajikawa Classic
2/12/2008 12:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 12, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah women's softball team, off to it's best start since 1985, puts its 5-0 record on the line on this weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, Feb. 15-17, where its opponents include No. 25 Oregon State.
The Week In Review
The Utes opened the 2008 campaign with a 5-0 record at the Red Desert Classic. Highlights included a 4-1 win over Idaho State and a 9-0 victory over Southern Utah.
Kristie Keller led the Utes at the plate, going 7-for-13 with seven runs scored and three doubles. Angie Boardman, who had the game-winning hit against Wisconsin, was 6-for-13 with three doubles and four RBI. Staci Hemingway, Devina Quintero and Sharee Fonoti each had six RBI.
On the mound, Ashley Smuda tallied a 3-0 record with 23 strikeouts. She made appearances in all five games. Freshman Brittany Parker also had a strong debut weekend, striking out four against Idaho State in two innings.
Utes Earn Votes In Poll
After starting the year 5-0, the Utes are receiving votes in the Feb. 12 ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25 poll. Utah earned two votes in the poll.
Defending national champion Arizona is on top of both the ESPN.com poll and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll.
Hot Start
With a 5-0 record, Utah is off to its best start since 1985. The Utes began that season 9-0 and would go on to play in the College World Series that year.
Scouting the Competition
The Utes will face five teams at the Kajikawa Classic.
Notre Dame (2007: 32-24): The Fighting Irish open their season against Utah on Friday. At the plate, the team returns Heather Johnson, who batted .306 with a team-best 13 doubles last year. Brittney Barger went 23-15 on the mound with a 2.06 ERA.
Texas State (2-2): The Bobcats went 2-2 at the Quality Inn and Suites Tournament last weekend, defeating Creighton and North Texas. Kristina Tello hit .385 over the weekend to lead Texas State. Ragan Blake and Katie Garnett are the top pitchers.
The Bobcats face No. 22 Texas on Wednesday before heading to the Classic.
Texas Tech (0-4): The Red Raiders dropped four games at the Sportco Spring Kick Off Classic in Las Vegas, including to a pair of losses to top-15 teams in Washington and Arizona State. Leah Legler led Texas Tech at the plate while Ashly Jacobs and Tye Coats paced the team on the mound.
Western Michigan (2007: 20-23): Western Michigan returns seven starters and 12 letterwinners. Senior pitcher Kyla Sullivan returns after posting a 14-14 record in 2007 with a 2.13 ERA. Senior catcher Becky Bartosz led the Broncos with a .278 batting average and was tied for the team lead with four home runs and drove in 16 runs, second best on the team.
No. 25/25 Oregon State (2-3): Oregon State's losses at the Cathedral City Kick Off included No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 6 Tennessee. Senior Cambria Miranda and sophomore Dani Chisholm went 6-for-16 on the weekend for identical .375 batting averages. In the circle, sophomores Stefanie Draper and Kelly Dyer shared the work with Draper earning a pair of wins and Dyer earning a save. Dyer threw 16 strikeouts to lead in the circle on 18.2 innings of work.
Smuda's Debut
Sophomore pitcher Ashley Smuda played in all five of the Utes' games this weekend, starting four and only allowing two runs in 18.2 innings pitched.
After allowing three hits in the first inning of her first start against Wisconsin, she settled down and only allowed five more the rest of the weekend.
Smuda is currently tied for first in the conference in batters struck out (23) and leads the Mountain West in batters struck out looking (11).
Rounding The Bases
Of the five home runs that have been hit this season, two have been grand slams. Staci Hemingway hit one against Rhode Island (2/8) while Sharee Fonoti's came vs. Southern Utah (2/9).
Kara Foster leads the team with two home runs.
Phillips Watch
All-West Region and three-time all-Mountain West Conference selection Diana Phillips is nearing several career marks at Utah. Her current .350 batting average is second all-time. She has 11 career triples and needs just one more to tie for third all-time.
In addition, Phillips has averaged over 59 hits a season in her career (179 total hits). If she continues on the same pace in 2008 she will rank among the top five at Utah in hits.
Players Mentioned
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