Utah Softball Holds Off San Diego State, 3-2

Thursday, April 22

Salt Lake City, Utah

4:00 PM

University of Utah

San Diego State

4/22/2010 12:00 AM | Softball

April 22, 2010

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - Senior right-hander Ashley Smuda threw her 12th complete game of the season and sophomore Joni Cook hit what turned out to be a game-winning two-run single to lead the University of Utah softball team to its fourth straight victory, a 3-2 win over San Diego State in its Mountain West Conference home opener Thursday at Ute Softball Field.

Utah (21-21, 3-3 MWC) did all of its offensive damage in the first inning, scoring three runs off SDSU starter Bailey Micetich. In addition to their four-game win streak, Utah is now 5-0 at Ute Softball Field this season.

"I thought we did a nice job at the plate today," Utah head coach Amy Hogue said. "San Diego State has excellent pitching so scoring three runs means that we succeeded at the plate today. They average about nine strikeouts [a game], so we just needed to put the ball in play."

Cook went 1-of-2 at the plate with two runs batted in against the Aztecs, highlighted by the game-winning single in the first inning that gave Utah a 3-0 lead. The Eagle, Idaho native has been on a tear at the plate lately, hitting .308 in the last four games with eight hits while driving in nine runs.

"[Cook] is unbelievable right now," Hogue said. "She is on fire with the bat. She's helping us win ball games right now because she's as clutch as you can get. It's fun to watch."

Kelsi Hoopiiaina hit her 11th double of the season that drove in Utah's first run of the game. Hoopiiaina went 1-for-3 on the day with one run scored. Utah catcher Brooke Olson was the lone Ute with multiple hits, registering a 2-for-3 effort and one run scored.

Smuda started in the circle for the Utes and turned in her 12th complete game of the season and the 38th of her career. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native threw six shutout innings, allowing only five hits, before yielding a two-run home run in the seventh. Smuda improved to 18-10 this season after scattering seven hits in seven innings with six strikeouts while not issuing a single walk.

"It all started with Smuda," Hogue said. "She didn't walk anyone today. She threw strikes and we picked it up on defense. Every kid on the team wanted the ball hit to them and that's a big deal defensively. They said `Hit it to me' and then made the plays."

The first three Utah hitters reached base beginning with Olson hitting a single up the middle then Hannah Clements dragged a bunt to the Aztec shortstop before Hoopiiaina looped a double to left-center field to drive Olson across the plate for the first run of the game. Cook came through with a two-run single through the heart of the SDSU defense to give Utah a three-run lead.

The Utes have scored in the first inning in 27 of their 42 games and own a 55-31 advantage over their opponents in the first frame. Utah has been the first team to score 27 times this season.

"We knew we had to jump on [San Diego State] early and throw strikes and then win the ball game with our defense," Hogue said.

With an Aztec runner on first base and one out, the Ute defense turned a key double play in the fourth inning when they got SDSU's Kristin May rolled a ground ball to Hoopiiaiana who teamed with Tia Palauni to turn Utah's 11th double play of the season.

Kara Foster got her first hit of the game in the fourth inning, lifting a single to left field, then advanced to third base via a pair of steals. Foster now leads the team with 11 stolen bases this year and is 11-of-12 this season.

San Diego State (26-11, 4-1 MWC) did not succumb to its first conference defeat without a fight. The Aztecs came back with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning when Jessica Camello lined a single off the glove of Utah third baseman Whitney Holm then May connected on a 1-1 pitch and sent it over the left-center field fence for a two-run home run to pull SDSU within one run, 3-2. With the loss, Micetich fell to 2-5 this season after giving up three earned runs on four hits in one inning of work. Samantha Beasley came on in five innings of relief, allowing two hits while striking out six.

The Utes will look to tie their season-high with their fifth consecutive victory tomorrow against Mountain West Conference foe UNLV. First pitch from Ute Softball Field is at 4 p.m.