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
Utes in Louisiana to Face McNeese State in Midweek Tilt
3/16/2015 12:00 AM | Softball
March 16, 2015
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| UTAH (17-9) at McNEESE STATE (20-6) | |
| Tuesday (DH) | 5 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. MT | 7 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. CT |
| Wednesday | 5 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. MT |
| Location | Lake Charles, La. | Cowgirl Diamond |
| Live Stats | www.UtahUtes.com or www.McNeeseSports.com |
| Game Info | Complete Game Notes | 2015 Utah Softball Media Guide |
ON DECK
The Utah Softball team (17-9) will take a quick break from its Pac-12 schedule to face McNeese State (20-6) in a three-game non-conference series this Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17-18 at Cowgirl Diamond in Lake Charles, La.
The two teams were originally scheduled to play a single game on Tuesday with a doubleheader to follow on Wednesday, but with possible inclement weather moving into the Lake Charles, La., area this week, changes to the playing schedule have been made.
The Utes and Cowgirls will now play a doubleheader on Tuesday, with the first game beginning at 5 p.m. CT/4 p.m. MT and second game to follow at approximately 7 p.m. CT/6 p.m MT. Utah and McNeese will then closeout the series with a single game on Wednesday, with a first pitch tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. CT/4 p.m. MT.
COVERING THE UTES
Live stats will be available for all three games and can be found at www.UtahUtes.com or www.McNeeseSports.com.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE UTES
Utah opened Pac-12 play this past weekend, dropping three games to the No. 13/10-ranked UCLA Bruins.
The Utes fell 1-0 to the Bruins in the conference-opener on Friday and UCLA then rallied to defeat Utah 4-2 Saturday evening. UCLA then closed out the three-game series with a 6-0 victory over the Utes on Sunday afternoon.
Utah's Kristen Stewart (Covina, Calif.) provided Utah's only offense of the series with a two-run double in the first inning of Saturday's two-run loss to the Bruins.
Stewart led the Utes with three hits and a .375 batting average in the series and Kate Dickman (Mission Viejo, Calif.) recorded a pair of hits on the weekend as well.
Despite UCLA outhitting (24-7) and outscoring (11-2) the Utes in the series, Utah managed to get out of multiple jams and the Bruins registered a total of 21 runners left on base over the three-game set.
Utah had just two fielding errors on the weekend and the team set a new season-high with 16 fielding assists in Friday's one-run loss.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
McNeese State is 20-6 overall on the season and the squad is coming off a three-game road sweep over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cowgirls have won eight-consecutive games heading into Tuesday's match-up with the Utes, with its last loss coming back on Feb. 22 - an 11-3 defeat to Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Cowgirls are hitting .297 as a team with 39 doubles, five triples and 24 home runs. McNeese has a .477 team-slugging percentage and a .372 on-base percentage, as well.
McNeese is led at the plate by Lauren Langer, who is hitting .419 with five doubles and nine runs batted in. Erika Piancastelli follows hitting .416 and has team-highs in doubles (10), home runs (eight) and RBI (25).
McNeese has tallied a combined 2.30 earned run average as a team, having given up 58 earned runs (64 total) in 176.1 innings of work.
Emily Vincent leads the Cowgirls with an 8-1 record and a 1.11 ERA inside the circle. Rachel Smith is 7-2 with a 2.33 ERA and has a team-high 48 strikeouts on the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Utah leads the all-time series between the two teams, 2-0, after defeating the Cowgirls in a pair of games at the Texas A&M Invite back on March 4-5, 2005.
Utah won the first-ever meeting between the two teams, 2-1, and then downed the Cowgirls the following day, 6-1, in College Station, Texas.
UTAH IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The Utes are 17-6 overall in non-conference play this season. Utah's 17 wins against teams out of conference includes a 12-game winning streak, which the team tallied between Feb. 14 through March 6.
Utah is 3-2 overall in "true" non-conference road games so far this season.
UTAH LEADERS
Kate Dickman continues to lead the Utes in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.436), hits (34), doubles (8), triples (2), slugging percentage (.705), walks (13), stolen bases (6) and on-base percentage (.521). Dickman and Hannah Flippen (Bonita, Calif.) are tied for the team-lead in runs (21), while Bridget Castro (Bellflower, Calif.) has team-highs in both home runs (4) and runs batted in (22).
Katie Donovan (Salem, Ore.) leads Utah in the circle with a 6-3 record, a pair of saves, 2.36 ERA and 63 K's. She also has a team-high six complete games and three shutouts, including one no-hitter (vs. Nevada, 2/20). Miranda Viramontes (Chino, Calif.) has tallied six wins for the Utes as well and has 43 strikeouts to go with a 2.75 ERA.
Kristen Stewart leads Utah in the field with 65 assists and Flippen follows with 58 assists on the season. Castro has a team-high 181 putouts and Shelby Pacheco (Casa Granda, Ariz.) follows with 123 putouts.
WINNING STREAK
Utah put together a season-long 12-game winning streak from Feb. 14-March 6 before it was snapped with a 4-0 loss to East Carolina in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The 12-game winning streak matched the longest win streak for a Utah team under head coach Amy Hogue (Feb. 19-March 9, 2012) and it ranked as the team's second-longest win streak (April 10-25, 1997) dating back to 1992.
HITTING STREAKS
Kate Dickman compiled a career-long 19-game hitting streak earlier this season, which began on Feb. 6 and ended March 6. Dickman's longest hitting streak prior to the 19-game stretch was a 16-game hitting streak, which she recorded twice in her career (May 4, 2013-March 7, 2014 and April 2-April 26, 2014).
Hannah Flippen tallied a 10-game hitting streak that ran from Feb. 21-March 8 and Kristen Stewart ranks third on the team with a current five-game hitting streak, which began on March 7. Stewart currently leads the team having reached base in eight-straight games, dating back to March 5.
UTAH IN THE POLLS
Utah has received at least one vote in two of the previous three ESPN/USA Softball Top-25 polls, which includes earning one vote in the most recent poll (March 10).
The Utes received votes in the March 3 USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll, as well, receiving votes in at least one of the two polls for three straight weeks.
UTES AMONG PAC-12 LEADERS
Kate Dickman ranks 10th in the Pac-12 with a .436 batting average, while both Anissa Urtez (Long Beach, Calif.) and Shelby Pacheco rank second and third, respectively, in sacrifice bunts. Urtez has six successful sacrifice bunts, while Pacheco has laid down five sacrifice bunts on the season.
Katie Donovan ranks eighth in the league with a 2.36 ERA, sixth with a .207 batting average against, seventh with 83.0 innings pitched and sixth with 63 strikeouts on the season. Miranda Viramontes has a 2.75 ERA, which ranks 11th in the conference, and her 43 K's on the season ranks 10th in the league, as well.
Kristen Stewart ranks fourth in the Pac-12 with 65 fielding assists and Pacheco leads the league having gunned down six runners trying to steal.
NATIONAL LEADERS
Utah remains among the top-50 teams in the nation in three different categories heading into this week's games. The Utes rank third in the nation with 0.69 double plays turned-per-game and 10th in the nation with a .978 fielding percentage. Utah also ranks 34th in the nation with a combined 2.33 team ERA.
Kate Dickman ranks 107th in the nation with a .436 batting average and 138th in the nation with 0.31 doubles-per-game. Katie Donovan ranks 70th in the nation giving up just 5.06 hits-per-seven innings and 26th in the nation with two saves on the year. She also ranks 141st in the nation with her 2.36 ERA.
TOUCH `EM ALL
Utah has 17 home runs as a team this season and Bridget Castro leads the way with a team-high four bombs, including one grand slam. Kate Dickman, Hannah Flippen and Kristen Stewart have three home runs each on the season and Marissa Mendenhall (Stansbury Park, Utah) has collected a pair of dingers, as well.
The Utes are a perfect 10-0 on the season when hitting at least one home run in a game and 5-0 when hitting two home runs or more. Utah is just 7-9 overall in contests without hitting a home run.
SCORING EARLY AND OFTEN
Utah has scored 23 runs in the first inning of games this season, 18 runs in the second inning and 17 runs in both the third and fourth innings. Over the first four innings of play, Utah has outscored the opposition by a total of 75-39.
Utah is 15-3 overall when scoring the game's first run and 9-2 overall when scoring in the first inning. The Utes are just 2-6 when the opposing team scores first.
UP NEXT
Utah returns to Pac-12 play and will make its anticipated home-opening debut this coming weekend, Saturday-Monday, March 21-23.
The Utes will host No. 2/3 Oregon in a three-game set, with single games to be played over three days. The Utes and Ducks will open the series on Saturday with a first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. MT. The two teams will then play the second game of the series on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT before closing out the series on Monday at 12 p.m. MT.
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