No. 20 Utah Uses Pitching and Defense to Beat No. 10 Bruins, 2-1

Friday, March 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 PM

University of Utah

19-4, 1-0

UCLA

21-6, 0-1

Utah

UCLA

No. 20 Utah Uses Pitching and Defense to Beat No. 10 Bruins, 2-1

3/17/2017 8:38 PM | Softball

Box Score

Viramontes twirls CG for first win in Westwood

LOS ANGELES – No. 20 Utah Softball won its opener this evening vs. No. 10 UCLA, 2-1. Miranda Viramontes' complete game was the difference as the Utes notched their first win ever against the Bruins in Westwood.

Entering tonight's contest, Utah had dropped eight in a row to the Bruins and 29 of 32 all-time meetings. It had also not come up with a "W" in 11 total meetings from L.A. That all changed this evening as a two-run third inning and gutsy pitching from Viramontes earned the Utes an important victory.

"I could not feel happier for this team," head coach Amy Hogue said. "They really wanted this win and they worked extremely hard to get it. The stellar defensive plays and performance put forth by Miranda proved that we came here to win. I could not be more proud."

The junior improved to 6-0 with her second seven-inning complete game of the season. She had three strikeouts, including one to the final Bruin batter, and walked none. Viramontes also went seven innings in a blanking of No. 13 Tennessee and then pitched a perfect game vs. CSU Bakersfield.

Utah threatened early with Alyssa Barrera reached on a force play and moved up on a wild pitch. However, a grounder to third and strikeout ended the threat.

With Viramontes doing her job in the circle, Utah broke through in the third. Ally Dickman singled to left and was lifted for pinch-runner Ryley Ball. After a foul out, Ball took second on an illegal pitch. Following a strikeout, Barrera took an 0-2 pitch to left for a RBI single. Hannah Flippen followed with a hit up the middle and a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Madeline Jelenicki doubled with one out but Viramontes got a pair of UCLA batters to hit balls to the left side of the infield and end the inning

Utah had a chance to extend its lead in the seventh when BreOnna Castaneda singled and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Kay Kay Fronda singled to right on the first pitch she saw and would then steal second. With two runners in scoring position, Utah could not get the hit to add to its advantage.

Two outs away from a Utah shutout, Brianna Tautalafua hit her ninth homer of the season to get the Bruins on the board and within one. After a double, the Utes elected to stick with Viramontes who got a fly to right and a strikeout to seal the victory.

The two top-20 teams get back on the field tomorrow for the second game of their series at 3:30 p.m. PT. You can watch the game live on the Pac-12 Networks or stream it via pac-12.com/live.