
3/26/2018 4:07 PM | Softball
First inning homers propel Utah to series win
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Softball slammed a pair of home runs in the first inning and never looked back to seal the series against Stanford with a 13-0 victory.
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Heather Bowen and Hailey Hilburn connected off starter Maddy Dwyer to start the game and the Ute duo drove in a combined nine runs.
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Miranda Viramontes notched her first Pac-12 win of the season allowing five hits in four innings of work before Hilburn pitched the final frame.
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Bowen began the game with a three-run shot off Dwyer, her team leading fifth of the season. It came after a pair of four-pitch walks to Julia Noskin and Alyssa Barrera. Kelly Martinez followed with a single before Hilburn cracked her third of the year for an early 5-0 lead.
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After Bowen and Alyssa Palacios walked to start the third, Hilburn smoked a RBI double to the right-center gap. With two in scoring position, Katie Faulk grounded to first and Stanford got a force at the plate. The relay throw from the catcher back to first was errant and Hilburn scored the game's seventh run.
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Utah's big inning was still to come, arriving in the fourth frame. Barrera singled and Castaneda walked before Bowen bashed a two-run double to left center. Martinez, Palacios and Hilburn connected on consecutive singles for another run, resulting in a Stanford pitching change. Free passes were issued to Ryley Ball and Abby Robertson before an error on an Ally Dickman ground ball made the score, 13-0
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The Utes have now won the last five series vs. the Cardinal and moved to 13-8 against them since joining the Pac-12.
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Utah is back in action on Thursday at 6 p.m. when it hosts No. 4 UCLA. The whole series will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
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Heather Bowen and Hailey Hilburn connected off starter Maddy Dwyer to start the game and the Ute duo drove in a combined nine runs.
Â
Miranda Viramontes notched her first Pac-12 win of the season allowing five hits in four innings of work before Hilburn pitched the final frame.
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Bowen began the game with a three-run shot off Dwyer, her team leading fifth of the season. It came after a pair of four-pitch walks to Julia Noskin and Alyssa Barrera. Kelly Martinez followed with a single before Hilburn cracked her third of the year for an early 5-0 lead.
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After Bowen and Alyssa Palacios walked to start the third, Hilburn smoked a RBI double to the right-center gap. With two in scoring position, Katie Faulk grounded to first and Stanford got a force at the plate. The relay throw from the catcher back to first was errant and Hilburn scored the game's seventh run.
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Utah's big inning was still to come, arriving in the fourth frame. Barrera singled and Castaneda walked before Bowen bashed a two-run double to left center. Martinez, Palacios and Hilburn connected on consecutive singles for another run, resulting in a Stanford pitching change. Free passes were issued to Ryley Ball and Abby Robertson before an error on an Ally Dickman ground ball made the score, 13-0
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The Utes have now won the last five series vs. the Cardinal and moved to 13-8 against them since joining the Pac-12.
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Utah is back in action on Thursday at 6 p.m. when it hosts No. 4 UCLA. The whole series will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Viramontes, Miranda (3-8)
L: Dwyer, Maddy (11-6)
Base Running:
HBP: Fowkes, Molly 1

Batting:
2B: Bowen, Heather 1 ; Hilburn, Hailey 1
HR: Bowen, Heather 1 ; Hilburn, Hailey 1
RBI: Bowen, Heather 5 ; Hilburn, Hailey 4 ; Ball, Ryley 1 ; Robertson, Abby 1
SH: Castaneda, BreOnna 1 ; Martinez, Kelly 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Noskin, Julia 1 ; Barrera, Alyssa 2 ; Castaneda, BreOnna 1 ; Bowen, Heather 3 ; Martinez, Kelly 2 ; Palacios, Alyssa 1 ; Hilburn, Hailey 3
SB: Ball, Ryley 1
Game Leaders
No videos available.









