BERKELEY, Calif. – A mistake-prone fifth inning snowballed on Utah Softball as it dropped the opener of a Pac-12 series at Cal, 5-3
Utah had a great chance to start the game with a run on the board as
Julia Noskin singled and moved to second on a ground ball. However, Kamalani Dung, a Fresno State transfer, induced a pop up and got her first strikeout to end the inning.
Miranda Viramontes started for the Utes and struck out eight batters over 4 1/3 innings before the unfortunate frame.
In the bottom of the fifth, she hit the leadoff batter, who was erased on a force play at second. Marcella Kay singled to right for Cal's first hit of the game and the next batter was also drilled, loading the bases full of Golden Bears.
Jazzmyn Jackson hit a tapper to third that resulted in no play for the Utah defense and Cal scoring the first run of the game. A bases-loaded walk on a full count to Lindsay Rood followed for a 2-0 advantage.
The big play of the inning was about to unfold as Bradie Filmore came to bat. She hit a slow grounder to the right side of the infield that was bobbled and then thrown away, allowing Cal to clear the bases for a 5-0 lead.
After retiring 16 batters in a row from the first inning onward, Dung ran into trouble in the sixth when she walked
Ally Dickman on four pitches and issued a free pass to Noskin.
Heather Bowen connected on her team-leading eighth homer of the season, and 22
nd of her career, to get the Utes back in the game at 5-3.
The blast was the last pitch of the game for Dung, who improved to 16-3 on the season and struck out seven batters. Zoe Conley entered and retired five of the final six Utah batters to earn the save.
The two teams meet again tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT