TEMPE, Ariz. - Sydney Sandez seemingly never broke a sweat as Utah improved to 3-0 at the Kajikawa Classic with a 4-0 win over Portland State this afternoon.
The sophomore only faced two batters over the minimum and threw just 73 pitches. Her economical stat line also included 16 ground outs, a byproduct of solid infield defense
Utah had a chance to get on the board immediately with a pair of baserunners in the first, but Portland State was able to wriggle off the hook.
The Utes did get the breakthrough in the third as
Haley Denning took a four-pitch walk, stole second and scored on an errant throw by the catcher into center field.
Utah tacked on two more in the fourth as
BreOnna Castaneda continued her strong start with a RBI double that scored
Ellessa Bonstrom.
Destiny Quiles would come around to score when Portland State's left fielder dropped a fly ball off the bat of
Charlee Pond.
Pond factored into the final run when she tripled for her first hit as a Ute in the sixth.
Haley Denning notched her first RBI with an infield single to make the score, 4-0.
Utah has a doubleheader at Farrington Stadium tomorrow morning with Kansas at 9 a.m. and Seattle 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest.Â