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
Another Lopez Gem Helps Utah Softball Blank UCSD
2/12/2023 5:50 PM | Softball
Hogue picks up 600th career victory as Utah reaches 5-0
SAN DIEGO – Mariah Lopez rattled off five innings of two-hit, shutout ball to earn her third victory and head coach Amy Hogue collected the 600th win of her head coaching career as the University of Utah softball team polished off a perfect opening weekend with a 7-0 triumph over the UC San Diego Tritons on Sunday at the Triton Softball Field.
For Hogue, this milestone comes just two days after she won her 400th game as Utah head coach and Hogue's team is now 5-0 for the first time since 2020.
"We are off to a great start to the season," said head coach Amy Hogue. "We came for 5 wins and got them. I was super proud of our pitching. All of them were on point and put us in position to win each time. It was nice to get out on the dirt and see what we could do. Now it's time to come home and get back to work on some things we still have on the list."
For the second straight start, Lopez did not walk a batter and she also struck out five while limiting the Tritons to two singles. UCSD sent only nine batters to the plate in the first three innings and the one baserunner they did manage was erased when Lopez started a double play in the second. The junior southpaw capped her day with back-to-back strikeouts in the fifth, completing an opening weekend in which she went 3-0 and tossed 14 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.
Lopez's first run support arrived in the second, when the Utes loaded the bases on a single, an error and a walk. That brought up Leilani Melendez, who skied a sacrifice fly into center for a 1-0 advantage.
In the fourth, Utah's base running helped them boost their lead to three. Hailee White beat out a bunt hit and, after a fielder's choice, Melendez walked to put to two on. When Jordyn Gasper and Melendez took off on a double steal and the throw to third went into left, Gasper scored thanks to interference and a Denning infield hit moments later plated Melendez to put the score at 3-0.
Davison snagged her ninth RBI of the weekend in the fifth on an RBI double and the Utes upped their lead to seven with a two-out rally in the sixth. Back-to-back singles brought up Aliya Belarde and she slapped a third straight knock through the middle to send Haley Denning across. Ellessa Bonstrom then drove in two with her second hit of the afternoon and Utah had a 7-0 edge.
That lead was handed to Halle Morris, who took over in the circle in the bottom of the sixth and was untouchable in collecting the last six outs. Two groundouts and a popup in the seventh put the finishing touches on the Utes' perfect opening weekend.
Up Next
The next stop for the Utes is the Tiger Classic, which will take place on Feb. 17-19 in Baton Rouge, La. The Utes will start that tournament with a 1:30 p.m. MT clash with Central Arkansas.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
For Hogue, this milestone comes just two days after she won her 400th game as Utah head coach and Hogue's team is now 5-0 for the first time since 2020.
"We are off to a great start to the season," said head coach Amy Hogue. "We came for 5 wins and got them. I was super proud of our pitching. All of them were on point and put us in position to win each time. It was nice to get out on the dirt and see what we could do. Now it's time to come home and get back to work on some things we still have on the list."
For the second straight start, Lopez did not walk a batter and she also struck out five while limiting the Tritons to two singles. UCSD sent only nine batters to the plate in the first three innings and the one baserunner they did manage was erased when Lopez started a double play in the second. The junior southpaw capped her day with back-to-back strikeouts in the fifth, completing an opening weekend in which she went 3-0 and tossed 14 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.
Lopez's first run support arrived in the second, when the Utes loaded the bases on a single, an error and a walk. That brought up Leilani Melendez, who skied a sacrifice fly into center for a 1-0 advantage.
In the fourth, Utah's base running helped them boost their lead to three. Hailee White beat out a bunt hit and, after a fielder's choice, Melendez walked to put to two on. When Jordyn Gasper and Melendez took off on a double steal and the throw to third went into left, Gasper scored thanks to interference and a Denning infield hit moments later plated Melendez to put the score at 3-0.
Davison snagged her ninth RBI of the weekend in the fifth on an RBI double and the Utes upped their lead to seven with a two-out rally in the sixth. Back-to-back singles brought up Aliya Belarde and she slapped a third straight knock through the middle to send Haley Denning across. Ellessa Bonstrom then drove in two with her second hit of the afternoon and Utah had a 7-0 edge.
That lead was handed to Halle Morris, who took over in the circle in the bottom of the sixth and was untouchable in collecting the last six outs. Two groundouts and a popup in the seventh put the finishing touches on the Utes' perfect opening weekend.
Up Next
The next stop for the Utes is the Tiger Classic, which will take place on Feb. 17-19 in Baton Rouge, La. The Utes will start that tournament with a 1:30 p.m. MT clash with Central Arkansas.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
Players Mentioned
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