Upcoming Event: Softball versus Utah Valley on October 2, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Softball
vs Utah Valley
Friday, March 31
Berkeley, CA
4 p.m.
University of Utah
at
California
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Pac-12 Play Restarts for No. 19 Utah Softball Against California
3/29/2023 2:09 PM | Softball
Utes attempt to strengthen hold on first place during visit to Berkeley
SALT LAKE CITY – After watching inclement weather force the cancellation or postponement of the last four games on their schedule, the No. 19 University of Utah softball team is ready to shake off the rust and get back on the field for a three-game set on the road against the California Golden Bears and this series will start with a 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT) matchup on Friday, followed by a Saturday showdown that will begin at 12 p.m. PT before a 12 p.m. PT finale on Sunday.
March 31-April 2 Schedule
How to Follow
All three contests can be found on the Pac-12 family of networks, including Pac-12 Mountain, which will carry all three games live. Links to live stats can be found on UtahUtes.com.
Last Time Out
The Utes maintained their first place standing in the Pac-12 by taking two of three in a wild series on the road against Arizona. After Utah took the series opener on Friday, both clubs spent the next two days locked into a pair of slugfests and, after a narrow loss on Saturday, the Utes staged their largest comeback in almost eight years to collect the finale and with it, a series win.
A complete game effort from Mariah Lopez, as well as four Utah homers helped propel the visitors to a victory on Friday and put them at 4-0 in league play for the first time since joining the Pac-12. The Utes nearly took the second game of the series before the Wildcats rallied, but Utah returned the favor on Sunday.
Facing deficits of 7-1 and 11-5, coach Amy Hogue's lineup erupted for eight runs over the last three innings, propelling in part by Abby Dayton, who tallied four RBIs, and Sophie Jacquez, who came up with a pair of clutch hits to drive in runs in the fifth and sixth. Ellessa Bonstrom provided the Utah with its first lead of the day by blasting a two-run homer in the seventh and Halle Morris, who didn't allow a single baserunner of the final three frames, took care of the rest for her first win of the season.
This is the first time since joining the Pac-12 the Utes have won their first two series in league play and the first time overall they've accomplished that feat since 2011.
Scouting the Opposition
With a 22-8-1 overall record, the Golden Bears need only seven more victories to reach their highest win total since 2018, which was also their most recent 30-win campaign. Coach Chelsea Spencer has seen her team pick up several impressive victories along the way, none more notable than an 8-0 trouncing of No. 2 UCLA on March 11 and California is also coming off its first conference series victory of the year, as they spent March 24-26 taking two of three from Arizona State.
Home runs have been the most consistent weapon in the arsenal of the Cal offense and their 42 round-trippers are tied for the most in the Pac-12. So far in 2023, 11 different Golden Bears have rounded the bases at least once and Makena Smith's 10 dingers have her tied for third in the league. Smith already has a pair of two-homer games to her credit, one of which came in a Feb. 17 victory over Long Beach, a game in which Smith knocked in five runs.
No one on the California pitching staff has been tougher on opponents than junior Haylei Archer, who leads the team in nearly every pitching statistic and is in the top 10 in the conference in ERA and saves. Her best outing of the year came on Feb. 26 against Texas Tech, when she shutout the Red Raiders for seven innings and permitted only four hits. Spencer's stable of arms also includes sophomore Annabel Teperson, who secured her team's series win over ASU with a complete-game shutout on March 25.
Team Stat Leaders (as of 3/29/23)
Pac-12 Rankings - Individual
Pac-12 Rankings - Team
National Rankings – Individual
National Rankings – Team
Utah Softball Remains Ranked in All Four Top 25 Polls
For a second straight week, the Utes carved out a place in all four national polls. The Utes held on to the No. 19 spot in both the D1Softball.com and ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, while Softball America put the Utes at No. 20 and the USA Today/ NFCA poll slid the Utes into the No. 24 spot.
Bonstrom, Dayton Recognized with Pac-12 Weekly Awards
Ellessa Bonstrom and Abby Dayton were recognized by the Pac-12 on March 20. Bonstrom received her second Pac-12 Player of the Week award in two weeks, while Dayton became the first Ute in six years to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. Bonstrom is only the second Utah softball player to ever collect two player of the week awards in one season, matching a feat accomplished by Hannah Flippen in 2015.
Turn It Up to an 11
From Feb. 26 to March 17, the Utes strung together an 11-game win streak, their longest since they also on 11-in-a-row in 2017. Six of the victories during that run belonged to Sydney Sandez, who crafted a 0.49 ERA. At the plate, the Utes hit .369 as a team, led by Aliya Belarde's .500 average and Ellessa Bonstrom's six homers and 20 RBIs.
Starting Fast
For 10 straight games, from Feb. 19 to March 6, the Utes put together a consecutive games streak of scoring the first inning. Utah has outscored its opponents 38-11 in the first inning and the only inning in which they've score more runs is the fourth, where they've piled up 40. The Utes also scored in the first inning both of their victories over Arizona.
Milestone Watch
Ellessa Bonstrom and Haley Denning both entered the year with significant milestones within their reach and they've continued to close in those accomplishments. Bonstrom, who has driven in 33 runs so far in 2023, is 19 away from becoming the program's all-time leader in that statistic and she's also 13 walks and two sacrifice flies from reaching the top of the Utah leaderboard in those categories.
Denning has swiped 23 bases through 26 games and those thefts have pushed her into third-place all-time in school history with 90 steals. She needs 10 more to become only the third Ute to ever reach 100 career stolen bases.
More History for Hogue
One season after becoming the all-time wins leader in the history of Utah softball, head coach Amy Hogue has already surpassed two more milestones in 2023. With her team's win on Friday over Northern Colorado, Hogue became the first coach to reach 400 wins in program and two days later, she picked up the 600th victory of her head coaching career.
Lopez Named First Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week
For the first time since 2017, a Utah pitcher was honored with a weekly award. Mariah Lopez earned the title of Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week after starting the season with 14 1/3 scoreless innings and three straight victories. The last Utah pitcher to receive a weekly award was Miranda Viramontes, who was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in 2017.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
March 31-April 2 Schedule
| Date | Game | Live Stats/Watch |
| March 31 | Utah vs. California | Live Stats / Watch |
| April 1 | Utah vs. California | Live Stats / Watch |
| April 2 | Utah vs. California | Live Stats / Watch |
How to Follow
All three contests can be found on the Pac-12 family of networks, including Pac-12 Mountain, which will carry all three games live. Links to live stats can be found on UtahUtes.com.
Last Time Out
The Utes maintained their first place standing in the Pac-12 by taking two of three in a wild series on the road against Arizona. After Utah took the series opener on Friday, both clubs spent the next two days locked into a pair of slugfests and, after a narrow loss on Saturday, the Utes staged their largest comeback in almost eight years to collect the finale and with it, a series win.
A complete game effort from Mariah Lopez, as well as four Utah homers helped propel the visitors to a victory on Friday and put them at 4-0 in league play for the first time since joining the Pac-12. The Utes nearly took the second game of the series before the Wildcats rallied, but Utah returned the favor on Sunday.
Facing deficits of 7-1 and 11-5, coach Amy Hogue's lineup erupted for eight runs over the last three innings, propelling in part by Abby Dayton, who tallied four RBIs, and Sophie Jacquez, who came up with a pair of clutch hits to drive in runs in the fifth and sixth. Ellessa Bonstrom provided the Utah with its first lead of the day by blasting a two-run homer in the seventh and Halle Morris, who didn't allow a single baserunner of the final three frames, took care of the rest for her first win of the season.
This is the first time since joining the Pac-12 the Utes have won their first two series in league play and the first time overall they've accomplished that feat since 2011.
Scouting the Opposition
With a 22-8-1 overall record, the Golden Bears need only seven more victories to reach their highest win total since 2018, which was also their most recent 30-win campaign. Coach Chelsea Spencer has seen her team pick up several impressive victories along the way, none more notable than an 8-0 trouncing of No. 2 UCLA on March 11 and California is also coming off its first conference series victory of the year, as they spent March 24-26 taking two of three from Arizona State.
Home runs have been the most consistent weapon in the arsenal of the Cal offense and their 42 round-trippers are tied for the most in the Pac-12. So far in 2023, 11 different Golden Bears have rounded the bases at least once and Makena Smith's 10 dingers have her tied for third in the league. Smith already has a pair of two-homer games to her credit, one of which came in a Feb. 17 victory over Long Beach, a game in which Smith knocked in five runs.
No one on the California pitching staff has been tougher on opponents than junior Haylei Archer, who leads the team in nearly every pitching statistic and is in the top 10 in the conference in ERA and saves. Her best outing of the year came on Feb. 26 against Texas Tech, when she shutout the Red Raiders for seven innings and permitted only four hits. Spencer's stable of arms also includes sophomore Annabel Teperson, who secured her team's series win over ASU with a complete-game shutout on March 25.
Team Stat Leaders (as of 3/29/23)
| Batting Avg. | Aliya Belarde | .457 | |
| Slugging % | Ellessa Bonstrom | .814 | |
| On Base % | Ellessa Bonstrom | .516 | |
| Runs Scored | Haley Denning | 31 | |
| Hits | Aliya Belarde | 42 | |
| RBI | Ellessa Bonstrom | 33 | |
| Doubles | Sophie Jacquez Aliya Belarde |
7 | |
| Home Runs | Ellessa Bonstrom | 8 | |
| Stolen Bases | Haley Denning | 23 | |
| ERA | Sydney Sandez | 2.16 (69.1 IP) |
| K's | Mariah Lopez | 81 |
| Wins | Sydney Sandez | 10 |
Pac-12 Rankings - Individual
- Aliya Belarde's 42 hits are tied for third-most in the Pac-12 and she is the only player in the top five who has played fewer than 30 games in 2023. Belarde is also tied with several players, including Sophie Jacquez, in ninth in the conference in doubles with seven.
- Haley Denning, Belarde and Ellessa Bonstrom are all in the top 10 in the league in runs scored, with Denning's 31 placing her second, Belarde sharing third with 30 and Bonstrom tied for ninth with 26.
- Bonstrom has cracked eight homers so far in her senior season, a total that has her tied for eighth in the Pac-12 and she's also in fourth in RBIs with 33, 10th in walks with 14 and is in the top five in both on-base percentage and slugging.
- Denning continues to maintain a tight grip on the league lead in stolen bases with 23 and five more Utes own places in the top 10, including Belarde and Bonstrom, who are tied for third with 12 steals apiece.
- Belarde's .457 average is tied for second in the Pac-12 and Sophie Jacquez and Haley Denning both also own places in the top 10.
- Both Sydney Sandez and Mariah Lopez can claim spots inside the conference in the top 10 in wins, with Sandez's 10 placing her fifth and Lopez is tied for eighth with eight.
- Sandez's 2.16 ERA stands as the Pac-12's ninth-best mark.
- Lopez has struck out 81 batters so far in 2023, fifth-most in the conference and she's in the top 10 in strikeout rate and complete games as well.
Pac-12 Rankings - Team
- The Utes have stolen 73 bases so far in 2023, by far the most in the league and 22 more than second-place Washington.
- Utah's .341 team batting average is the Pac-12's second-highest mark and the squad's on-base percentage of .402 has them in third.
- The Utah pitching staff has crafted a 2.37 ERA, good enough for third in the conference.
National Rankings – Individual
- Denning is in eighth in Division I in steals with 23 and her rate of 1.19 runs scored per game is the nation's 14th-best.
- Aliya Belarde's 42 hits are tied for 23rd in Division I, while her .457 average has her tied for 21st. She also averages 1.15 runs scored per game, putting her 16th in the country.
- Ellessa Bonstrom has driven in 33 runs in 2023, putting her in a tie for 27th in the country and she owns the nation's 22nd-best slugging percentage.
- Sydney Sandez has piled up 10 victories, which has her tied for 21st in Division I.
National Rankings – Team
- Utah has batted .340 so far in 2023, seventh-best in the country and the Utes are also seventh in Division I in scoring, averaging 7.15 runs per game, and tied for 14th in the nation in stolen bases with 73.
- The nine shutouts the Utes have put up are tied for 20th in Division I.
- Utah's offense can lay claim to the nation's 25th-best slugging percentage with a mark of .512 and their .401 on-base percentage is good enough for 26th.
Utah Softball Remains Ranked in All Four Top 25 Polls
For a second straight week, the Utes carved out a place in all four national polls. The Utes held on to the No. 19 spot in both the D1Softball.com and ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, while Softball America put the Utes at No. 20 and the USA Today/ NFCA poll slid the Utes into the No. 24 spot.
Bonstrom, Dayton Recognized with Pac-12 Weekly Awards
Ellessa Bonstrom and Abby Dayton were recognized by the Pac-12 on March 20. Bonstrom received her second Pac-12 Player of the Week award in two weeks, while Dayton became the first Ute in six years to be named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. Bonstrom is only the second Utah softball player to ever collect two player of the week awards in one season, matching a feat accomplished by Hannah Flippen in 2015.
Turn It Up to an 11
From Feb. 26 to March 17, the Utes strung together an 11-game win streak, their longest since they also on 11-in-a-row in 2017. Six of the victories during that run belonged to Sydney Sandez, who crafted a 0.49 ERA. At the plate, the Utes hit .369 as a team, led by Aliya Belarde's .500 average and Ellessa Bonstrom's six homers and 20 RBIs.
Starting Fast
For 10 straight games, from Feb. 19 to March 6, the Utes put together a consecutive games streak of scoring the first inning. Utah has outscored its opponents 38-11 in the first inning and the only inning in which they've score more runs is the fourth, where they've piled up 40. The Utes also scored in the first inning both of their victories over Arizona.
Milestone Watch
Ellessa Bonstrom and Haley Denning both entered the year with significant milestones within their reach and they've continued to close in those accomplishments. Bonstrom, who has driven in 33 runs so far in 2023, is 19 away from becoming the program's all-time leader in that statistic and she's also 13 walks and two sacrifice flies from reaching the top of the Utah leaderboard in those categories.
Denning has swiped 23 bases through 26 games and those thefts have pushed her into third-place all-time in school history with 90 steals. She needs 10 more to become only the third Ute to ever reach 100 career stolen bases.
More History for Hogue
One season after becoming the all-time wins leader in the history of Utah softball, head coach Amy Hogue has already surpassed two more milestones in 2023. With her team's win on Friday over Northern Colorado, Hogue became the first coach to reach 400 wins in program and two days later, she picked up the 600th victory of her head coaching career.
Lopez Named First Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week
For the first time since 2017, a Utah pitcher was honored with a weekly award. Mariah Lopez earned the title of Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week after starting the season with 14 1/3 scoreless innings and three straight victories. The last Utah pitcher to receive a weekly award was Miranda Viramontes, who was named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week in 2017.
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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