BERKELEY, Calif. – Despite multi-hit games from
Ellessa Bonstrom and
Shelbi Ortiz and a pair of RBIs courtesy of
Emily Capobianco, the No. 19 University of Utah softball team was narrowly defeated by the California Golden Bears on Sunday, 5-4, in Pac-12 Conference action at Levine-Fricke Field.
Utah's 2023 overall record is now 22-7 and they're 6-3 in Pac-12 play. California is 24-9-1 on the season and 6-5-1 in conference.
Neither side could break the scoreless tie through the first two innings, but California found its offense in the third, putting two runners on for Elon Butler, who delivered a three-run home run that put the home team on top first.
The Utes wasted no time responding, loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth before Ortiz dunked a two-run double into left and Capobianco immediately followed with a two-run two-bagger of her own to catapult Utah into the lead. Unfortunately for the Utes, those runs represented the only scoring they would do in the game and the Golden Bears soon found an answer of their own.
California tied the game in their half of the fourth thanks to a solo shot off the bat of Sophie Medellin and when Elon Butler went deep again in the sixth, the Golden Bears had a lead that would stand up in the top of the seventh.
Up Next
The Utes are scheduled to return home for a three-game series against Arizona State that will begin with a 4 p.m. matchup on Thursday.
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Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter:
@Utah_Softball |Instagram:
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Facebook.com/Utessoftball).