Upcoming Event: Softball versus UCSB on February 6, 2026 at 2 p.m.
2 p.m.
Softball
vs UCSB
The University of Utah Athletics
Saturday, April 8
Salt Lake City, UT
9:00 AM
University of Utah
8
vs
10
Arizona State
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
No. 18 Softball Splits Twin Bill with Sun Devils to Take Series
4/8/2023 5:03 PM | Softball
Utah holds on for game two triumph to take two of three
SALT LAKE CITY – Abby Dayton racked up seven hits and Julia Jimenez amassed five RBIs and the No. 18 University of Utah softball team secured a series victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils by splitting a Saturday doubleheader, dropping game one 10-8, but taking game two 8-6 on Saturday afternoon in Pac-12 Conference action at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium.
The Utes now own a 24-8 record in 2023, with an 8-4 mark the Pac-12. The Sun Devils are 21-13 for the year and 5-7 in league contests.
"I'm so happy we found a way to win this series," said head coach Amy Hogue. "It was a long day and took a lot of runs to get the win we needed today. We had some incredible performances at the plate today. [Julia Jimenez] came up with the giant bomb right when we needed it and Abby had seven straight hits which was incredible." Game One
This high-scoring affair started with both teams trading runs in the second inning before the Sun Devils moved back in front when their second run of the day came across on an error in the third. The Sun Devils extended their edge to 6-1 by pushing across four more runs in the fourth with a rally that saw seven straight ASU players reach base.
The Utes battled back by cobbling together their own rally in the fifth, putting their first two runners on, then counting three runs on RBI singles from Kaylah Nelsen and Aliya Belarde and an Ellessa Bonstrom fielder's choice. Unfortunately for the home team, ASU responded with another four-run frame in the seventh to go up 10-4.
In the bottom of the seventh, Utah staged one more comeback attempt and it was buoyed by a Shelbi Ortiz three-run shot. The Utes put the tying runs on base with two gone, but ASU's Marissa Schuld recorded the final out to bring the game to an end.
Game Two
In the series' finale, it was the Utah offense that put together the big inning and their seven-run second inning proved to be enough to get them the victory.
Utah's uprising started with a walk, a hit batter and an error to put runners on second and third and Dayton plated both players by lining a single into left-center. Four batters later, with the bases loaded, Bonstrom drew a walk to force in a run and that brought up Jimenez. Utah's third baseman unloaded on a 2-2 offering, sending it over the center field fence for a grand slam that made the score 7-0.
This was Jimenez's second four-run four-bagger of the season, as she also went deep with the bases loaded on March 4 against Niagara.
The Sun Devils got two of those runs back in the third, but the Utes boosted their lead to 8-2 on an RBI groundout off the bat of Belarde in the bottom of the stanza.
ASU continued to chip away at their deficit by way of the long ball, as Shannon Cunningham rounded the bases with one on in the fifth and Jazmine Hill added a two-run homer of her own in the sixth to slice the Utah lead to 8-6. The Sun Devils had a chance to completely erase the Utah advantage in the seventh, bringing up the tying run with two outs, but Sydney Sandez induced a ground ball to shortstop to retire the final batter and the Utes had their series triumph.
"We needed every single one of those runs to close out this game and to take the series," said Hogue. "Game three in every PAC-12 series is going to be a grind and today we came out on top. I'm proud of this group and hope they can build on this moving forward."
Up Next
The next game on the schedule for the Utes is on Monday and it will take them south to Provo, Utah for a 5 p.m. clash with the BYU Cougars
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
The Utes now own a 24-8 record in 2023, with an 8-4 mark the Pac-12. The Sun Devils are 21-13 for the year and 5-7 in league contests.
"I'm so happy we found a way to win this series," said head coach Amy Hogue. "It was a long day and took a lot of runs to get the win we needed today. We had some incredible performances at the plate today. [Julia Jimenez] came up with the giant bomb right when we needed it and Abby had seven straight hits which was incredible." Game One
This high-scoring affair started with both teams trading runs in the second inning before the Sun Devils moved back in front when their second run of the day came across on an error in the third. The Sun Devils extended their edge to 6-1 by pushing across four more runs in the fourth with a rally that saw seven straight ASU players reach base.
The Utes battled back by cobbling together their own rally in the fifth, putting their first two runners on, then counting three runs on RBI singles from Kaylah Nelsen and Aliya Belarde and an Ellessa Bonstrom fielder's choice. Unfortunately for the home team, ASU responded with another four-run frame in the seventh to go up 10-4.
In the bottom of the seventh, Utah staged one more comeback attempt and it was buoyed by a Shelbi Ortiz three-run shot. The Utes put the tying runs on base with two gone, but ASU's Marissa Schuld recorded the final out to bring the game to an end.
Game Two
In the series' finale, it was the Utah offense that put together the big inning and their seven-run second inning proved to be enough to get them the victory.
Utah's uprising started with a walk, a hit batter and an error to put runners on second and third and Dayton plated both players by lining a single into left-center. Four batters later, with the bases loaded, Bonstrom drew a walk to force in a run and that brought up Jimenez. Utah's third baseman unloaded on a 2-2 offering, sending it over the center field fence for a grand slam that made the score 7-0.
This was Jimenez's second four-run four-bagger of the season, as she also went deep with the bases loaded on March 4 against Niagara.
The Sun Devils got two of those runs back in the third, but the Utes boosted their lead to 8-2 on an RBI groundout off the bat of Belarde in the bottom of the stanza.
ASU continued to chip away at their deficit by way of the long ball, as Shannon Cunningham rounded the bases with one on in the fifth and Jazmine Hill added a two-run homer of her own in the sixth to slice the Utah lead to 8-6. The Sun Devils had a chance to completely erase the Utah advantage in the seventh, bringing up the tying run with two outs, but Sydney Sandez induced a ground ball to shortstop to retire the final batter and the Utes had their series triumph.
"We needed every single one of those runs to close out this game and to take the series," said Hogue. "Game three in every PAC-12 series is going to be a grind and today we came out on top. I'm proud of this group and hope they can build on this moving forward."
Up Next
The next game on the schedule for the Utes is on Monday and it will take them south to Provo, Utah for a 5 p.m. clash with the BYU Cougars
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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