SALT LAKE CITY – Two wins separate the University of Utah softball team from its first berth in the Women's College World Series since 1994, but before the Utes can book their tickets for Oklahoma City, they'll have to get past the San Diego State Aztecs in an NCAA Super Regional series that will begin on Friday at the Dumke Family Softbal Stadium.
This best-of-three brouhaha will begin with a Friday night fight with the first pitch scheduled to be thrown at 8 p.m. Saturday's matchup will start at 3 p.m. and the start time for Sunday's contest is to be decided.
NCAA Super Regional Schedule May 26-28
How to Follow
The opener between the Utes and the Aztecs will be broadcast live on ESPN2, while the ESPN family of networks will carry games two and three.
Last Time Out
The Utah offense has been an unstoppable force through the team's first six postseason games, hitting better than .390 and averaging more than seven runs per game. The Utes have also recorded multiple extra base hits in each contest, piling up 18 in total.
No one in head coach
Amy Hogue's lineup has swung a more dangerous bat than
Karlie Davison, who has homered four times, driven in nine runs and owns a 1.000 postseason slugging percentage. She started the scoring in her squad's regional final win over Ole Miss with a two-run tater, just two days after setting a career-high with five RBIs in the regional opener against Southern Illinois. Over her last nine games, Davison has gone deep nine times and this hot streak has moved her to the top of the team leaderboard in that statistic.
Davison is far from the only Ute swinging a scorching bat as eight Utah batters own postseason averages over .300, led by
Sophie Jacquez's .567 clip and
Haley Denning's .500 mark. Jacquez has picked up at least one hit in all six conference and regional tournament tilts, including a pair of three hit games to go with five RBIs. Denning, meanwhile, is 10-for-17 over her last five games and has scored five runs, while
Abby Dayton and
Julia Jimenez are both hitting .400.
In the circle,
Mariah Lopez has won her last seven starts, including five of Utah's six postseason triumphs. Over those last seven outings, Lopez has crafted a 1.58 ERA and tossed six complete games, recording the final out in each regional win and her ERA has dropped to 2.19, fifth-best in the Pac-12. Lopez's run of consecutive triumphs has bumped her victory total to 21 making her Utah's first 20-game winner since Generra Nielson also reached 21 in that category in 2012.
Scouting the Opposition
Utah's opponent in this super regional kerfuffle will be the San Diego State Aztecs, who won the Los Angeles Regional to secure their first-ever trip to supers. The Aztecs permitted only three runs total in their three regional matchups, recording back-to-back shutouts to start the tournament before a 6-3 clincher over Liberty.
In both blankings, the Aztecs used three pitchers, all of whom threw up zeroes. In their opener, also against the Flames, Allie Light, Dee Dee Hernandez and Sarah Lehman combined to give up only four hits and no walks as SDSU cruised, 7-0. One day later, the same trio held Grand Canyon to two hits and struck out 12 to push the Aztecs ahead to the regional final, where Light fired 6 1/3 frames of three-run ball before Hernandez got the final two outs for the save. These three hurlers helped their team post a 2.61 ERA in 2023, the best in the Mountain West Conference.
SDSU can also claim to their league's best batting average, a .309 mark that is buoyed by four players who've hit better than .350. Three Aztecs sit inside the MWC top 10 in RBIs, led by Jillian Celis and her 48 and the lineup is also powered by sophomore Mac Barbara and her 13 homers, giving her a .693 slugging percentage that places her third on the league leaderboard. The Aztecs have scored at least five runs in all six of their postseason games and will be attempting to continue that streak in Salt Lake City.
Team Stat Leaders (as of 5/24/23)
Pac-12 Rankings - Individual
- The Utes have 23 different individual marks inside the Pac-12's top 10 and no one has more than Ellessa Bonstrom, who is in the top 10 in seven different statistics. She's scored the fourth-most runs in the league (45), ranks fifth in RBIs with 52, sixth in walks with 26 and is also in the top 10 in steals, on-base percentage, doubles and slugging.
- Aliya Belarde can claim spots in the Pac-12's top five in four different statistics and she's in second place in runs scored, with 51, hits, with 72, and batting average, with a .400 clip. She also owns the league's third-highest stolen base total with 16.
- Haley Denning remains the conference leader in steals with 31 and she also sits in a tie for third in hits with 68 and her runs scored total of 45 places her in a tie for fourth.
- Sophie Jacquez is in the top 10 in three different categories in the Pac-12, owning eighth-place in hits with 61, while her 12 doubles and .381 average place her ninth.
- Julia Jimenez has piled up 14 doubles in 2023, tied for second-most in the Pac-12 and her 47 RBIs have her tied for seventh.
- Jordyn Gasper's three triples have her tied for third in the conference, while Karlie Davison's 11 homers are tied for ninth in the league.
- No one in the Pac-12 has thrown more innings than Mariah Lopez and her 175 2/3. Her 21 victories place her second in the conference, she's tied for second in complete games with 14, third in strikeouts with 184 and Lopez's 2.19 ERA has her in fifth.
Pac-12 Rankings - Team
- The Utes have moved into the top three in nearly every offensive category and they remain the top team in the Pac-12 in stolen bases with 96, 19 more than the second-place squad.
- Utah owns the league's second-highest total in hits, with 522, doubles, with 80, and triples, with 13. The squad's .330 batting average puts them behind only UCLA's .336.
- The Utes run total of 330 lands them in third place in Pac-12.
National Rankings – Individual
- Aliya Belarde has been one of the best players in the country at the plate in 2023, as evidenced by her 72 hits, T-25th-most in the nation, and her stat line also includes 0.96 runs per game, 27th nationally and her .400 batting puts her 45th in Division I.
- Mariah Lopez's 21 wins have her tied for 21st in the country and she's 41st in the nation in strikeouts with 184.
- Haley Denning has wreaked havoc on the base paths to the tune of 31 steals in 2023, tying her for 21st in Division I.
- Ellessa Bonstrom has driven in 52 runs in 2023 at an average 0.98 RBIs per game, the 35th-highest rate in the nation.
National Rankings – Team
- Utah has continued to climb the national rankings in several categories during the postseason and they now own the nation's fourth-highest batting average at .330 and rank 13th in runs per game with an average of 6.23.
- The Utes have also carved out spots in the national top 50 in doubles per game, where they rank 25th, on-base percentage, where they're 28th, stolen bases per game, owning the 29th-highest rate and slugging, where they sit 32nd.
Super Regional/CWS History
This is the third time in program history the Utes have reached NCAA Super Regionals and the first time they're serving as a host. The Utes were defeated in both of their previous trips to supers, falling to Washington in 2017 and dropping two games to Florida State in 2016. Utah is trying to return to the College World Series for the first time since 1994.
Postseason Firepower
Utah's bats have been red-hot in the postseason to the tune of a .392 average.
Sophie Jacquez has batted .579 in her team's six postseason contests,
Haley Denning is hitting .500 and
Karlie Davison owns a 1.000 slugging percentage with four homers in 20 at-bats.
Utah's New RBI Leader
With her sixth-inning RBI triple against Ole Miss on Saturday,
Ellessa Bonstrom became Utah's all-time leader in career RBIs with 176, surpassing the mark set by Cyndee Bennett, who drove in 175 runs from 1994-97.
Stealing the Top Spot
Utah's 96 steals so far in 2023 are not only the most in the Pac-12, but also a program record for a single season, surpassing the 92 bases swiped by the 1994 squad.
40 Wins for the Utes
This Utah squad is the seventh in program history to reach 40 wins and the first since the 2006 team that also logged 40 victories. The Utes have not surpassed 40 wins since they reached 42 in 2000. The squad's .755 win percentage also currently stands second-best in school history, bettered only by the .797 mark posted in 1994.
Undisputed
The Utes captured the first-ever Pac-12 Tournament Championship on May 13, their first title since entering the Pac-12. It also goes down as the 10th tournament title in program history and the first since the Utes won the Mountain West Tournament in 2006.
Mariah's Making Good
Mariah Lopez's trophy case has gotten very full in 2023. In addition to being named First-Team All-Pac-12 Lopez was twice named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, twice picked as the Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week and earned the Pac-12 Tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
Putting the U in Eugene
The Utes had never before won a series at Jane Sanders Stadium or swept the Oregon Ducks at any site until they spent the weekend of May 5-7 sweeping the No. 13 Ducks on the road. That accomplishment gave Utah multiple sweeps of ranked opponents for the first time since 2017, when they swept No. 10 UCLA and No. 2 California.
Lopez No-Hits Ducks
Mariah Lopez fired the 17th seven-inning no-hitter in program history, the first since 2012, on May 7 in a 2-0 triumph over Oregon. After encountering a pair of threats early, Lopez allowed only a single baserunner over the final five frames, setting down 15 of the 16 hitters she faced to finish with a spotless final line that included six strikeouts. The junior Arizona finished her masterpiece with a perfect sixth, followed by a seventh inning in which she struck out the side.
Player of the Week History
For their efforts against Oregon,
Karlie Davison was recognized as the Pac-12 Freshman and Player of the Week and
Mariah Lopez won Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors. Lopez, who was also named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on April 17, is the first Ute to ever snag that award twice in one season, while Davison is the first Utah player to ever win both player and freshman of the week simultaneously.
Piling Up Ks
Mariah Lopez has racked 184 strikeouts in 2023, more than twice as many as she collected as a sophomore. That total is also the highest by a Utah pitcher in more than a decade, since Generra Nielsen piled up 294 punchouts in 2012.
By the Numbers with the Bases Loaded
Utah's pitching staff has been at its best with the sacks packed, holding opponents to a .200 clip in 45 bases-loaded at-bats. By contrast, Utah's hitters are batting .391 when the bases are full.
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 needs only one more walk and one more sacrifice fly to set a new Utah all-time record in that statistic.
Denning has swiped 31 bases and those thefts have pushed her into third-place all-time in school history with 98 steals. She needs two more to become only the third Ute to ever reach 100 career stolen bases.
Conquering the Cardinal
The Utes home sweep over the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal represents the highest ranked team Utah has ever swept in a series. In game one, the Utes pounded out 12 hits, the most Stanford had allowed in a game to that point. The five runs Utah scored in game three represented the second-highest run total for any team against the Cardinal in 2023.
Three is a Charm
Utah's hitters have piled up 22 three-hit games through in 2023, putting them far ahead of last season's total of eight in that statistic. No Ute had more than two three-hit performances to their credit a year ago, but so far in 2023,
Aliya Belarde has accomplished that feat five times
Haley Denning has reached that number four times and
Ellessa Bonstrom and
Sophie Jacquez have each done it thrice.
Starting Fast
The Utes have a higher run-differential in the first inning that in any other frame, outscoring opponents 62-16 in that stanza. The 62 runs also match Utah's highest total for runs scored in any inning as they've also scored 62 runs in the fourth inning. For 10 straight games, from Feb. 19 to March 6, the Utes put together a consecutive games streak of scoring the first inning.
Two-Out Utes
So far in 2023, the Utes have hit .335 with two outs and piled up 120 two-out RBIs, improving on their numbers from a year ago. In 2022, Utah's average with two outs stood at .266 and they finished the season with 95 two-out RBIs.
Seeing Double-Digits
Utah's 11-run outburst against Southern Illinois on May 19 was the seventh time they've tallied 10 or more runs in 2023, surpassing their total from 2022, when they accomplished that feat four times.
Opportunistic Offense
In 20 of their games in 2023, the Utes have forced their opponents into multiple miscues in the field and Utah is currently a perfect 20-0 in contests where the opposition makes multiple errors.
Dynamic Duo
Both Syndey Sandez and
Mariah Lopez have reached double-digit wins for the Utes in 2023, the first time since 2017 two Utes have topped the 10-win threshold. Lopez's 21 triumphs the most by a Ute since Generra Nielson won 21 in 2012, while Sandez's 13 tops her previous career-high of 12, which she set in 2021.
Dayton Does it Again
On April 10,
Abby Dayton was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second time. Dayton, who went 7-for-8 at the plate during the week, is the third Ute to receive multiple freshman of the week awards in a single season and the first since Ally Dickman in 2016. Katie Donovan accomplished this feat as well, doing so 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.
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 Feb. 10 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.
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