Upcoming Event: Softball versus Salt Lake Community College on October 21, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Softball
vs Salt Lake Community College
Sunday, February 25
Palm Springs, Calif.
10 a.m.
University of Utah
8-6
9
vs
5
Nebraska
7-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Utah
0
0
0
0
3
5
1
9
9
0
Nebraska
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
5
10
3
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ladd, Sarah (5-2)
L: Kinney, Kaylin (4-5)
Batting:
HR: Dayton, Abby 1
RBI: Denning, Haley 2 ; Belarde, Aliya 2 ; Dayton, Abby 2 ; Nelsen, Kaylah 2
SH: Davison, Karlie 1
SF: Belarde, Aliya 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Denning, Haley 2 ; Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Dayton, Abby 1 ; Davison, Karlie 1 ; Melendez, Leilani 1 ; Sakai, Sianni 1 ; Ortiz, Shelbi 1 ; Bennett, Stella 1
SB: Denning, Haley 1 ; Lee, Reese 1 ; Sakai, Sianni 1
Batting:
2B: Gray, Sydney 1
HR: Andrews, Billie 1 ; Bland, Samantha 1
RBI: Andrews, Billie 1 ; Bland, Samantha 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Andrews, Billie 1 ; Malecha, Mckinley 1 ; Bredwell, Ava 1 ; Bacon, Bella 1 ; Bland, Samantha 1
HBP: Gray, Sydney 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballUTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Dayton, Ladd Spark No. 20 Softball’s Comeback Win Over Nebraska
2/25/2024 2:58 PM | Softball
After falling behind 5-0, Utes come all the way back to win 9-5
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Abby Dayton smacked her first career home run, Sarah Ladd fired 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and the No. 20 University of Utah softball team wiped out a 5-0 deficit to storm back for a 9-5 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday morning on the final day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic at the Big League Dreams Complex in Cathedral City, Calif.
The Utes finish the Mary Nutter Classic with three wins in five tries and an 8-6 overall mark.
"I am proud of this team finding a way to win that game," said coach Amy Hogue. "It was so critical for this group. I like the way they hung in there and had Mariah's back. Sarah came in and threw a scoreless 4 2/3 and closed it out perfectly.
"Abby was the biggest highlight for me. She hit her first career home run today and it came at such a critical time for us. She had a ridiculous weekend, batting .750 and she battled to get her hits in many different ways. It was fun to watch her."
Neither side could find a run in the first two innings, but the Cornhuskers changed that in the third with a five-run uprising, capped by a Samantha Bland grand slam. That 5-0 Utah deficit was still intact when the Utes came to bat in the fifth.
A single, an error and a stolen base put two runners on in that stanza with only one out and Aliya Belarde lifted a sacrifice fly into center to get the Utes on the board. The next batter was Dayton and she rocketed a 2-0 pitch to center that cleared the fence for a two-run homer to make the score 5-3.
In the sixth, the Utes cobbled together their own five-run rally to move in front. Back-to-back walks got the inning started and a two-out free pass loaded the bases for Haley Denning, who poked a single over shortstop that plated a pair and evened the score. One batter later, Belarde slapped a go-ahead RBI single into left for Utah's first lead and Kaylah Nelsen followed with a bouncer through the middle that drove in two more and capped the rally with Utah up, 8-5.
The Utes tacked on an insurance tally in the seventh, but Ladd already had all the runs she needed. After entering the circle in the third, the senior southpaw didn't walk a batter and held Nebraska without an extra base hit. She held the Cornhuskers at bay by stranding two runners in the fourth and she didn't allow a runner to reach second base after that. Ladd put up one more zero in the seventh to complete Utah's comeback victory.
Up Next
The next event on the schedule for the Utes is the Trailblazer Tournament in St. George, Utah, where they'll play five times in three days.
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
The Utes finish the Mary Nutter Classic with three wins in five tries and an 8-6 overall mark.
"I am proud of this team finding a way to win that game," said coach Amy Hogue. "It was so critical for this group. I like the way they hung in there and had Mariah's back. Sarah came in and threw a scoreless 4 2/3 and closed it out perfectly.
"Abby was the biggest highlight for me. She hit her first career home run today and it came at such a critical time for us. She had a ridiculous weekend, batting .750 and she battled to get her hits in many different ways. It was fun to watch her."
Neither side could find a run in the first two innings, but the Cornhuskers changed that in the third with a five-run uprising, capped by a Samantha Bland grand slam. That 5-0 Utah deficit was still intact when the Utes came to bat in the fifth.
A single, an error and a stolen base put two runners on in that stanza with only one out and Aliya Belarde lifted a sacrifice fly into center to get the Utes on the board. The next batter was Dayton and she rocketed a 2-0 pitch to center that cleared the fence for a two-run homer to make the score 5-3.
In the sixth, the Utes cobbled together their own five-run rally to move in front. Back-to-back walks got the inning started and a two-out free pass loaded the bases for Haley Denning, who poked a single over shortstop that plated a pair and evened the score. One batter later, Belarde slapped a go-ahead RBI single into left for Utah's first lead and Kaylah Nelsen followed with a bouncer through the middle that drove in two more and capped the rally with Utah up, 8-5.
The Utes tacked on an insurance tally in the seventh, but Ladd already had all the runs she needed. After entering the circle in the third, the senior southpaw didn't walk a batter and held Nebraska without an extra base hit. She held the Cornhuskers at bay by stranding two runners in the fourth and she didn't allow a runner to reach second base after that. Ladd put up one more zero in the seventh to complete Utah's comeback victory.
Up Next
The next event on the schedule for the Utes is the Trailblazer Tournament in St. George, Utah, where they'll play five times in three days.
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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