SALT LAKE CITY – After falling behind 7-2, the University of Utah softball team roared back with eight unanswered runs to topple the No. 24 Oregon Ducks by a score of 10-7 on Saturday afternoon in Pac-12 Conference action at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City.
This ups Utah's record to 15-10 in 2024 and they are 1-4 in conference. The Ducks are also 15-10 and 3-2 in league play.
"Today was a great team win," said coach
Amy Hogue. "We found a way to score the runs we needed to and Mariah got better as the game went. I'm proud of this team and look forward to having the opportunity to win the series tomorrow."
The scoring started early for both squads, with Oregon striking first on an Ariel Carlson solo homer and the Utes answering in their half of the frame on a
Julia Jimenez two-run knock. The Ducks seized control soon after, however, putting together a five-run rally in the second and adding one more in the third to gain a 7-2 advantage.
Utah's uprising began quietly in the bottom of the third, thanks to an RBI single by
Kaylah Nelsen, but the Utes made more noise in the fourth. A one-out walk and a hit brought
Reese Lee to the plate and she dropped a run-scoring double just inside the right field line to cut the deficit to three.
Haley Denning followed with a bloop double into left that plated two more and, two batters later, Utah's left fielder raced home on a passed ball to knot the score at seven.
The bottom of the fifth began with a Nelsen safety and a walk to Jimenez and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. When
Sophie Jacquez then sent a line drive single through the middle, pinch-runner
Shelbi Ortiz came across with the tie-breaking tally. A Denning infield hit brought in Jimenez to make the score 9-7 and when Oregon committed a bases-loaded error moments later, Utah's edge increased to three runs.
In the circle,
Mariah Lopez made sure there would be no response from the Ducks. She shook off a difficult start to her outing by throwing up four straight zeroes to collect her seventh win. She finished off the day with a perfect seventh that iced her team's comeback triumph.
Up Next
The Utes and the Ducks will lock horns one more time in Salt Lake City, facing off in an 11 a.m. contest on Sunday to decide the series.
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/.
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Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter:
@Utah_Softball |Instagram:
@utahsoftball | Facebook:
Facebook.com/Utessoftball).