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
The University of Utah Athletics
Friday, March 8
Los Angeles, CA
8 p.m.
University of Utah
at
No. 13 UCLA
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Pac-12 Play Begins for Utah Softball with Visit to No. 13 UCLA
3/7/2024 4:02 PM | Softball
Utes ride a seven-game win streak into first weekend of conference competition
SALT LAKE CITY – Seven straight wins have been rattled off by the University of Utah softball team, six of them during a road trip that's taken them to St. George, Utah and San Diego State, but the Utes' streak will now be put to the test when they kick-off Pac-12 play by visiting the No. 13 UCLA Bruins for a three-game series that stretch from Friday to Sunday at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles.
The first matchup between the Utes and the Bruins will begin at 7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT), followed by a 6 p.m. PT clash on Saturday before the series concludes with a 12 p.m. PT affair on Sunday.
March 8 – 10 Schedule
How to Follow
UCLA Live Stream-2 will be the broadcast home of all three games during this series and fans can also keep up with live stats for each contest at Easton Stadium
Last Time Out
The Utes are in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season, having reeled off seven-in-a-row. They've downed four opponents during their run and their triumphs have included a come-from-behind effort against Nebraska, an extra-inning victory over Wisconsin, a perfect game thrown by Sarah Ladd at the expense of Utah Tech and a road conquest of San Diego State on Wednesday. Utah's excellence during their streak has been evidence by a .368 batting average, a scoring rate of more than seven runs per game and a 1.86 ERA.
The three Utes who've been swinging the hottest bats over the team's last seven games have been Aliya Belarde, Abby Dayton and Haley Denning, with the latter player recording .643 average during that period. The graduate student from Arizona has collected multiple hits in eight of her last nine games, including a 5-for-5 performance on March 2 and a 4-for-4 day on Monday. No one in the Pac-12 has more hits, runs scored or a higher batting average then Denning.
Just two spots behind Denning on the Pac-12's batting average leaderboard in Dayton, who's hitting .470 and has knocked in 10 runs over her last seven contests. Dayton has reached base safely in each of her last 11 games, improving her average by nearly 200 points over that span and has also blasted the first two homers of her Utah career. Belarde is riding a seven-game hit streak and had scored 11 runs during that time.
In the circle, Sarah Ladd has pitched to 1.05 ERA in 20 innings during Utah's unbeaten streak and opponents are hitting just .205 against her. On Sunday, she threw just the fourth seven-inning perfect game in program history and, against San Diego State, Ladd stranded eight total runners on base during a relief outing that garnered her win No. 7 in 2024. Only one player in the Pac-12 has more victories this season than Sarah Ladd.
Scouting the Opposition
At one point in the early part of 2024, the Bruins' record stood at 3-4, but since then, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez's bunch has captured eight of 10 decisions and they've outscored the opposition 38-5 in their last six outings. UCLA will also be looking for its 10th straight Pac-12 series victory.
After nearly taking home National Player of the Year honors in 2023, Maya Brady has picked up right where she left off, sporting a .364 average with a team-high 19 RBIs and 15 runs scored. Two of those dingers came in a Feb. 16 win over No. 7 Florida State and Brady also has six games to her credit in which she's knocked in multiple runs, including each of her team's last two matchups.
In the circle, no one has thrown more innings than Taylor Tinsley and she's crafted a 2.51 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. The 2023 All-Pac-12 Freshman Team pick has allowed only four earned runs over her last five appearances, including a complete-game shutout of Northwestern on Feb. 23. The lowest ERA on the UCLA staff belongs to freshman Kaitlyn Terry, who fired a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Weber State on March 2.
2024 Team Stat Leaders (as of 3/7/2024)
National Rankings
Pac-12 Rankings
21 Straight Outs for No. 21
On March 3, Sarah Ladd threw just the fourth seven-inning perfect game in Utah history by retiring all 21 Utah Tech hitters she faced in a 5-0 victory. Ladd is the first Utah pitcher to accomplish that feat since Ali Andrus-Sagas in 1995 and the first Ute to throw a perfect game of any type since Miranda Viramontes in 2017. Overall, it goes down as the ninth perfecto in school history.
Haley's the Hit Queen
On March 3, Haley Denning picked up the 264th hit of her Utah career, making her the program's all-time leader in that statistic. She surpassed the previous record of 263, which was set by three-time All-American Hannah Flippen, who played for the Utes from 2014-17.
Denning remains within striking distance of the all-time Utah records for career runs scored and stolen bases as well. She needs 17 more runs scored to best that career mark and 15 more steals to surpass the mark currently owned by Sandy Rhea.
Mariah Lopes Sets a New Career-High
On Monday, Mariah Lopez racked up 15 strikeouts in a complete game win over Utah Tech, setting a new career-high high. She struck out the side twice in that appearance and fell only a single punchout short of matching the program record.
Early Risers
The Utes have owned the early innings so far in 2024, outscoring their opponents 44-4 over the first two frames and they have only trailed after two innings once. Utah's largest first-inning rally so far in 2024 came on Feb. 23 against San Diego, when they erupted for five runs, including a pair of two-run knocks off the bats of Julia Jimenez and Kaylah Nelsen.
Multi-Hit Master Work
Utah's hitter have recorded 50 multi-hit games so far in 2024 and two of their leaders in that category have been Abby Dayton and Kaylah Nelsen. Dayton's numbers include six three-hit performances, matching Aliya Belarde's team-high six contests with three safeties a year ago.
Nelsen has picked up two hits in seven different bouts during her junior campaign, more than doubling her total from 2023. She also leads the squad in games with multiple RBIs with six.
No one has hit safely multiple times in a game more frequently than Denning, who's accomplished that feat 13 times. Over her last nine games, Denning has record at least two knocks eight times.
Batting with the Bases Full
The Utes started the season 0-for-5 with the bases loaded, but they've reversed that trend in a big way since. Over their 17 trips to the plate with the sacks packed, Utah has collected eight hits.
Senior Class
The 2024 season will be the last one in a Utah uniform for the program's eight-person senior class of Aliya Belarde, Stella Bennett, Haley Denning, Chloe Doyle, Sophie Jacquez, Julia Jimenez, Sarah Ladd and Mariah Lopez.
Five of those eight student-athletes have achieved all-conference status and both Denning and Jimenez can claim All-Pac-12 honors in multiple seasons.
Coaching Staff Additions
Two new faces have joined head coach Amy Hogue's staff for the 2024 campaign. Courtney Martinez comes to Utah from Iowa State and Kaija Gibson has donned Utah colors after spending two years with UCF.
Martinez spent six seasons with the Cyclones, helping the squad reset the program record for homers in a season three times and pile up 37 wins in 2019, the second-highest total in school history. She also helped tutor 2021 First-Team All-American Sami Williams.
Gibson, who not long ago was playing against the Utes with Washington, was part of two Golden Knights teams that won the AAC Tournament Championship to earn spots in the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, UCF rolled up 49 wins and Gibson and her colleagues were named the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year and the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
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 first matchup between the Utes and the Bruins will begin at 7 p.m. PT (8 p.m. MT), followed by a 6 p.m. PT clash on Saturday before the series concludes with a 12 p.m. PT affair on Sunday.
March 8 – 10 Schedule
| Date | Game | Live Stats/Watch |
| March 8 | Utah at UCLA | Live Stats / Watch |
| March 9 | Utah at UCLA | Live Stats / Watch |
| March 10 | Utah at UCLA | Live Stats / Watch |
How to Follow
UCLA Live Stream-2 will be the broadcast home of all three games during this series and fans can also keep up with live stats for each contest at Easton Stadium
Last Time Out
The Utes are in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season, having reeled off seven-in-a-row. They've downed four opponents during their run and their triumphs have included a come-from-behind effort against Nebraska, an extra-inning victory over Wisconsin, a perfect game thrown by Sarah Ladd at the expense of Utah Tech and a road conquest of San Diego State on Wednesday. Utah's excellence during their streak has been evidence by a .368 batting average, a scoring rate of more than seven runs per game and a 1.86 ERA.
The three Utes who've been swinging the hottest bats over the team's last seven games have been Aliya Belarde, Abby Dayton and Haley Denning, with the latter player recording .643 average during that period. The graduate student from Arizona has collected multiple hits in eight of her last nine games, including a 5-for-5 performance on March 2 and a 4-for-4 day on Monday. No one in the Pac-12 has more hits, runs scored or a higher batting average then Denning.
Just two spots behind Denning on the Pac-12's batting average leaderboard in Dayton, who's hitting .470 and has knocked in 10 runs over her last seven contests. Dayton has reached base safely in each of her last 11 games, improving her average by nearly 200 points over that span and has also blasted the first two homers of her Utah career. Belarde is riding a seven-game hit streak and had scored 11 runs during that time.
In the circle, Sarah Ladd has pitched to 1.05 ERA in 20 innings during Utah's unbeaten streak and opponents are hitting just .205 against her. On Sunday, she threw just the fourth seven-inning perfect game in program history and, against San Diego State, Ladd stranded eight total runners on base during a relief outing that garnered her win No. 7 in 2024. Only one player in the Pac-12 has more victories this season than Sarah Ladd.
Scouting the Opposition
At one point in the early part of 2024, the Bruins' record stood at 3-4, but since then, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez's bunch has captured eight of 10 decisions and they've outscored the opposition 38-5 in their last six outings. UCLA will also be looking for its 10th straight Pac-12 series victory.
After nearly taking home National Player of the Year honors in 2023, Maya Brady has picked up right where she left off, sporting a .364 average with a team-high 19 RBIs and 15 runs scored. Two of those dingers came in a Feb. 16 win over No. 7 Florida State and Brady also has six games to her credit in which she's knocked in multiple runs, including each of her team's last two matchups.
In the circle, no one has thrown more innings than Taylor Tinsley and she's crafted a 2.51 ERA over 55 2/3 innings. The 2023 All-Pac-12 Freshman Team pick has allowed only four earned runs over her last five appearances, including a complete-game shutout of Northwestern on Feb. 23. The lowest ERA on the UCLA staff belongs to freshman Kaitlyn Terry, who fired a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Weber State on March 2.
2024 Team Stat Leaders (as of 3/7/2024)
| Batting Avg. | Haley Denning | .529 | |
| Slugging % | Abby Dayton | .667 | |
| On Base % | Haley Denning | .535 | |
| Runs Scored | Haley Denning | 25 | |
| Hits | Haley Denning | 25 | |
| RBI | Kaylah Nelsen Julia Jimenez | 15 | |
| Doubles | Kaylah Nelsen | 7 | |
| Home Runs | Aliya Belarde Abby Dayton |
2 | |
| Stolen Bases | Haley Denning | 16 | |
| ERA | Sarah Ladd | 2.72 (62.0 IP) |
| K's | Mariah Lopez | 70 |
| Wins | Sarah Ladd | 7 |
National Rankings
- Haley Denning has climbed into the top 15 nationally four different statistics, including hits, where her total of 37 has her third. She's also fourth in the nation in steals, fifth in batting average and 15th in runs.
- Abby Dayton's hit total of 31 has her tied for 13th in the country and she's also hitting .470, good enough for 13th.
- Kaylah Nelsen's seven doubles put her in a tie for 37th in Division I and Aliya Belarde is tied for 48th in runs scored, with 22.
- Mariah Lopez has racked up the country's 13th-highest strikeout total and is also tied for 17th in the NCAA in innings pitched.
- Not far behind Lopez is Sarah Ladd, who's tied for 47th in innings pitched, but is also sharing 24th in wins with seven.
Pac-12 Rankings
- Haley Denning sits stop the Pac-12 rankings in four different statistics, leading the league in hits, runs, steals, and average. She's also second in the conference in on-base percentage at .535.
- Aliya Belarde is right behind her teammate on the runs scored leaderboard, putting her in third. Belarde's three triples have her tied for second in the league and she's also tied for eighth in hits.
- Abby Dayton owns the Pac-12's fourth-highest hit total, Kaylah Nelsen is tied for third in doubles with seven and Julia Jimenez's 10 walks put her in a tie for seventh.
- In the circle, both Sarah Ladd and Mariah Lopez can claim multiple top 10 spots in the Pac-12. Ladd is tied for the second in the league in wins with seven and Lopez is only a single spot behind her in fifth, but the Arizona natives leads the conference in innings pitched and is second in strikeouts. Ladd also ninth in the league in ERA, one spot ahead of Lopez.
- Utah has been the toughest team to strikeout in the Pac-12 so far in 2024 and that has also helped them accumulate the conference's second highest hit total with 190. The Utes are aso tied for second in triples with sixth and third in batting average, thanks to a .338 clip.
21 Straight Outs for No. 21
On March 3, Sarah Ladd threw just the fourth seven-inning perfect game in Utah history by retiring all 21 Utah Tech hitters she faced in a 5-0 victory. Ladd is the first Utah pitcher to accomplish that feat since Ali Andrus-Sagas in 1995 and the first Ute to throw a perfect game of any type since Miranda Viramontes in 2017. Overall, it goes down as the ninth perfecto in school history.
Haley's the Hit Queen
On March 3, Haley Denning picked up the 264th hit of her Utah career, making her the program's all-time leader in that statistic. She surpassed the previous record of 263, which was set by three-time All-American Hannah Flippen, who played for the Utes from 2014-17.
Denning remains within striking distance of the all-time Utah records for career runs scored and stolen bases as well. She needs 17 more runs scored to best that career mark and 15 more steals to surpass the mark currently owned by Sandy Rhea.
Mariah Lopes Sets a New Career-High
On Monday, Mariah Lopez racked up 15 strikeouts in a complete game win over Utah Tech, setting a new career-high high. She struck out the side twice in that appearance and fell only a single punchout short of matching the program record.
Early Risers
The Utes have owned the early innings so far in 2024, outscoring their opponents 44-4 over the first two frames and they have only trailed after two innings once. Utah's largest first-inning rally so far in 2024 came on Feb. 23 against San Diego, when they erupted for five runs, including a pair of two-run knocks off the bats of Julia Jimenez and Kaylah Nelsen.
Multi-Hit Master Work
Utah's hitter have recorded 50 multi-hit games so far in 2024 and two of their leaders in that category have been Abby Dayton and Kaylah Nelsen. Dayton's numbers include six three-hit performances, matching Aliya Belarde's team-high six contests with three safeties a year ago.
Nelsen has picked up two hits in seven different bouts during her junior campaign, more than doubling her total from 2023. She also leads the squad in games with multiple RBIs with six.
No one has hit safely multiple times in a game more frequently than Denning, who's accomplished that feat 13 times. Over her last nine games, Denning has record at least two knocks eight times.
Batting with the Bases Full
The Utes started the season 0-for-5 with the bases loaded, but they've reversed that trend in a big way since. Over their 17 trips to the plate with the sacks packed, Utah has collected eight hits.
Senior Class
The 2024 season will be the last one in a Utah uniform for the program's eight-person senior class of Aliya Belarde, Stella Bennett, Haley Denning, Chloe Doyle, Sophie Jacquez, Julia Jimenez, Sarah Ladd and Mariah Lopez.
Five of those eight student-athletes have achieved all-conference status and both Denning and Jimenez can claim All-Pac-12 honors in multiple seasons.
Coaching Staff Additions
Two new faces have joined head coach Amy Hogue's staff for the 2024 campaign. Courtney Martinez comes to Utah from Iowa State and Kaija Gibson has donned Utah colors after spending two years with UCF.
Martinez spent six seasons with the Cyclones, helping the squad reset the program record for homers in a season three times and pile up 37 wins in 2019, the second-highest total in school history. She also helped tutor 2021 First-Team All-American Sami Williams.
Gibson, who not long ago was playing against the Utes with Washington, was part of two Golden Knights teams that won the AAC Tournament Championship to earn spots in the NCAA Tournament. In 2022, UCF rolled up 49 wins and Gibson and her colleagues were named the AAC Coaching Staff of the Year and the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
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).
Players Mentioned
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