Friday, April 5
Salt Lake City, UT
10 a.m.
University of Utah
22-12-1, 0
3
vs
1
No. 22 Arizona
21-15, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | X | 3 | 7 | 0 |
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Lopez, Mariah (1-8)
L: Stoddard, Miranda (2-7)
Batting:
HR: Scupin, Carlie 1
RBI: Scupin, Carlie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Scupin, Carlie 1
Batting:
2B: Belarde, Aliya 1
HR: Jacobs, Taylor 1
RBI: Dayton, Abby 1 ; Jacquez, Sophie 1 ; Jacobs, Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Nelsen, Kaylah 1 ; Jacobs, Taylor 1
SB: Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Dayton, Abby 1
CS: Denning, Haley 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Clutch Hitting Helps Utah Softball Split with No. 22 Arizona
4/5/2024 4:29 PM | Softball
Jacobs clouts first career homer in game one victory
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah softball team collected a slew of clutch hits on Friday to earn a split of their doubleheader with the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats, taking game one, 3-1, but falling in the rematch, 10-8, in Pac-12 Conference action at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City.
The Utes now own a record of 21-16 and 4-10 in conference play, while the Wildcats are 23-12-1 and 6-8.
"Game one was really fun," said coach Amy Hogue. "Coach Kai said it best when she said we had all three, great pitching, solid defense and clutch hitting. I was so happy with the game Mariah threw. She got ahead, hit her spots and therefore her defense was in the right spots to receive the ball.
And what a big hit for [Taylor Jacobs]! Her first career hit was a home run. Not a lot of players can claim that feat and on the day before her birthday! I was so happy for her."
GAME ONE
Both Lopez and Arizona's Miranda Stoddard spent the first three innings making life difficult for both team's hitters. Lopez retired the first nine batters she faced, then used a double play to erase the Wildcats' first baserunner in the fourth. Stoddard induced a double-play grounder to end the second, then retired the side in order in the third.
The Utes broke through in the bottom of the fourth, which began with an Aliya Belarde double and she took third on a Kaylah Nelsen single. A bunt single by Abby Dayton plated Belarde with the day's first run, then Nelsen came across on a Sophie Jacquez groundout.
In the fifth, Arizona quickly got a run back on a Carlie Scupin homer, but Taylor Jacobs had a response for Utah in their half of the fifth. The redshirt freshman stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter and sent a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center for her first career hit, a solo homer that increased the home team's advantage to 3-1.
Lopez took over after that. The left-hander set down the last six Arizona hitters in order to close out her team-high 12th victory. Lopez gave up only two hits, walked no one and struck out six while tossing her 10th complete game of the season.
GAME TWO
Sarah Ladd began the second game by picking up where Lopez left off, keeping the visitors off the board through three innings, while a Haley Denning RBI single and a Belarde solo shot staked Utah to a 2-0 advantage.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Arizona responded with a three-run fourth to take the lead, but Utah answered with a four-spot in their half of the frame, keyed by a go-ahead two-run single off the bat of Stella Bennett. Belarde knocked in her second run of the day with a sacrifice fly two batters later and Nelsen followed by bouncing a run-scoring single through the middle.
The see-saw swung back to the Wildcats in the form of a three-run homer by Scupin that tied the score in the sixth and Arizona moved ahead by scoring twice in the seventh. Sophie Jacquez pulled the Utes level by lashing a two-run double into right in the bottom of the seventh, but another two-run deficit in the eighth proved too much for Utah to overcome.
"We let game two get away from us," said Hogue "It was a dog fight. A lot of good things happened and yet, we were short because of a few mistakes on both sides of the game. I'm looking forward to the rubber match. I expect we will bounce back and fight hard for the series win."
Up Next
After a day off on Saturday, the Utes and Wildcats will play their series finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
The Utes now own a record of 21-16 and 4-10 in conference play, while the Wildcats are 23-12-1 and 6-8.
"Game one was really fun," said coach Amy Hogue. "Coach Kai said it best when she said we had all three, great pitching, solid defense and clutch hitting. I was so happy with the game Mariah threw. She got ahead, hit her spots and therefore her defense was in the right spots to receive the ball.
And what a big hit for [Taylor Jacobs]! Her first career hit was a home run. Not a lot of players can claim that feat and on the day before her birthday! I was so happy for her."
GAME ONE
Both Lopez and Arizona's Miranda Stoddard spent the first three innings making life difficult for both team's hitters. Lopez retired the first nine batters she faced, then used a double play to erase the Wildcats' first baserunner in the fourth. Stoddard induced a double-play grounder to end the second, then retired the side in order in the third.
The Utes broke through in the bottom of the fourth, which began with an Aliya Belarde double and she took third on a Kaylah Nelsen single. A bunt single by Abby Dayton plated Belarde with the day's first run, then Nelsen came across on a Sophie Jacquez groundout.
B5 | ???????????? ?????????? ?????? ??????!
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) April 5, 2024
Taylor Jacobs' first career hit is a pinch-hit solo homer!
?? https://t.co/B7iiXPqokZ
?? https://t.co/Op3jsxYo6I#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/dV6eTSFMvC
In the fifth, Arizona quickly got a run back on a Carlie Scupin homer, but Taylor Jacobs had a response for Utah in their half of the fifth. The redshirt freshman stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter and sent a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center for her first career hit, a solo homer that increased the home team's advantage to 3-1.
Not bad for your first career hit.#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/njvM5GyIaD
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) April 5, 2024
Lopez took over after that. The left-hander set down the last six Arizona hitters in order to close out her team-high 12th victory. Lopez gave up only two hits, walked no one and struck out six while tossing her 10th complete game of the season.
GAME TWO
Sarah Ladd began the second game by picking up where Lopez left off, keeping the visitors off the board through three innings, while a Haley Denning RBI single and a Belarde solo shot staked Utah to a 2-0 advantage.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Arizona responded with a three-run fourth to take the lead, but Utah answered with a four-spot in their half of the frame, keyed by a go-ahead two-run single off the bat of Stella Bennett. Belarde knocked in her second run of the day with a sacrifice fly two batters later and Nelsen followed by bouncing a run-scoring single through the middle.
The see-saw swung back to the Wildcats in the form of a three-run homer by Scupin that tied the score in the sixth and Arizona moved ahead by scoring twice in the seventh. Sophie Jacquez pulled the Utes level by lashing a two-run double into right in the bottom of the seventh, but another two-run deficit in the eighth proved too much for Utah to overcome.
"We let game two get away from us," said Hogue "It was a dog fight. A lot of good things happened and yet, we were short because of a few mistakes on both sides of the game. I'm looking forward to the rubber match. I expect we will bounce back and fight hard for the series win."
Up Next
After a day off on Saturday, the Utes and Wildcats will play their series finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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