Upcoming Event: Softball versus Utah Valley on October 2, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Softball
vs Utah Valley
Wednesday, April 10
Ogden, UT
3 p.m.
University of Utah
at
Weber State
Photo by: Eli Rehmer/Utah Athletics
Four-Game Road Trip Pits Utah Softball Against Wildcats, Sun Devils
4/9/2024 1:30 PM | Softball
Utes travel to Ogden on Wednesday before three-game set in Tempe
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah softball team just finished its longest stretch of home games on the squad's 2024 schedule and now they're preparing for a week on the road that will start on Wednesday, when they visit the Weber State Wildcats for a 3 p.m. matchup in Ogden, Utah at the Wildcat Softball Field.
The Utes will then travel to Tempe, Ariz., where they'll battle the Arizona State Sun Devils in a three-game series at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium, starting with a 6 p.m. MST (7 p.m. MT) clash on Friday, followed on Saturday by a 5 p.m. MST meeting and closing out the set with a 12 p.m. MST finale on Sunday.
April 10 – 14 Schedule
How to Follow
ESPN+ will be the streaming home for the game between the Utes and the Wildcats, while all three contests in Tempe can be viewed through the ASU Live Stream.
Last Time Out
The Utes posted a winning record during their recently completed seven-game homestand and Aliya Belarde was one of the biggest reasons why. The senior from California has picked up multiple hits in each of Utah's last five games, a stretch during which she's hit .722 and raised her batting average by more than 60 points. Belarde has also scored eight runs over her last five appearances, raising her total for the season in that statistic to 37, the most in the Pac-12. Those numbers helped her earn the Pac-12's Player of the Week award.
Taylor Jacobs is starting to carve out a role for herself at the plate and she took advantage of each opportunity during her team's series against Arizona. Jacobs came to the plate three times against the Wildcats and reached each time, including blasting her first career home run as a pinch-hitter in the series opener. Jacobs would add a walk in game two and a pinch-hit single in game three to end the weekend with a perfect 1.000 on-base percentage.
Scouting the Opposition
Weber State has started off its conference schedule by reeling off five wins in six tries, including a home sweep of the Montana Grizzlies. The Wildcats followed that by taking two of three from Portland State, keyed in part by the pitching of Brooke Hatfield. The senior hurler got the series underway with a complete game victory in which she didn't allow a single earned run and that effort was good enough for her to take home the Big Sky Pitcher of the Week award.
At the plate, Kiara Smith has proven to be Weber State's most dangerous hitter, leading the team with a .354 batting average, eight doubles and five homers and her 19 RBIs are tied for most on the roster. Four of those round-trippers have come during Smith's current eight-game hit streak, which started on March 23, when she homered and drove in four runs in a win over San Diego.
The Sun Devils will be trying to boost their record over .500 when they host the Utes, as they currently own a mark of 18-18. They are also still searching for their first Pac-12 series win of the year, but they've done well at home so far in 2024, sporting a 16-9 record at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium. That home ledger includes a stretch of nine wins in 11 games during their non-conference slate.
ASU's offense has been driven in part by the bat of outfielder Tanya Windle, who owns a .392 average that has her in the top 10 in the Pac-12. Windle has also racked up eight steals in nine tries, contributing to her team's total of 57, which ranks second in the conference. The Sun Devils have also been thrown out only seven times in 64 total attempts.
2024 Team Stat Leaders (as of 4/8/2024)
National Rankings
Belarde Takes Home Player of the Week Honors
Aliya Belarde became the first Ute honored with one of the Pac-12's weekly awards on April 8, taking home Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Overall, the California native hit .733 in four games with five extra base hits, four RBIs and seven runs scored. She finished the week with a 1.267 slugging percentage.
Mariah's Moving Closer to 500 Strikeouts
Only three Utes in the history of the program have ever reached 500 strikeouts, but Mariah Lopez appears ready to join that club. Entering Utah's matchup on Wednesday, Lopez is only 13 punchouts away from joining Ali Sagas, Kristin Arbogast and Katie Donovan as Utes who've topped the 500 strikeout plateau.
Taylor Takes One Out
Taylor Jacobs stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter on April 5 against Arizona and blasted a solo home run to left field for her first base hit as a Ute. This is the second straight season a Utah player has homered for their first collegiate hit, as Karlie Davison accomplished that feat in 2023.
Coming Back is a Constant
The Utes have made a habit of staging comebacks of late and four of their last six wins have been of the come-from-behind variety. They eliminated a 7-2 deficit to defeat Oregon on March 16, followed by a 3-1 victory over BYU in which Utah trailed after five innings. The Utes then came back in both of their triumphs over California, the latter being Utah's sixth comeback win of 2024.
Pitching Prowess
Over Utah's last 10 games, pitchers Raci Miranda, Mariah Lopez, Brooklyn Carreon and Sarah Ladd have combined to craft a 2.03 ERA. Miranda hasn't allowed more than a single earned run in any of her three appearances over that span, while Lopez has racked up 42 strikeouts in just over 40 innings and thrown five complete games.
Three is a Charm
Abby Dayton has piled up six three-hit games so far in 2024, matching Utah's team-high in that statistic from a season ago. Only Haley Denning has more multi-hit games for the Utes than Dayton's 12. Denning has collected 14.
Timely with Two Outs
The Utes have been very difficult to retire with two outs so far in 2024 and Kaylah Nelsen, Aliya Belarde, Abby Dayton and Haley Denning all own averages over .400 with two outs. Belarde is 7-for-15 in those situations, while Nelsen is hitting .464.
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 Lopez 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.
Preseason Placements
The Pac-12 released its annual preseason softball coaches poll and preseason all-conference team on Feb. 1 and Aliya Belarde, Haley Denning, Julia Jimenez and Mariah Lopez all earned all-conference nods, while the Utes were rated third in the league poll.
The Utes' placement in the preseason rankings represents their highest since joining the league, surpassing the fifth-place standing they achieved in 2017 and 2018, and the four preseason all-league honorees doubles the number the program attained in 2023.
Lopez Makes the Watch List
University of Utah softball's senior pitcher Mariah Lopez earned a spot on the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, which was released on Jan. 24. Lopez is the first Ute to earn this distinction since Alyssa Barrera a was a player of the year watch list selection in 2018.
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 Utes will then travel to Tempe, Ariz., where they'll battle the Arizona State Sun Devils in a three-game series at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium, starting with a 6 p.m. MST (7 p.m. MT) clash on Friday, followed on Saturday by a 5 p.m. MST meeting and closing out the set with a 12 p.m. MST finale on Sunday.
April 10 – 14 Schedule
| Date | Game | Live Stats/Watch |
| April 10 | Utah at Weber State | Live Stats / Watch |
| April 12 | Utah at Arizona State | Live Stats / Watch |
| April 13 | Utah at Arizona State | Live Stats / Watch |
| April 14 | Utah at Arizona State | Live Stats / Watch |
How to Follow
ESPN+ will be the streaming home for the game between the Utes and the Wildcats, while all three contests in Tempe can be viewed through the ASU Live Stream.
Last Time Out
The Utes posted a winning record during their recently completed seven-game homestand and Aliya Belarde was one of the biggest reasons why. The senior from California has picked up multiple hits in each of Utah's last five games, a stretch during which she's hit .722 and raised her batting average by more than 60 points. Belarde has also scored eight runs over her last five appearances, raising her total for the season in that statistic to 37, the most in the Pac-12. Those numbers helped her earn the Pac-12's Player of the Week award.
Taylor Jacobs is starting to carve out a role for herself at the plate and she took advantage of each opportunity during her team's series against Arizona. Jacobs came to the plate three times against the Wildcats and reached each time, including blasting her first career home run as a pinch-hitter in the series opener. Jacobs would add a walk in game two and a pinch-hit single in game three to end the weekend with a perfect 1.000 on-base percentage.
Scouting the Opposition
Weber State has started off its conference schedule by reeling off five wins in six tries, including a home sweep of the Montana Grizzlies. The Wildcats followed that by taking two of three from Portland State, keyed in part by the pitching of Brooke Hatfield. The senior hurler got the series underway with a complete game victory in which she didn't allow a single earned run and that effort was good enough for her to take home the Big Sky Pitcher of the Week award.
At the plate, Kiara Smith has proven to be Weber State's most dangerous hitter, leading the team with a .354 batting average, eight doubles and five homers and her 19 RBIs are tied for most on the roster. Four of those round-trippers have come during Smith's current eight-game hit streak, which started on March 23, when she homered and drove in four runs in a win over San Diego.
The Sun Devils will be trying to boost their record over .500 when they host the Utes, as they currently own a mark of 18-18. They are also still searching for their first Pac-12 series win of the year, but they've done well at home so far in 2024, sporting a 16-9 record at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium. That home ledger includes a stretch of nine wins in 11 games during their non-conference slate.
ASU's offense has been driven in part by the bat of outfielder Tanya Windle, who owns a .392 average that has her in the top 10 in the Pac-12. Windle has also racked up eight steals in nine tries, contributing to her team's total of 57, which ranks second in the conference. The Sun Devils have also been thrown out only seven times in 64 total attempts.
2024 Team Stat Leaders (as of 4/8/2024)
| Batting Avg. | Abby Dayton | .482 | |||
| Slugging % | Abby Dayton | .693 | |||
| On Base % | Abby Dayton | .542 | |||
| Runs Scored | Aliya Belarde | 37 | |||
| Hits | Abby Dayton Haley Denning |
55 | |||
| RBI | Julia Jimenez | 29 | |||
| Doubles | Kaylah Nelsen | 12 | |||
| Home Runs | Aliya Belarde | 3 | |||
| Stolen Bases | Haley Denning | 20 | |||
| ERA | Mariah Lopez | 2.78 (128 IP) |
| K's | Mariah Lopez | 135 |
| Wins | Mariah Lopez | 12 |
- Abby Dayton's .482 batting average ranks as fifth-best in the nation and she also owns the country's 11th-best on-base percentage and her 55 hits are tied for 11th as well.
- Mariah Lopez has racked up 135 strikeouts so far in 2024 and that total places her in a tie for 13th in Division I. She's totaled 128 1/3 innings pitched as well, which puts her in a tie for 12th.
- Haley Denning's 20 stolen bases are tied for 20th and her .440 average ranks 29th in the country.
- Kaylah Nelsen has rapped out 12 doubles so far in 2023-24, tied for 25th in Division I and Aliya Belarde's 37 runs scored have her sharing 41st in the country.
- As a team, the Utes are tied for 14th nationally in double plays turned per game at 0.55 and their average of 0.29 triples per game are tied for 38th. The Utes also rank inside the top 50 in batting average at .308.
- Abby Dayton leads the Pac-12 or is tied for the conference lead in four different statistics so far in 2024. Her .482 average, .542 on-base percentage and six triples are tops in the league and she's even with teammate Haley Denning for the conference lead in hits with 55. She also owns spots in the top 10 in runs scored and slugging percentage.
- Denning's 55 hits have her sharing the Pac-12 lead with Dayton and only her teammate can claim a better clip then Denning's .440 average. Utah's left fielder remains atop the league leaderboard in steals with 20, is third in runs with 33 and ranks eighth in on-base percentage.
- Mariah Lopez has racked up more innings pitched than anyone in the Pac-12 with 128.1 and her 12 wins have her in fourth. She's also the conference's No. 2 strikeout pitcher and second in complete games as well. Her 2.78 ERA ranks ninth.
- Aliya Belarde's 37 runs scored are the most in the Pac-12 and she's also second in the conference in triples, with four, and ninth in hits, with 37.
- Kaylah Nelsen has peppered the outfield walls as much as anyone in the conference and her 12 doubles are tied for second. Her 46 hits have her tied for seventh and her .390 average ranks eighth.
- Julia Jimenez has driven in a team-high 29 runs and that figure also has her tied for eighth in the Pac-12.
- As a team, the Utes have collected 311 hits and 11 triples, both third-most in the Pac-12.
Belarde Takes Home Player of the Week Honors
Aliya Belarde became the first Ute honored with one of the Pac-12's weekly awards on April 8, taking home Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Overall, the California native hit .733 in four games with five extra base hits, four RBIs and seven runs scored. She finished the week with a 1.267 slugging percentage.
Mariah's Moving Closer to 500 Strikeouts
Only three Utes in the history of the program have ever reached 500 strikeouts, but Mariah Lopez appears ready to join that club. Entering Utah's matchup on Wednesday, Lopez is only 13 punchouts away from joining Ali Sagas, Kristin Arbogast and Katie Donovan as Utes who've topped the 500 strikeout plateau.
Taylor Takes One Out
Taylor Jacobs stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter on April 5 against Arizona and blasted a solo home run to left field for her first base hit as a Ute. This is the second straight season a Utah player has homered for their first collegiate hit, as Karlie Davison accomplished that feat in 2023.
Coming Back is a Constant
The Utes have made a habit of staging comebacks of late and four of their last six wins have been of the come-from-behind variety. They eliminated a 7-2 deficit to defeat Oregon on March 16, followed by a 3-1 victory over BYU in which Utah trailed after five innings. The Utes then came back in both of their triumphs over California, the latter being Utah's sixth comeback win of 2024.
Pitching Prowess
Over Utah's last 10 games, pitchers Raci Miranda, Mariah Lopez, Brooklyn Carreon and Sarah Ladd have combined to craft a 2.03 ERA. Miranda hasn't allowed more than a single earned run in any of her three appearances over that span, while Lopez has racked up 42 strikeouts in just over 40 innings and thrown five complete games.
Three is a Charm
Abby Dayton has piled up six three-hit games so far in 2024, matching Utah's team-high in that statistic from a season ago. Only Haley Denning has more multi-hit games for the Utes than Dayton's 12. Denning has collected 14.
Timely with Two Outs
The Utes have been very difficult to retire with two outs so far in 2024 and Kaylah Nelsen, Aliya Belarde, Abby Dayton and Haley Denning all own averages over .400 with two outs. Belarde is 7-for-15 in those situations, while Nelsen is hitting .464.
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 Lopez 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.
Preseason Placements
The Pac-12 released its annual preseason softball coaches poll and preseason all-conference team on Feb. 1 and Aliya Belarde, Haley Denning, Julia Jimenez and Mariah Lopez all earned all-conference nods, while the Utes were rated third in the league poll.
The Utes' placement in the preseason rankings represents their highest since joining the league, surpassing the fifth-place standing they achieved in 2017 and 2018, and the four preseason all-league honorees doubles the number the program attained in 2023.
Lopez Makes the Watch List
University of Utah softball's senior pitcher Mariah Lopez earned a spot on the USA Softball Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, which was released on Jan. 24. Lopez is the first Ute to earn this distinction since Alyssa Barrera a was a player of the year watch list selection in 2018.
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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