SALT LAKE CITY –
Hailey Maestretti's second dominant performance of the weekend and a walk-off single from
Brooke Tacke helped secure the University of Utah softball team a 10-2 victory over the No. 19/20 Arizona Wildcats in Big 12 action on Sunday afternoon at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City.
Utah's record is now 35-19-1 overall and 10-13-1 in conference. This win helped the Utes clinch a spot in the Big 12 Tournament, which begins on Thursday, and jump up to the seven seed. They're now scheduled to play Oklahoma State in the first round on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT (4 p.m. MT).
"That was a sweet ending to the regular season," said coach
Amy Hogue. "That is a tough Arizona team that we just took the series from. I'm proud of what this group has accomplished throughout the year and look forward to being on a roll going into the Big 12 tournament."
Utah got off to an explosive start early in the game. A two-run homer by
Kennedy Proctor put the Utes on the board in the first inning and the home team added to its advantage in the third with another two-run dinger from
Shonty Passi.
In the circle, Maestretti held Arizona to five hits over six innings. She kept the Wildcats scoreless for five frames, until the visitors put up two with a double and three singles in the sixth. She quickly stopped the scoring there, however and finished the day with four strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. Maestretti is the first Ute to earn consecutive wins a over a ranked team since Mariah Lopez defeated No. 9 Washington on May 3 and 4 in 2024.
Utah added to its edge in the fifth with another homer from Proctor followed by a Passi double. A single and a walk then loaded the bases for the home team and back-to-back sacrifice flies from
Kate Blunt and
Hailee White extended the Utes' lead 7-0.
In the sixth, the uprising that ended the game started with a walk, a single, an error and a Passi sacrifice fly. After another walk put runners on first and second, a hard-hit single off the bat of Tacke plated the two runs Utah needed to clinch the victory.
This goes down as Utah's first run-rule win over a ranked team since an 8-0 defeat of UCLA on May 1, 2022.
Up Next
The next stop for Utah is the 2026 Big 12 Tournament at Devon Park in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
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