Utes softball team earns bid to NCAA Tournament
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – After making a run to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, the University of Utah softball team earned its second straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Utes (34-20) will face South Carolina (34-22) in the Durham Regional Friday at 10:00 a.m. MT. The winner will face either the host school Duke (47-6) or Morgan State (35-18).
“It’s so exciting,” said senior utility player Haley Denning. “We’ve come such a long way since my freshman year here to not even making the postseason, to the last two years. Being on the bubble and not making it being the 16th picked team and then now the last two years, being able to make it is just so exciting, and I can’t wait to keep going with this team.”
Utah made a magical run to the Women’s College World Series last year, ending a 29-year drought. This season, the Utes finished strong, winning 13 of their last 16 games, including five victories over ranked opponents.
Utes eliminated from Women’s College World Series
The Utes played South Carolina back in February and lost to the Gamecocks, 9-1. But the Utes say they are a much better team now.
“The first time we played them, we didn’t have the best game,” said pitcher Mariah Lopez. “We also were kind of struggling to find our identity as a team at the time. We’re nowhere near the same team that we were at the beginning of season that we are now. So I think we’re really excited to get a chance to show them who the Utes are.”
Lopez has been a force on the mound all season long. She has a record of 22-11 with a 2.29 ERA. Sarah Ladd also won nine games this season, including a win over Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.
At the plate, Abby Dayton leads Utah with a .438 batting average. Haley Denning is hitting .411, while Kaylah Nelson has a batting average of .384 and a team-high 41 RBI. Julia Jimenez leads the team with five home runs.
“I think that the excitement level is there,” head coach Amy Hogue. “The upward trend is there, and I think we’re playing hot right now. I wouldn’t want to play us.”
This is the program’s 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and makes back-to-back seasons in which the Utes have reached the national stage. It also marks the sixth time in school history Utah has earned a tournament bid in consecutive campaigns.
Utes ready to make a run at NCAA softball title
Utah is 33-39 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 29-24 in the regional round. Those marks include Utah’s three-game regional sweep last season, when they disposed of Southern Illinois and Ole Miss at Dumke Family Softball Stadium, beginning a run that culminated in the program’s fifth trip to the Women’s College World Series. The Utes have also won their regional tournament in each of their last three postseason trips.
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