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Lindsey Palmer gave up only three runs in 11.1 innings during a doubleheader Tuesday at Utah State.
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April 8, 2009
The University of Utah softball team plays its first Deseret First Duel games of the season against BYU this weekend at Ute Softball Field. Starting with three wins against Utah State on Monday and Tuesday, Utah caps the week against the Cougars Friday, April 10 at 4 p.m., while the game on Saturday, April 11 will start at 1 p.m. The Utes enter Friday's action on a three-game win streak with a 16-21 overall record and are 0-2 in Mountain West Conference play.
Quick Hits:
The Utes will host an Egg Hunt after Saturday's game: Utah Softball players and coaches will lead an Egg Hunt after Saturday's game. The event is open to the general public.
Upcoming Ute Home Games to be Televised: vs. UNLV Thursday, April 16; 4 p.m.; Televised live on CBS College Sports vs. SDSU Friday, April 17; 3 p.m.; Televised live on The Mtn.
Utah State Series Review: The Utes took three consecutive victories from Utah State early this week. Utah swept the season series with the Aggies, 4-0.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of the first game, a pair of freshmen came up with clutch performances for Utah as Whitney Holm (Spanish Fork, Utah) and Hannah Clements (Poway, Calif.) hit back-to-back singles to right field to lead the Utes to a 1-0 win over the Aggies Monday at Ute Softball Field.
Utah won the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader in Logan, Utah, 9-5. The Ute offense was led by a 3-for-4 performance from Staci Hemingway (West Valley, Utah).
The Utes completed the doubleheader and season sweep of the Aggies with an 8-2 win in the second game of the day. Utah scored all eight of its runs in the final three innings of the game. Kara Foster (Derby, Kan.) started things in the fifth inning with a two-run double to center field, her sixth double of the season, which drove in her 28th and 29th RBI of the season.
Power Surge: The Utes put together a five-run first inning in the first game Tuesday at Utah State with three home runs, starting with a leadoff round-tripper to center field by Brooke Olson (Bluffdale, Utah), her second of the season. Not to be outdone, Hemingway followed by roping a solo home run to left field. Hemingway has now hit three home runs this year. Holm then drew a walk and Andrea Hoffman (West Valley, Utah) reached base and then was driven across after a three-run home run by Tia Palauni (Taylorsville, Utah), the first of her career.
Deseret First Duel: The winner of each game between BYU and Utah earns five points in the Deseret First Duel rivalry series between Utah and BYU. Each of the six games that the two teams play is worth 1.5 points. Utah has already clinched a victory for the 2008-09 season with a 39.5-16 lead of the 65.5-point series. The rivalry series includes competition in the 12 sports the two universities compete in head-to-head during regular-season play. The Deseret First Duel uses a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. The Utah vs. BYU rivalry is one of the oldest and strongest in the country. In November 2005, the Wall Street Journal rated the rivalry the fourth best in college athletics.
Foster One Home Run Shy of Utah's All-Time Career Record: Last Thursday at New Mexico, Foster hit her 48th career home run, 13th of the season, to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth inning. She is one round-tripper away from trying Melissa Stahnke (2001-04) for the school record and her 29 RBI this season is a team high. As of April 7, Foster led the MWC in home runs, was second in total bases, ranked third in slugging percentage, sixth with six stolen bases and RBI and seventh in runs scored.
Utes in the Mountain: The Utes dropped their first two decisions in conference play in 2009 and saw their all-time conference record dip to 304-196-1, good for a .608 winning percentage. Last season, Utah finished third in the MWC after going 10-10 last season in league play in its first season under head coach Amy Hogue.
Utes Fourth in MWC Preseason Poll: Utah was tabbed fourth in the 2009 MWC Preseason Poll, the conference office announced Jan. 28. The Utes tallied 14 points in the voting, picked to finish sixth in last season's voting before placing third in 2009. BYU was tied with UNLV for first place in the preseason poll.
Ute Hitters Connecting Consistently: Holm is currently enjoying a team-high nine-game hit streak. Four other Ute players have also recorded four-game hit streaks this year.
Utah Powering Up: As of April 7, Utah led the MWC in home runs and has now hit 37 this season. Eleven different Utes have notched round-trippers this year, led by Foster (13), Holm (8), Angie Boardman (Spokane, Wash.) (4), Hemingway (3), Clements (2), Olson (2), Sharee Fonoti (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) (1), Hoffman (1), Jasey Jensen (Layton, Utah) (1), Bonnie Muir (West Jordan, Utah) (1) and Palauni (1).
Last Time against BYU: In the final meeting of last season, Hemingway scored in the bottom of the ninth inning off a BYU error to score the winning run in a 4-3 thriller May 8, 2008 at Ute Softball Field. With the game tied, 3-3, Hemingway led off the ninth inning with a walk. A sacrifice bunt from Meghan Crouse advanced Hemingway to second. Diana Phillips had the game-winning hit, with the ball going through the BYU shortstop's legs allowing Hemingway to score. The teams split last season's four-game series, with the final three decided by one run apiece.
Scouting the Competition:
BYU (27-14, 3-0 MWC): The Cougars boast a 27-14 overall record and are coming off a 9-2 win over Utah Valley and a three-game sweep of the conference-opening weekend, including an 11-0 win at Colorado State and a pair of wins at New Mexico (13-4, 10-3).
Junior third baseman and centerfielder Angeline Quiocho is the reigning MWC Player of the Week. The Walnut, Calif., native batted .615 against conference foes Colorado State and New Mexico, going 8-for-13 on the week, hitting her first collegiate grand slam against CSU last Thursday. On Friday, she hit a two-run triple in her first at-bat, as the Cougars defeated the Lobos. In the second game in Albuquerque, N.M., her two-run homer gave BYU a 5-2 lead. She finished Saturday's contest going 3-for-5, a double shy of the cycle. Quiocho has now hit a home run in four of her last five games and is riding a season-best six-game hitting streak.
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