Upcoming Event: Softball versus UCSB on February 6, 2026 at 2 p.m.
2 p.m.
Softball
vs UCSB
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Celebrates Senior Day against BYU
4/28/2008 12:00 AM | Softball
April 28, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah softball team plays its final homestand of the season against BYU, Friday and Saturday, May 2-3. The weekend marks the final two softball Deseret First Dual games of the season and is a battle for first place in the Mountain West Conference.
Seniors Meghan Crouse, Kristie Keller, Kelly Matthews, Diana Phillips and Devina Quintero will be honored following Saturday's game.
Utes Vying for First Place in the MWC
The Utes are currently tied for second in the MWC after a two-game split with San Diego State last weekend. Utah and SDSU are 9-5 in the conference and just one game behind BYU (10-4). A sweep of this weekend's games could result in a first-place standing for Utah.
What makes this even more remarkable is that, in the preseason MWC coaches poll, the Utes were picked to finish sixth in the conference.
Utah last won the MWC regular season title in 2001. The team won tournament titles in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006.
Weekend in Review
The Utah softball team went 3-1 with three come-from-behind wins on the weekend. The Utes swept UNLV, 8-7 and 3-2, before downing No. 19 San Diego State, 2-1, on April 26.
Against the Rebels, Utah struggled early in game one, going down 6-0 in the second inning. The Utes scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh for the win. In game two, Kara Foster's triple to lead off the sixth inning led the rally to score the winning run with a well-played suicide squeeze bunt courtesy of Kristie Keller.
After dropping the first game of the SDSU series, 13-3, Utah's Meghan Crouse scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Utes the win in game two.
The game was a pitchers duel from the onset, with SDSU's Christina Ross (who leads the conference in wins, ERA and strikeouts) and Utah's Ashley Smuda going toe-to-toe for most of the game.
Scouting the Competition
BYU (23-30): The Cougars are 36-16 on the season. Utah and BYU split a pair of games in the first conference series on April 18-19, with the Utes falling 8-0 in game one before winning 6-4 in game two.
Angeline Quiocho (.401) and Daniela Snow (.400) are 1-2 in the conference in batting average, respectively. Snow leads the MWC in hits (64), RBI (53) and doubles (18).
On the mound, Christina Trice (1.49 ERA, 16-6) is one of the top pitchers in the conference.
Deseret First Duel
Friday's and Saturday's games mark the final softball games of the Deseret First Duel rivalry series between Utah and BYU. The teams play four games during the season and each game is worth 1.5 points. The squads split the first two games, with BYU winninng 8-0 on April 18, while the Utes rallied to take the second game, 6-4 on April 19.
BYU currently leads the rivalry series, 29.5-27, with two softball and three baseball games remaining. In addition to one softball win, Utah has victories in soccer, women's basketball (2), women's gymnastics (2), baseball (1) and men's tennis.
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 will use a system that awards points to the winner of each head-to-head competition. A team trophy will be awarded to the individual winner of each sport. Points won by the individual sports will count toward each school's overall total. At the conclusion of each school year, a granite traveling trophy will be awarded to the overall rivalry series champion.
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.
Stunning Smuda
Sophomore pitcher Ashley Smuda has appeared in 36 of the Utes 47 games this season. In addition to two no-hitters, she led the Utes to wins against then-No. 14 DePaul, 3-2, a 5-4 victory over then-No. 22 Texas, and a 2-1 eight-inning win over No. 19 San Diego State.
Smuda leads the conference in batters struck out looking (47) and is second in wins (17) and games started (30).
Smuda pitched her first career no-hitter against Southern Utah on March 11. She had seven strikeouts in the five-inning 8-0 victory. She is the first pitcher to pitch two no-hitters in a season since Ali Andrus-Sagas in 1997. Andrus-Sagas had three that year.
Against UNLV on April 12, Smuda pitched the 21st no-hitter in school history in a 4-0 victory. She had five strikeouts. She was named MWC Pitcher of the Week following her performance, which included a one-hitter against No. 18 San Diego State.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUtah Softball's Hailee White Feature
Tuesday, April 15
Utah Softball's Jolie Mayfield Feature
Friday, March 28
Utah Softball - The Inaugural 1976 Team
Wednesday, March 19
University of Utah Athletics - A Storied History
Friday, August 02