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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Closes Out Regular Season On The Road
5/6/2008 12:00 AM | Softball
May 6, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utes close out the regular season this weekend against New Mexico and Colorado State, beginning Thursday, May 5.
Thursday's doubleheader against the Aztecs will be aired live on the Mtn., beginning at 5:00 pm MT.
Utes In Contention to Win MWC
After a weekend split against BYU, the Utes remain in contention to win the Mountain West Conference. They are currently in third-place with a 10-6 record, while San Diego State is first (13-5) and BYU second (11-5). The Utes need to win their remaining four games for the potential to finish first in the conference, winning at least three games to create a potential tie. Both senarios could happen with key losses from SDSU or BYU. 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.
Last Time Out
Utah split a pair of games with conference rival BYU last weekend, falling 5-4 in game one, while winning a nine-inning game two, 4-3.
Both games featured come-from-behind heroics as well as a back-and-fourth lead. BYU hit two home runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull ahead in the first game. Game two saw a BYU error in the bottom of the ninth inning bring Staci Hemingway (who walked to lead off the inning) around to score.
Kara Foster hit two home runs over the weekend, batting .400 (2-for-5) with three RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Angie Boardman was 3-for-6 for a .500 average, driving in two for the Utes.
Ashley Smuda started both games, striking out 10. Brittany Parker earned the win in game two, entering the game in the eighth inning. She struck out two during her time on the mound.
The Utes began the week with a non-conference doubleheader against Utah Valley falling 3-1 in the first game before rallying to win game two in eight innings, 7-6. On the day, Devina Quintero was 6-for-9 with four doubles, four RBI and two runs scored.
Scouting the Competition
New Mexico (23-24): The Utes and Lobos split a pair of games back in April, with New Mexico winning game one, 4-2, while Utah won game two, 4-3.
Lindsey Elcess leads the team with a .349 batting average, including a team-best 45 hits and 10 home runs. Katie Gilmore has 11 doubles with a .326 average while Gabriella Parra leads the squad with 34 RBI.
Kelly Ninemire is 15-15 on the mound with a 3.65 ERA. She has 126 strikeouts. Madelyn Machac has made 23 appearances and is 5-6.
Colorado State (26-21): Utah and CSU are 1-1 against each other this season. CSU won the first game of the series on April 3, 13-9 in eight innings, with Utah winning the second game, 7-2.
Lauren Cusick is one of two women in the conference with a .403 batting average. She has 15 doubles, 18 home runs and a team-high 64 hits. Caitlan Stem is hitting .382 and also has 15 doubles, including 38 RBI. Ashley Munoz is hitting .338.
Cayte Billman (3.83 ERA, 6-6), Kim Klabough (4.64 ERA, 8-10) and Rebecca Penland (4.96 ERA, 8-4) share the pitching responsibilities.
Phillips Watch
All-West Region and three-time all-Mountain West Conference selection Diana Phillips is nearing several career marks at Utah. She has 14 career triples (three this season) and ranks second all-time at Utah in the category. The all-time triples record is 19, held by Sandy Rhea (1995-98).
Her current .359 career batting average is second all-time.
Phillips has 240 total hits, moving into fourth on the all-time list at Utah. She passed current head coach Amy (Timmel) Hogue, who ended her career with 239 hits.
She is also nearing the top five with 47 career stolen bases.
Phillips is fifth in the MWC with a .379 batting average and fourth with 61 hits. She also leads the team with 19 multi-hit games. Her longest hitting streak this year is nine games. Her 19 stolen bases is tied for second in the conference.
Fantastic Foster
Kara Foster added to her team-leading 16 home runs with two home runs against BYU, May 2-3. She is tied for third in the conference in the category. Foster is second on the team with a .345 batting average and has a team-best 37 RBI on the year. Over half of her 50 hits on the season have been for extra bases. She ranks third in the conference with a .766 slugging percentage and her 111 total bases ranks fifth.
She was named MWC Player of the Week on April 8 for her performance against Colorado State and New Mexico.
Players Mentioned
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