Utah Softball Smothers Weber State

Wednesday, April 6

Salt Lake City

4:00 PM

University of Utah

Weber State

4/6/2011 12:00 AM | Softball

April 6, 2011

Box Score

SALT LAKE CITY - Eight different Utes registered at least one RBI on the day and the University of Utah softball team earned a pair of five-inning victories (8-0 and 9-1) in a doubleheader against Weber State Wednesday at Ute Softball Field.

Utah (22-16) scored the first 15 runs of the doubleheader and outscored Weber State 17-1 in total between the two games. The Utes have won seven consecutive ball games and 10 of their last 11, which includes a 7-1 home record. Utah has five `run-rule' victories this season.

"This is what we wanted to do today," Utah head coach Amy Hogue said. "We hit the ball hard, sometimes we got out and sometimes the ball went out of the yard. We played the game aggressively and ran the bases aggressively. It was a good day for the Utes."

The Utes hit .490 as a team with 24 hits in 49 at-bats, which included four home runs. Cheyella Myers and Chalese Fankhauser both went 4-for-5 on the day, while Tia Palauni and Tara Glover both had three hits apiece. Palauni led the way with four RBI while Myers drove in three. Fankhauser, Naomi Amu, Whitney Holm and Taylor Austin all registered two RBI apiece.

Utah kept its aggression on the base paths going by registering a 4-for-4 effort on stolen base attempts.

"We're just so deep in our dugout," Hogue said. "It's fun to be able to pull a kid out of the dugout and give them an at-bat and have them get a big hit, as well. We have great support. I know that if anyone got hurt, we have everyday players in the dugout who can get the job done. To get ahead early and let everyone take a swing at the plate is fun for us."

Utah def. Weber State, 8-0 (5 innings)

On the mound in game one, Generra Nielson and Amu combined for the shutout of the Wildcats. Nielson picked up her fourth consecutive win after going 4.0 innings while not allowing an earned run on only two hits with three strikeouts. She improved her overall record to 15-10 this season. Amu closed the victory by pitching the final inning and allowing one hit.

Four different Utah players had two hits as Fankhauser, Glover, Holm and Myers combined for seven of the Utes' eight RBI in the contest. Sophomore shortstop Kelsi Hoopiiaina drove in a run for Utah as well.

Weber State had runners on first and second base with one out in the second inning, but Utah quickly disposed of the threat after throwing out a Weber State runner trying to steal third base then got the third out after a Wildcat hitter popped up to first base.

Holm lifted the lid on the scoring by belting her seventh home run of the season with one out in the bottom of the second inning. Holm is second on the team with seven home runs this season and has 19 RBI. After Sandi Bowles drew a walk, Myers connected for a double to right field but Bowles was thrown out by after an impressive relay from right field by the Wildcat defense. Myers advanced to third base on the throw but unfortunately was picked off by Weber State's catcher.

Utah scored two more runs in the third as a double to left-center field by Glover allowed Olson to score from first base. Fankhauser followed with an RBI base hit to left field that drove in Glover.

The Utes exploded for five runs in the fifth frame as Palauni hit an RBI single up the middle of the WSU defense. Hoopiiaina then hit an RBI ground ball to second base before Holm looped an RBI single through the left side of Weber State's defensive alignment. Bowles followed immediately with a single to put runners on first and second before Myers reached on a misplay by the Wildcat first baseman that allowed Utah to clinch the win by scoring its seventh and eighth runs of the contest.

Utah def. Weber State, 9-1 (5 innings)

Palauni registered hits in both of her appearances at the plate, including a three-run shot in the first inning, and Fankhauser added two more hits to go along with three runs scored and an RBI in the second game of the afternoon.

In her 12th start this season, Amu went 4.0 innings and allowed only one earned run on three hits while striking out four and only walking one Wildcat hitter. With her third consecutive win a pitching decision, Amy improved her record to 7-6 on the mound in 2011.

Palauni ignited the Ute offense by cranking a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning for her eighth round-tripper of the season. She leads the squad with a .937 slugging percentage this season to go with 27 RBI.

Utah poured on four more runs on seven hits in the second as Myers looped her first career triple to right field to plate Bowles. Amu knocked Myers in with her first career home run, a two-run shot over the left-field wall. Fankhauser then got a hold of her fifth round-tripper of the season for Utah's fourth run of the frame.

Weber State finally got on the board in the top of the fourth, but Utah responded promptly with two more runs in the bottom of the frame to put the `run-rule' back into affect. With two down and runners on second and third base, Austin was inserted into the lineup as a pinch hitter and drove a two-run single to right-center field. This was Austin's fifth hit of the year and she now has six RBI to her credit.

The Utes begin their final season of Mountain West Conference play on Friday and Saturday in Deseret First Duel games against BYU at Ute Softball Field. First pitch Friday is set for 4 p.m. MT. Saturday's game is slated for a 1 p.m., start.