CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Utah head coach
Amy Hogue earned the 500
th win of her career as Utah Softball defeated UC Santa Barbara, 9-0, to close the 2018 Mary Nutter Classic
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Utah 9, UCSB 0
Hailey Hilburn drove in four runs and
Katie Donovan matched a career-high with nine strikeouts in a record-setting win for the Utes.
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Donovan pitched five innings and allowed just three hits as she passed Meghan Dyer for fifth place on Utah's career strikeout list. For the weekend, she went 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA with 32 strikeouts in four starts.
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The Utes responded to an earlier loss by putting up a pair of runs in the first.
Julia Noskin singled as she and
Heather Bowen both scored on Hilburn's two-run single.
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After Donovan stranded the bases loaded, Utah added to its tally.
Ally Dickman worked a four-pitch walk and then scored on
Alyssa Barrera's RBI double. Noskin followed with another double and
Kelly Martinez added another two-bagger for a 5-0 lead.
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In the fourth, Barrera reached on a bunt single and scored on Martinez's second RBI double of the contest. She would advance on a wild pitch and scored as
Abby Robertson legged out an infield grounder.
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Another extra-base hit for Martinez came in the sixth and she quickly came home, courtesy of Hilburn's first homer of the season, a two-run shot to left.
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LMU 4, Utah 1
After both pitchers worked out of early jams, LMU took the lead in the second. The Lions got a pair of singles before pitches hit two players. A RBI ground out followed and a Utah error allowed another run to come in, digging the Utes an early 3-0 hole.
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LMU tacked on another run in the fifth when Delanie Wisz rapped a RBI single but further damage was avoided despite the first five batters in the inning reaching base.
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Utah tried to get back in the game in the sixth when
Heather Bowen doubled and scored on a
Hailey Hilburn single. Despite hitting the ball hard on a number of occasions, the Utes could not add any more against the stingy LMU defense.
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Despite suffering the loss,
Miranda Viramontes struck out eight batters and in two starts this weekend, sat down 16 batters while only walking one
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The Utes are off this weekend but return to action on Fri., Mar. 2 at Texas A&M. The Utes open with Texas State and the host Aggies in a doubleheader down in College Station.
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