Upcoming Event: Softball versus UCSB on February 6, 2026 at 2 p.m.
2 p.m.
Softball
vs UCSB
The University of Utah Athletics
Saturday, February 20
Las Vegas, NV
1:30 PM
University of Utah
7-2
14
vs
7
California Baptist
4-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Utah
0
3
2
0
0
0
9
14
12
2
Cal Baptist
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
7
11
3
Utes Explode for 28 Runs in Two Wins at UNLV Desert Classic
2/20/2021 8:25 PM | Softball
Late rallies drive both wins, 14-7 over California Baptist & 14-12 over UNLV
LAS VEGAS – It took until the late innings but Utah's bats came alive late in both games today at the UNLV Desert Classic to drive the Utes to a 14-7 win over California Baptist and a 14-12 defeat of host UNLV at Eller Media Stadium. Utah improves to 8-2 on the season.
Â
Junior Ellessa Bonstrom hit three home runs over the two games to give her a team-leading and career-best six for the season, and sophomore Halle Morris (2-0) earned the win in relief against CBU, while driving in five runs with a home run and a double.
Â
The Utes scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning in game one to overcome a 7-5 deficit, and rallied in the top of the sixth in the nightcap with six runs to erase a 9-8 UNLV lead. Junior Sydney Sandez earned the win in relief against UNLV to improve to 5-0.
Â
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Amy Hogue
"This game is so wild. We have all missed it so much. And yet, it's exhausting. It's intense. It's pressure-filled. It's ever-changing. I'm proud of our perseverance today. Winning two after the loss yesterday is exactly what we needed. It took everyone to get it done. One more tomorrow!"
Â
STANDOUT STAT
The top five batters in the lineup for Utah each collected multiple hits in the win over UNLV. Haley Denning, Julia Noskin and Madi Jacobus each had 3 hits, while Nos. 3-4 hitters Alyssa Barrera and Ellessa Bonstrom had two hits apiece and combined for 9 RBI (5 by Bonstrom, 4 by Barrera).
Â
Utah 14, CBU 7
Junior Halle Morris earned the win in relief and provided five RBI with a double and a home run, as Utah scored nine runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 7-5 deficit and defeat California Baptist 14-7. Morris blasted her first career home run in the top of the second to give Utah a 3-0 lead, then replaced starting pitcher Mary Beth Feldman in the fourth inning with Utah trailing 7-5. All seven CBU runs came in the second inning, on six hits and an error.
Â
Morris allowed just three hits in four shutout innings to earn the win, and kept the Utes in the game for a chance to rally in the seventh. And rally they did. Utah, whose bats had gone cold after a two-run homer by Ellessa Bonstrom in the third, scored nine runs in the seventh to take a 14-7 lead it would maintain for the win.
Â
Alyssa Barrera had two hits in the inning and drove in three runs, the first coming on a double to score Julia Noskin and cut the deficit to 7-6. Madi Jacobus drove in Barrera to tie the game and Jordyn Gasper singled to score Bonstrom for the lead, 8-7. Morris doubled to score two more and Barrera later drove in the final two runs.
Â
Utah 14, UNLV 12
Again showing a flair for the dramatic, Utah exploded in the top of the sixth inning with six runs to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 14-9 lead, and held off a seventh-inning rally by UNLV. Ellessa Bonstrom hit her second and third home runs of the day—a 3-run shot in the first and a 2-run blast in the sixth—to set a career high with six for the season, and Syndey Sandez pitched the final 5-1/3 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Â
The top five batters in the order combined to bat 13-21 (.619) with 3 home runs, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored between them. Utah led 7-5 after three innings on the strength of three-run homers by Bonstrom and Alyssa Barrera, and extended it to 8-5 before UNLV responded with four in the bottom of the fourth to take a 9-8 lead, setting the stage for the Utes' sixth-inning outburst.
Â
The decisive sixth inning began with Haley Denning and Julia Noskin leading off with singles and executing a double-steal to set up a sacrifice fly by Barrera to tie the game. Bonstrom's two-run homer to right field gave Utah an 11-9 lead, and a colossal home run blast to center field by Katie Faulk added three more to make it 14-9. UNLV posed a threat in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 14-12 final.
Â
Utah (8-2) wraps up three days at the UNLV Desert Classic on Sunday with a single game against UNLV (6-2) at 12 p.m. MT. For more on the tournament, click here.
Â
Junior Ellessa Bonstrom hit three home runs over the two games to give her a team-leading and career-best six for the season, and sophomore Halle Morris (2-0) earned the win in relief against CBU, while driving in five runs with a home run and a double.
Â
The Utes scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning in game one to overcome a 7-5 deficit, and rallied in the top of the sixth in the nightcap with six runs to erase a 9-8 UNLV lead. Junior Sydney Sandez earned the win in relief against UNLV to improve to 5-0.
Â
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Amy Hogue
"This game is so wild. We have all missed it so much. And yet, it's exhausting. It's intense. It's pressure-filled. It's ever-changing. I'm proud of our perseverance today. Winning two after the loss yesterday is exactly what we needed. It took everyone to get it done. One more tomorrow!"
Â
STANDOUT STAT
The top five batters in the lineup for Utah each collected multiple hits in the win over UNLV. Haley Denning, Julia Noskin and Madi Jacobus each had 3 hits, while Nos. 3-4 hitters Alyssa Barrera and Ellessa Bonstrom had two hits apiece and combined for 9 RBI (5 by Bonstrom, 4 by Barrera).
Â
Utah 14, CBU 7
Junior Halle Morris earned the win in relief and provided five RBI with a double and a home run, as Utah scored nine runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 7-5 deficit and defeat California Baptist 14-7. Morris blasted her first career home run in the top of the second to give Utah a 3-0 lead, then replaced starting pitcher Mary Beth Feldman in the fourth inning with Utah trailing 7-5. All seven CBU runs came in the second inning, on six hits and an error.
Â
Morris allowed just three hits in four shutout innings to earn the win, and kept the Utes in the game for a chance to rally in the seventh. And rally they did. Utah, whose bats had gone cold after a two-run homer by Ellessa Bonstrom in the third, scored nine runs in the seventh to take a 14-7 lead it would maintain for the win.
Â
Alyssa Barrera had two hits in the inning and drove in three runs, the first coming on a double to score Julia Noskin and cut the deficit to 7-6. Madi Jacobus drove in Barrera to tie the game and Jordyn Gasper singled to score Bonstrom for the lead, 8-7. Morris doubled to score two more and Barrera later drove in the final two runs.
Â
Utah 14, UNLV 12
Again showing a flair for the dramatic, Utah exploded in the top of the sixth inning with six runs to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 14-9 lead, and held off a seventh-inning rally by UNLV. Ellessa Bonstrom hit her second and third home runs of the day—a 3-run shot in the first and a 2-run blast in the sixth—to set a career high with six for the season, and Syndey Sandez pitched the final 5-1/3 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Â
The top five batters in the order combined to bat 13-21 (.619) with 3 home runs, 11 RBI and 11 runs scored between them. Utah led 7-5 after three innings on the strength of three-run homers by Bonstrom and Alyssa Barrera, and extended it to 8-5 before UNLV responded with four in the bottom of the fourth to take a 9-8 lead, setting the stage for the Utes' sixth-inning outburst.
Â
The decisive sixth inning began with Haley Denning and Julia Noskin leading off with singles and executing a double-steal to set up a sacrifice fly by Barrera to tie the game. Bonstrom's two-run homer to right field gave Utah an 11-9 lead, and a colossal home run blast to center field by Katie Faulk added three more to make it 14-9. UNLV posed a threat in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 14-12 final.
Â
NOTABLE2-out, 2-on...0-2 count...
— Utah Softball ?? (@Utah_Softball) February 21, 2021
No problem. Absolute monster shot by @katie_faulk15!! ??
T7
Utah 14
UNLV 9 pic.twitter.com/cfAhSVsdp3
- Madi Jacobus extended her hitting streak to 8 games by going 6-9 today (3-5 and 3-4) and has taken over the team batting lead by increasing her average to .429.
- Alyssa Barrera is batting .423 (11-26) over the past 7 games with 2 HR, 3 doubles, 8 runs and 14 RBI. She was clutch in both wins today, with her double in the seventh inning of the comeback against CBU pulling Utah to with one run at 7-6 and in the nightcap her sac fly tied the game at 9-9, en route to the 14-12 win.
- Halle Morris hit her first career HR vs. CBU, a 3-run pinch-hit shot in the second inning to become the fifth different Utah player to homer this year (Bonstrom 6; Jacobus, Barrera & Faulk 2; Morris 1). Morris added a 2-run double in the 9-run 7th-inning rally for 5 RBI on day and was the winning pitcher.
- Ellessa Bonstrom homered in the 3rd inning against CBU today and in the 1st and 6th innings against UNLV to mark a career high with 6 for the season. She hit 5 as a freshman in 2019 and 5 more in the shortened 18-game 2020 season.
- Haley Denning ran her hitting streak to 10 games, going 1-5 against CBU and 3-5 against UNLV. The streak was in danger as she was hitless in 4 at-bats against CBU until her RBI single in the 9-run seventh inning.
- Denning ranks second on the team in batting (.425) and was 3-3 in stolen bases for the second day in a row, for a combined 6-6 in the four games. She is 10-11 on the season.
ON DECK?? 2-RUN SHOT ??
— Utah Softball ?? (@Utah_Softball) February 21, 2021
2nd HR of game for @ellessabonstrom puts us up 11-9, top of 7! pic.twitter.com/wrSexMfFZf
Utah (8-2) wraps up three days at the UNLV Desert Classic on Sunday with a single game against UNLV (6-2) at 12 p.m. MT. For more on the tournament, click here.
Second RBI hit of the inning for @alyssavb16 and we've scored 9?? runs in the top of the 7th!
— Utah Softball ?? (@Utah_Softball) February 20, 2021
T7
Utah 14
CBU 7 pic.twitter.com/ORwCWIafp0
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Morris, Halle (2-0)
L: Kerisa Viramontes (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Barrera, Alyssa 1 ; Morris, Halle 1
HR: Bonstrom, Ellessa 1 ; Morris, Halle 1
RBI: Denning, Haley 1 ; Barrera, Alyssa 3 ; Bonstrom, Ellessa 2 ; Jacobus, Madi 1 ; Morris, Halle 5 ; Palacios, Alyssa 1 ; Gasper, Jordyn 1
SH: Barrera, Alyssa 1 ; Faulk, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Denning, Haley 1 ; Noskin, Julia 2 ; Barrera, Alyssa 1 ; Bonstrom, Ellessa 2 ; Jacobus, Madi 2 ; Militello, AJ 1 ; Calderon, Makenna 1 ; Morris, Halle 2 ; Palacios, Alyssa 1 ; Gasper, Jordyn 1
SB: Denning, Haley 1
Batting:
2B: Brittany Galvez 1 ; Makayla Jordan 1 ; Tiana Patrick 1 ; Molly Kolander 1
RBI: Brittany Galvez 2 ; Makayla Jordan 3 ; Tiana Patrick 1 ; Mia Alvarez 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Michaila Harrington 1 ; Ashley McBay 1 ; Makayla Jordan 1 ; Maile Olsen 1 ; Tiana Patrick 1 ; Molly Kolander 1 ; Mia Alvarez 1
HBP: Maile Olsen 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
ph/dp
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
5
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballP/UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ 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