Saturday, March 2
St. George, Utah
11 a.m.
University of Utah
9-6
9
vs
8
Wisconsin
9-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballTeam Stats
Pitching:
W: Lopez, Mariah (4-4)
L: Gabi Salo (5-2)
Batting:
2B: Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Dayton, Abby 1
HR: Dayton, Abby 1
RBI: Denning, Haley 1 ; Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Dayton, Abby 4 ; Nelsen, Kaylah 1 ; Jimenez, Julia 1
SH: Lundberg, Kendall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Denning, Haley 2 ; Belarde, Aliya 3 ; Dayton, Abby 1 ; Davison, Karlie 1 ; Jimenez, Julia 1 ; Lee, Reese 1
SB: Denning, Haley 1 ; Belarde, Aliya 1 ; Ortiz, Shelbi 1
CS: Denning, Haley 1
PO: Melendez, Leilani 1
Batting:
2B: Alivia Bark 2
HR: Ava Kuszak 1
RBI: Ava Kuszak 3 ; Alivia Bark 1 ; Peyton Bannon 1 ; Skylar Sirdashney 1
SH: Hilary Blomberg 1 ; Brooke Kuffel 1 ; Skylar Sirdashney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ava Kuszak 2 ; Paige Miller 2 ; Marytherese Nevin 1 ; Peyton Bannon 1 ; Skylar Sirdashney 1 ; Grace O'Brien 1
SB: Peyton Bannon 2
CS: Molly Schlosser 1
HBP: Hilary Blomberg 1 ; Peyton Bannon 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
2
H
5
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
4
RBI
4
AB
5
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Photo by: Ashley Steltenpohl
Utah Softball Sweeps Doubleheader from Wisconsin
3/2/2024 7:55 PM | Softball
Dayton’s ninth-inning homer helps win game one, Miranda goes the distance in game two
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Haley Denning tallied five hits and Abby Dayton drilled a go-ahead, two-run homer in the ninth inning of game one and Raci Miranda posted a complete-game victory in game two as the University of Utah softball team took both games of a doubleheader from the Wisconsin Badgers by scores of 9-8 and 6-2 on Saturday afternoon at Karl Brooks Field in St. George, Utah.
The Utes have now collected three straight victories to improve to 10-6 in 2024.
"I'm proud of our determination today," said coach Amy Hogue. "Winning both was big for us. Raci got her first start as a Ute and threw a complete game, which was absolutely amazing. We needed her spark for sure.
"Our first three hitters, Denning, Belarde and Dayton, remain the hottest in our lineup. They produced 13 hits and scored 9 runs between the three of them, which is a huge reason our team couldn't be denied today."
Game One
What turned into a slugfest started with two scoreless innings, but the Utes broke the ice in the third, when a walk and an infield hit put two runners on before a fielding error sent Julia Jimenez across. The next hitter was Dayton and she lined a two-run double into right-center for a 3-0 advantage.
In the fifth, a Denning single and a Belarde double put two runners in scoring position and another Wisconsin mistake in the field brought in both runners to put Utah's lead at five, but a three-run homer by the Badgers' Ava Kuszak in the home team's half of the fifth sliced Utah's edge to two. An RBI single by Denning in the sixth made the score 6-3, but another three-run rally by the opposition in their half of the sixth evened the score 6-6.
Wisconsin had an opportunity to secure a victory in the seventh, when Alivia Bark doubled to lead-off but Mariah Lopez struck out the next three hitters to keep the contest going. Both teams scored their automatic runners in the eighth and Lopez worked out of another jam in that stanza, using a strikeout and a flyout to strand the winning run on third.
The ninth inning is when Dayton struck for her second round-tripper of the season, belting a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left, but a lead-off double from the Badgers in the bottom of the ninth quickly threatened to tie the score again. A sacrifice pushed that runner to third with one out, but when the next hitter bounced a grounder to short, Karlie Davison nailed the runner at the plate for the second out. When Leilani Melendez sent a throw to second to catch a potential base-stealer moments later, Utah's win was secured.
Game Two
The Utes' offense went right back to work in the rematch, starting with an error, a single and a walk to load the bases. Kaylah Nelsen then cleared the bases by lashing a three-run double into the gap in left-center and Melendez made it 4-0 later in the frame with a solo shot to left.
The Badgers got a run back in the third thanks to a long ball of their own, but the Utes immediately crafted a response in their half of the frame. Utah used an error, a single and a sacrifice to put two runners in scoring position and another Wisconsin miscue sent Hailee White scampering across to make the score 5-1.
One more Badger run crossed the plate in the fifth, but White again crossed the plate to restore her team's four-run advantage, starting the bottom of the fifth with a double and touching home when Wisconsin committed another error.
Miranda made sure there'd be no Wisconsin comeback in game two, holding the Badgers to just two runs on seven hits while also picking up six strikeouts. She benefitted from a double play turned behind her in the first and she stranded runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and sixth. The Arizona native closed out the afternoon by retiring the side in order in the seventh.
Up Next
The Utes will play Wisconsin again on Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by a 12 p.m. matchup against Utah Tech.
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
The Utes have now collected three straight victories to improve to 10-6 in 2024.
"I'm proud of our determination today," said coach Amy Hogue. "Winning both was big for us. Raci got her first start as a Ute and threw a complete game, which was absolutely amazing. We needed her spark for sure.
"Our first three hitters, Denning, Belarde and Dayton, remain the hottest in our lineup. They produced 13 hits and scored 9 runs between the three of them, which is a huge reason our team couldn't be denied today."
Game One
What turned into a slugfest started with two scoreless innings, but the Utes broke the ice in the third, when a walk and an infield hit put two runners on before a fielding error sent Julia Jimenez across. The next hitter was Dayton and she lined a two-run double into right-center for a 3-0 advantage.
In the fifth, a Denning single and a Belarde double put two runners in scoring position and another Wisconsin mistake in the field brought in both runners to put Utah's lead at five, but a three-run homer by the Badgers' Ava Kuszak in the home team's half of the fifth sliced Utah's edge to two. An RBI single by Denning in the sixth made the score 6-3, but another three-run rally by the opposition in their half of the sixth evened the score 6-6.
Wisconsin had an opportunity to secure a victory in the seventh, when Alivia Bark doubled to lead-off but Mariah Lopez struck out the next three hitters to keep the contest going. Both teams scored their automatic runners in the eighth and Lopez worked out of another jam in that stanza, using a strikeout and a flyout to strand the winning run on third.
The ninth inning is when Dayton struck for her second round-tripper of the season, belting a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left, but a lead-off double from the Badgers in the bottom of the ninth quickly threatened to tie the score again. A sacrifice pushed that runner to third with one out, but when the next hitter bounced a grounder to short, Karlie Davison nailed the runner at the plate for the second out. When Leilani Melendez sent a throw to second to catch a potential base-stealer moments later, Utah's win was secured.
Game Two
The Utes' offense went right back to work in the rematch, starting with an error, a single and a walk to load the bases. Kaylah Nelsen then cleared the bases by lashing a three-run double into the gap in left-center and Melendez made it 4-0 later in the frame with a solo shot to left.
The Badgers got a run back in the third thanks to a long ball of their own, but the Utes immediately crafted a response in their half of the frame. Utah used an error, a single and a sacrifice to put two runners in scoring position and another Wisconsin miscue sent Hailee White scampering across to make the score 5-1.
One more Badger run crossed the plate in the fifth, but White again crossed the plate to restore her team's four-run advantage, starting the bottom of the fifth with a double and touching home when Wisconsin committed another error.
Miranda made sure there'd be no Wisconsin comeback in game two, holding the Badgers to just two runs on seven hits while also picking up six strikeouts. She benefitted from a double play turned behind her in the first and she stranded runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and sixth. The Arizona native closed out the afternoon by retiring the side in order in the seventh.
Up Next
The Utes will play Wisconsin again on Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by a 12 p.m. matchup against Utah Tech.
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2024 campaign are now available. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling the Utah ticket office at 801-581-8849 or visit www.utahtickets.com/softball/.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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