Utah softball advances to Women's College World Series for 1st time in nearly 3 decades
Utah softball is going to Oklahoma City.
The Utes clinched their spot in the 8-team field on Sunday afternoon with a Game 3 victory over San Diego State. This will be Utah’s first trip to the Women’s College World Series since 1994.
Here’s video of the final out and ensuing celebration:
Here's how it ended!#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/7uyvtzfTb4
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) May 28, 2023
The Utes fell behind 1-0 in the 2nd inning of this contest, but responded with 4 runs in the bottom half of the frame. Three of those runs were unearned as SDSU committed 3 errors on the day.
Halle Morris delivered a key hit in the 6th inning. Morris was pinch-hitting and came up clutch with a 2-out, 2-RBI single to extend Utah’s lead to 7-2.
Here’s video of Morris’ hit:
Utes keep rollin’ 😤
📺 ESPN
📱 https://t.co/tR3ssRVa2H@Utah_Softball | #Pac12SB pic.twitter.com/kz8Wd8vmR6— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 28, 2023
Mariah Lopez pitched the first 5 innings of this game for Utah. She gave up just 4 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 6 Aztec batters. Sarah Ladd closed out the game with a pair of clean innings in the circle.
Utah earned the No. 15 seed for the NCAA Tournament, making it an unlikely inclusion in the Women’s College World Series. Utah will be the lowest-seeded team to reach Oklahoma City.
Utah is 1 of 3 Pac-12 programs to reach the final stage of the NCAA Tournament. No. 7 Washington and No. 9 Stanford are also headed to OKC.
The Women’s College World Series begins Thursday, June 1.
Photo via video from Pac-12 Conference on Twitter.