Utah Softball Hangs Tough, Move On To Ole Miss

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah softball hung tough through their first NCAA Tournament game against Southern Illinois and will now turn their attention to Ole Miss Saturday afternoon.

The Utes got off to a quick and easy 6-0 start over the Salukis in the first two innings before SIU battled back tying the game 9-9 at the top of the sixth. Utah was unphased however and pushed two more runners through at the bottom of the sixth, before keeping the Salukis scoreless at the top of the seventh to win the game.

Utah won the afternoon 11-9 and will now turn their attention to the Rebels who beat Baylor earlier in the day 3-0.

With this last pitch and out, @Utah_Softball beats SIU, 11-9.

The #Utes will take on Ole Miss tomorrow. #GoUtes #UteProud pic.twitter.com/I2iUVtvvWj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 19, 2023

Amy Hogue Compliments Utes’ ‘Toughness’

Head coach Amy Hogue knows her team will need to be better moving forward, especially pitching the ball, but noted she believes her team is the real deal and has been saying it since early last September.

“We have defense, speed, pitching, and power,” Hogue said. “They have a lot of confidence in themselves and each other and having a good time playing the game that we love. If you don’t see that or feel that then you aren’t paying attention. The word we got the most when we won last weekend was, ‘your team is really inspiring’. It’s fun to watch. Even though we had our ups and downs today, this is what postseason is about.”

To the second inning we go.#Utes up 5-0 on SIU after this beauty. #GoUtes #UteProud pic.twitter.com/wV3qsnSCMT

— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) May 19, 2023

The only thing coach Hogue said she wasn’t sure of about the Utes early on before games were played, was their toughness. Obviously, since then, her team has proven they are tough and then some as was on full display in Friday’s contest against Southern Illinois.

“Being tough is one of those things that was on the table to still find out,” Hogue said. “I didn’t know at that time. I only knew they were good athletes, and I knew if they learned how to train hard and play together and like each other, have fun and endure the season that we do- it’s a marathon, then they would have all of the pieces to make a run. They’ve proven that and they’ve proven their level of toughness and I’m really proud of what they have done.”

Up Next For Utah

Now that SIU is behind Utah, they will quickly turn their attention to Ole Miss on Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. MT at the Dumke Family Softball Stadium. Baylor and SIU will play afterward at 3:30 p.m. MT.

𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄!!

The Utes win a wild one in their NCAA Tournament opener and will play for a spot in the regional final on Saturday!#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/f1xMPhBB9u

— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) May 19, 2023

If the Utes should lose their first game tomorrow, they will play in a 6:00 p.m. MT game against the winner of Baylor vs. SIU. If Utah wins, they automatically move forward to Sunday’s contest slated for 12:00 p.m. MT.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram: @BodkinKSLsports

 

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