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, March 11
Salt Lake City, UT
2 p.m.
University of Utah
7
vs
6
Oregon State
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
Photo by: Axe Tang/Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Pulls Out 7-6 Nail-Biter Over Oregon State
3/11/2023 6:23 PM | Softball
Bonstrom’s three hits, Lopez’s clutch pitching help Utes hold off Beavers
SALT LAKE CITY – A seventh-inning rally by the Oregon State Beavers yielded four runs and put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with two outs, but Mariah Lopez shut down the OSU uprising and the University of Utah softball team held on for a 7-6 victory on Saturday afternoon in Pac-12 Conference action at Dumke Family Softball Stadium.
Utah keeps its win streak alive and now pushes it to nine-in-a-row. Their overall record is 18-4 and they are 2-0 in conference play, while OSU is 9-13 and 0-2 in conference.
"I'm proud of a 2-0 start for this group in Pac-12 play!" said head coach Amy Hogue. "Mariah struck out eight and didn't even have her best stuff today. That's how good she is. "I thought Bonstrom was fantastic with her offensive game today. I don't know a lot of people that do a drag bunt for a base hit after hitting a home run like she did today. She's been doing whatever she needs to in order to help us win including the little things she did running the bases today."
The Beavers got on the board quickly thanks to an RBI single from Kaiea Higa in the top of the first, but Ellessa Bonstrom supplied an immediate answer in the bottom of the frame, hitting a rocket over the right field fence for a solo homer, her fifth round-tripper in her last seven games.
After OSU's first-inning tally, Lopez settled in in the circle and held OSU without a hit over the next four innings, retiring 12 of the 13 batters she faced during that stretch, with the baserunner reaching on an error. By the end of the day, Lopez would have eight strikeouts while also collecting her seventh win.
The Utah lineup grabbed the lead for the first time in the fourth, with a rally that began with back-to-back lead-off hits from Aliya Belarde and Bonstrom and when Sophie Jacquez punched a single through the left side, Belarde dented home plate to make score 2-1. When Bonstrom came across one batter later on a fielder's choice, the Utes were up by two.
The Beavers got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom half, Utah staged its largest outburst of the game. Bonstrom's third hit of the day, a one-out single, lit the fuse and she raced all the way home from first when Julia Jimenez split the gap in left-center for an RBI double. Jacquez then drove in her second run of the day with a single to right and Kendall Lundberg capped the four-run inning three batters later, ripping a two-run double to left for a 7-2 advantage.
The comeback that almost stole the win from the Utes started with a hit and a walk in the top of the seventh before a three-run homer from Abby Doerr cut the home team's lead to two. The Beavers then used a double and consecutive walks to load the bases before a hit-by-pitch sliced Utah's edge to a single run. At that point, Lopez, who'd been relieved earlier in the inning, returned to the mound and recorded the final out.
"If we want to sweep this first weekend, we are going to need to pitch better in the final inning," said Hogue. "We haven't been good at that lately so we will definitely find a way to clean up that part of our game."
Up Next
The Utes and the Beavers will battle one more time on Sunday, with the first pitch being thrown at noon.
The Utes have also announced that their game against North Dakota State scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
Utah keeps its win streak alive and now pushes it to nine-in-a-row. Their overall record is 18-4 and they are 2-0 in conference play, while OSU is 9-13 and 0-2 in conference.
"I'm proud of a 2-0 start for this group in Pac-12 play!" said head coach Amy Hogue. "Mariah struck out eight and didn't even have her best stuff today. That's how good she is. "I thought Bonstrom was fantastic with her offensive game today. I don't know a lot of people that do a drag bunt for a base hit after hitting a home run like she did today. She's been doing whatever she needs to in order to help us win including the little things she did running the bases today."
The Beavers got on the board quickly thanks to an RBI single from Kaiea Higa in the top of the first, but Ellessa Bonstrom supplied an immediate answer in the bottom of the frame, hitting a rocket over the right field fence for a solo homer, her fifth round-tripper in her last seven games.
After OSU's first-inning tally, Lopez settled in in the circle and held OSU without a hit over the next four innings, retiring 12 of the 13 batters she faced during that stretch, with the baserunner reaching on an error. By the end of the day, Lopez would have eight strikeouts while also collecting her seventh win.
The Utah lineup grabbed the lead for the first time in the fourth, with a rally that began with back-to-back lead-off hits from Aliya Belarde and Bonstrom and when Sophie Jacquez punched a single through the left side, Belarde dented home plate to make score 2-1. When Bonstrom came across one batter later on a fielder's choice, the Utes were up by two.
The Beavers got one of those runs back in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom half, Utah staged its largest outburst of the game. Bonstrom's third hit of the day, a one-out single, lit the fuse and she raced all the way home from first when Julia Jimenez split the gap in left-center for an RBI double. Jacquez then drove in her second run of the day with a single to right and Kendall Lundberg capped the four-run inning three batters later, ripping a two-run double to left for a 7-2 advantage.
The comeback that almost stole the win from the Utes started with a hit and a walk in the top of the seventh before a three-run homer from Abby Doerr cut the home team's lead to two. The Beavers then used a double and consecutive walks to load the bases before a hit-by-pitch sliced Utah's edge to a single run. At that point, Lopez, who'd been relieved earlier in the inning, returned to the mound and recorded the final out.
"If we want to sweep this first weekend, we are going to need to pitch better in the final inning," said Hogue. "We haven't been good at that lately so we will definitely find a way to clean up that part of our game."
Up Next
The Utes and the Beavers will battle one more time on Sunday, with the first pitch being thrown at noon.
The Utes have also announced that their game against North Dakota State scheduled for Tuesday has been canceled.
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).
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