The University of Utah softball team earned a berth in the championship game of its NCAA Regional by navigating through the losers' bracket. The Utes opened the day with a 1-0 loss (nine innings) to No. 2 ranked Southwestern Louisiana, before 1,244 vocal Cajun fans. The Utes then kept their championship hopes alive by bouncing back to edge Princeton, 2-1, in the nightcap.
Freshman pitcher Ali Andrus, who went all 10 innings in Friday's 1-0 win over Princeton, went the distance in both games Saturday, as well. Against USL, Andrus again made it through the regulation seven innings without allowing a run, but gave up a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. In the second game, a visibly tired Andrus overcame a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the bottom of the seventh by striking out Princeton's number four and five batters."Ali really gutted it up when she needed to," said Ute coach Jo Evans, whose team must beat USL twice on Sunday to earn a trip to the NCAA College World Series.
In the opener, Utah became the 53rd straight home victim of USL. Andrus kept the heavy hitting Cajuns at bay for eight innings before misfiring a belt high fastball to Kathy Morton, who crushed the ball 250 feet into the left field bleachers for the winning run.
Utah squandered plenty of good chances to upset the favored Cajuns. In the fourth, Amy Timmel and Scooter Hoshide got aboard on singles with just one out and the middle of the batting order up, yet Utah failed to push in a run. In the seventh, Hoshide lined a lead-off double, but again Utah's normally potent mid- lineup players failed to come through.
Against Princeton, Utah finally scored early. Timmel led off the first inning with a single, went to second on Stacie Reynold's sacrifice run and scored on Hoshide's single up the middle. Princeton, which earned the right to meet Utah after eliminating McNeese State, 2-0, evened the score in the fifth, with an unearned run. In the top of the sixth, it was Utah's turn for an unearned run - what turned into the game-winner.
Utah, now 48-11, and USL (57-3) tangle at 1 p.m. (MDT) today. If Utah wins, a playoff game will start at 3 p.m.