Softball Opens Series Against No. 14/13 ASU With 9-1 Setback

SALT LAKE CITY – Junior Ellessa Bonstrom belted her team-leading eighth home run of the season in the fourth inning but the visiting No. 14/13 Arizona State Sun Devils built an early 5-0 lead and cruised to a six-inning run-rule 9-1 victory over Utah Friday in the opener of a three-game Pac-12 Conference series at Dumke Family Stadium. The Utes held ASU to seven hits, but committed four errors that extended innings and aided the Sun Devils' offensive attack.
 
ASU improves to 20-8 with the win (3-4 Pac-12), while Utah falls to 12-13 (0-7).
 
Freshman Mariah Lopez (2-8) started at pitcher for the Utes and allowed five hits and three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work, while striking out two. The Sun Devils scored three runs in the second inning and added two more in the third before Utah got on the board with the Bonstrom fourth-inning home run. ASU scored four more in the top of the sixth to build an eight-run lead and put themselves in position for the six-inning run-rule victory.

STANDOUT STAT
Sophomore Halle Morris, who played both third base and right field today, went 2-3 at the plate to lead Utah's offensive attack.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Amy Hogue
"We need to play clean on defense to have a chance to beat that team. That was our first time facing (Lindsay) Lopez. She is tough. We will get her again and know the adjustments we will need to make."

NOTABLE

• Fifth-year Alyssa Barrera played in her 200th game as a Utah Ute today. The school record for games played is 243, shared by Michele Larsen (1999-2002) and Molly McLean (1999-2002).
• Bonstrom's home run was her team-leading eighth of the season, and her first since Feb. 21 at UNLV, when she hit four in a three-game stretch.
• Morris (2-3) logged her third-multi-hit game of the season
• Lopez struck out two batters to raise her team-leading total to 36 strikeouts on the season.

?? BLAST OFF FOR @ellessabonstrom! ??
Utah gets on the board with a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th.

B4
Utah 1
ASU 5 pic.twitter.com/6xZbEK2A0P

— Utah Softball ?? (@Utah_Softball) April 1, 2021

ON DECK
Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. at Dumke Family Stadium.