Softball Adds Graduate Transfer Shi Smith from Seattle U
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Softball head coach Amy Hogue has announced the second transfer addition to her 2022 roster this week, with graduate transfer pitcher Shi Smith officially joining the Utes' program after spending the past four seasons at Seattle University. Smith comes to Salt Lake City with 34 career wins, fresh off a 2021 season in which she earned first-team All-WAC honors. Smith has one season of eligibility to play for the Utes.
"We are excited and blessed to announce Shi Smith will be joining our team as a graduate transfer," Hogue said. "Shi is a spin pitcher who comes in with four years of experience in the circle. We were looking for a veteran pitcher, and we can't wait to see Shi compete in the Pac-12 for the Utes!"
Smith has made 50 career starts among her 111 appearances, and has amassed a record of 34-21, with 11 saves, and an ERA of 2.85. Seattle U's career leader in strikeouts per seven innings (7.45) and opponent batting average (.231), Smith led Seattle in 2021 with 31 appearances and career highs in wins (10) and saves (4), en route first-team All-WAC honors. She posted 3.24 ERA and held opponents to a .268 batting average with a team-high 114 strikeouts. Her top performance came against Dixie State (4/30), pitching five innings and allowing just one hit with four strikeouts in an 8-0 win. Smith earned the save in the WAC Tournament Championship win over New Mexico State (May 15).
As a junior in 2020 she led the WAC with 91 strikeouts in 64.2 innings and held batters to a conference-best .220 batting average. She threw the eighth no-hitter in program history in a 3-0 win over UC Davis (Feb. 21), setting a single-game school record with 15 strikeouts. Her sophomore year in 2019 produced a 9-4 record—tying her previous career high in wins—with a 2.47 ERA, and a single-season program record 7.34 strikeouts per seven innings, topping her own mark from 2018. As a freshman in 2018, Smith went 9-2 with a career-best 2.42 ERA, best in the WAC. She pitched three complete games and limited opponents to a WAC-best .210 batting average.
A 2018 graduate of Gresham (Ore.) High School, Smith was a four-time first-team all-league selection and claimed honorable mention all-state, as well as Oregon 6A Pitcher of the Year and league pitcher of the year as a senior. She competed for Oregon Blaze 18 Gold Bowman from 2014-2017.
The daughter of Joan and Rick Smith, Shi has an older brother, Ricky. She earned her bachelor's degree from Seattle University in Humanities for Teaching with a Specialization in EDLS and Special Education in the spring of 2021.