TUCSON — On Friday night, after Utah beat Washington in the semifinals, head coach Amy Hogue said the Utes would need contributions from their bench to win the inaugural Pac-12 Softball Tournament.

Boy, was she right.

Despite losing stars Julia Jimenez and Sophie Jacquez to injury in the third inning, No. 3 seed Utah slayed top-seeded UCLA 7-4 on Saturday to hoist the trophy at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Reserves like Shelbi Ortiz, Hailee White and Halle Morris stepped up to snap the Bruins' 25-game win streak.

After Jacquez limped off with an apparent leg injury, Ortiz, her replacement, lined an RBI single to left to give Utah a 4-3 lead in the fourth.

UCLA evened the score a half inning later, but White, filling in for Jimenez after she fouled a pitch off her face, drove an RBI double into right center to put Utah back on top in the sixth.

Morris, a pinch hitter, promptly smacked a two-run homer to make it a three-run cushion that the Utes would not surrender. The Tucson native picked a prime time — and place — to launch her first long ball of the season.

"It felt amazing," Morris said. "All my work that I put in, it finally paid off. ... We were all just fighting for each other."

It was that kind of timely hitting that fueled Utah's title run. The Utes hit .352 and scored 21 times in their three wins.

Not even Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo could cool their bats. Utah knocked out Faraimo in the fourth inning and became just the third team this season to plate more than three runs against the UCLA ace.

That the Utes did it without their No. 3 and 4 hitters for most of the night is a testament to their depth and determination.

"Every one of those kids that participated late in the game are players that have been impact players for us a lot and they were ready," Hogue said.

Mariah Lopez, meanwhile, didn't require any relief. The Utah left-hander was named the event's Most Outstanding Player after pitching complete games against Washington and UCLA, the top two seeds in the tournament.

The junior hurled 131 pitches Saturday after throwing 112 on Friday. She got stronger as the game wore on, finishing with three scoreless frames.

"I just want the ball," Lopez said. "This team believes in me, I believe in every single one of them and I'll ride till we're done. I'm ready for it."

To outsiders, the Utes winning the Pac-12 Tournament may come as a surprise. After all, they were picked to finish eighth in the league's preseason coaches poll.

Those inside the program didn't doubt that they were capable of this. They spoke it into existence.

“They talked about being the first winner of the first-ever (Pac-12 Tournament)," Hogue said. "They said it out loud, which to me says they're willing to risk looking silly. You don't say that stuff out loud if you're picked to finish eighth (in the Pac-12), but they believed in themselves. They said it out loud and they went and just did that."

And they're not done yet. Utah is now a lock to appear in its first NCAA Tournament since 2017 and may even be a top-16 seed when the bracket is released Sunday at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

That would allow the Utes to host at least the first weekend, putting them in a better spot to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the Women's College World Series.

“They want to win championships," Hogue said. "This was just the first one."

A title game to remember! 🙌

3-seed @Utah_Softball rallies to claim the first-ever #Pac12SB Tournament Championship over 1-seed UCLA. pic.twitter.com/yCR9nceBJo

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 14, 2023

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM