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No. 12 Utah Softball’s Magical Season Comes to an End

Jun 2, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 12 ranked and 15th-seeded University of Utah softball team saw its 2023 season come to an end on the second day of the Women's College World Series, as they suffered an 8-0 defeat at the hands of the No. 6 Oklahoma State Cowboys at OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex.
 
The Utes finish this season at 42-16 and their .724 winning percentage is the program's highest since 1994. The Utes also achieved their highest win total since they also won 42 games in 2000 and achieved the highest conference win total since they joined the Pac-12.
 
"Super proud," said head coach Amy Hogue. "Proud of what we did because it's an entire season, right, that we're talking about. They accomplished so much. So, it was fantastic year for the Utes."
 
The Cowboys started quickly in the first inning, grabbing a 2-0 lead on an RBI single off the bat of Katelynn Carwile.
 
In the second, the first seven OSU batters reached base, fueling a six-run rally that extended the lead to 8-0. The big blow was a two-run double courtesy of Morgyn Wynne.
 
Utah senior pitcher Halle Morris held the Cowboys' offense at bay after that, tossing scoreless ball in the third and fourth innings, but the Utes couldn't find a way to scratch out a run against Lexi Kilfoyl, who pitched all five innings for OSU. The last two hits of Utah's season came in that fifth and final inning, courtesy of seniors Jordyn Gasper and Haley Denning.
 
"We've tried so hard our past five years to get here," said Denning. "It's just awesome to be here. We wanted to try to win for our team, but obviously it sometimes doesn't happen like that. I just want to give a shout-out to my team because this has been amazing with them and they're awesome people."

"Last year wasn't how we wanted to end," said senior infielder Ellessa Bonstrom. "So, from the very beginning of this year we knew that the World Series was our goal. It started from the very first practice to the very first meeting. I mean, we knew we wanted to end at the World Series. To say that we actually did is honestly a dream come true."
 
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Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).