A huge Top 25 matchup happened in college softball on Sunday afternoon and it had fans and others buzzing
25th-ranked Utah pulled off a massive victory over 18th-ranked Arizona in a wild, wild finish in Tucson. The Utes fought off a 7-1 deficit to come from behind and beat the Wildcats, 13-11, taking the series in the process. The two sides were able to match the drama from a day before, as Arizona won 10-9 in nine innings on Saturday. Arizona scored nine of its 10 runs after the 7th inning to win its lone game of the series.
On Sunday, the Utes were the ones who came from behind after having their 11-game winning streak snapped. Utah stung Arizona in the top of the seventh inning, as graduate student utility Ellessa Bonstrom hit a go-ahead two-run home run to put the Utes up for good, capping an 8-0 run.
T7 | 𝓖𝓞𝓝𝓔! 𝓖𝓞𝓝𝓔! 𝓖𝓞𝓝𝓔! 𝓖𝓞𝓝𝓔!@ellessabonstrom puts Utah ahead for the first time all day with a two-run tater!
Tune in on @Pac12Network
📊 https://t.co/fJHMy8LMOr
📺 https://t.co/RgKeRrJpNX#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/IJ6FMZsWto— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 19, 2023
Sophie Jacquez got the rally started, but the junior outfielder played a much bigger role in Sunday’s win. In the top of the fifth inning, she punched an RBI single into left-center field with runners on the corners to cut the lead to five runs.
T5 | The Utes keep fighting as @sophiejacquezz knocks in a run with an RBI single.
Tune in on @Pac12Network
📊 https://t.co/fJHMy8LMOr
📺 https://t.co/RgKeRrJpNX#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/DlWXBdWj1K— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 19, 2023
The Utes didn’t stop there, as Abby Dayton was partly responsible for those eight unanswered runs. Later in the top of the fifth inning, the freshman outfielder delivered her third and fourth RBIs of the game, putting the game within reach.
T5 | That's four RBIs for Abby Dayton after this two-run hit!
Tune in on @Pac12Network
📊 https://t.co/fJHMy8LMOr
📺 https://t.co/RgKeRrJpNX#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/W3j2YCQs3y— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 19, 2023
Another RBI single off the bat of Jacquez knotted the game at 11 in the top of the sixth inning.
T6 | 𝐖𝐄. 𝐀𝐑𝐄. 𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐃!!
Sophie Jacquez's RBI single knots the score at 1️⃣1️⃣!
📊 https://t.co/fJHMy8LMOr
📺 https://t.co/RgKeRrJpNX#GoUtes /// #SOTL pic.twitter.com/nHNzScNCrE— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 19, 2023
Utah (21-5, 5-1 Pac-12) is now atop the conference standings. And, for the first time since 2018, the Utes rank in the top 20 of D1 Softball’s latest rankings, which has Utah as the No. 19 team in the country.
The college softball world buzzed about this epic clash.
Winning in Tucson is hard, let alone like this.
Utes deserve to be in EVERY top 25 poll this week. https://t.co/KfrAEtzA9J
— Jenna Becerra (@JennaBecerra01) March 19, 2023
Somehow, we matched the drama we saw yesterday in Tucson with another miraculous comeback win. Congratulations to @Utah_Softball for an incredible victory rebounding from heartbreak on Saturday https://t.co/DhEW6tmCy4
— Brian Webber (@bwwebber) March 19, 2023
“That was one of the best comebacks I’ve ever been a part of! It took every one of our players to get it done today.”
– Head coach Amy Hogue#GoUteshttps://t.co/iywGBJ9UM2
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) March 20, 2023
A LOT OF FIGHT IN THE DOG!!! https://t.co/vxCmdh41jW pic.twitter.com/FcgyJP2Trn
— DJ Gasso (@djgasso) March 20, 2023
Don’t look now, but the Utes are 5-1 in PAC play 👀👀
LETS GO 🙌🏽 https://t.co/tHknGMDsoO
— Kirstie Bender (@kirstiebender6) March 19, 2023
Winning in Tucson is hard, let alone like this.
Utes deserve to be in EVERY top 25 poll this week. https://t.co/KfrAEtzA9J
— Jenna Becerra (@JennaBecerra01) March 19, 2023
