Freshman Shonty Passi's 3-run home run lifts Utah softball past Oregon in Pac-12 Tournament

STANFORD, Calif. — The moment wasn't too big for freshman Shonty Passi.

As the only freshman in the starting lineup, there was no bigger moment in her short career than Thursday afternoon's at-bat at Smith Family Stadium in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 softball tournament.

With the game locked up in the seventh inning of a wild back-and-forth game, Passi stepped up to the plate, watched a strike, and let the next one rip. The freshman shortstop made full contact of the ball and sent it flying over the left center fence for the go-ahead three-run home run.

In an instant, Oregon went from having a win within reach to suddenly trailing by three in a pivotal game for both team looking for a postseason berth.

Starter Mariah Lopez then did the rest in the circle in the bottom of the seventh and recorded three strikeouts — none more dramatic than a 3-2 count pitch to KK Humphreys for the second out. And the Utes went on to upset third-seeded Oregon 7-4.

Utah will await the winner of California-Stanford for its semifinal opponent on Friday (5:30 p.m. MDT, ESPN2).

Though Passi was the hero in the end, it was an uncharacteristic error by Oregon that opened the door for the reigning champion Utes late in the game.

Facing a one-run deficit and two outs, Utah head coach Amy Hogue inserted Julia Jimenez to the lineup as a pinch hitter for Reese Lee, with runners on second and third base. But Oregon had no desire to throw to the veteran hitter and attempted to intentionally walk Jimenez.

But on the third pitch to a standing catcher Emma Kauf on the outside of the plate, the ball got past Kauf and Haley Denning quickly saw an opportunity and scored the tying run. The rest is history as Passi lit up the scoreboard to keep the Utes in the tournament a little longer.

"I just knew that since (Jimenez) got walked, I had to be there for my team," Passi said. "I just had to be there for everyone who's put in the work."

Oregon opened up the game with an early 2-0 lead before the Utes battled back and eventually took a one-run lead in the fifth inning off back-to-back singles from Kaylah Nelsen and Sophie Jacquez.

But Oregon tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth on a throwing error on Utah.

The Ducks then extended the lead by one on an error by Denning, who tried to get to a shallow fly ball by Kauf that eventually hit off her glove and chest to allow Kai Luschar to get home.

Lopez threw a complete game for the Utes, recording eight strikeouts — none bigger than the final three — and allowed six hits on 151 total pitches to help her team to a win.

Though a chaotic season for the defending champs, Pass said Utah has been preparing for the moment all season.

"We've worked through it the entire season and I feel like we've grown a lot," she said. "And as a team, we've put it together and it's coming together right in the right time."

Related topics