Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
STANFORD, Calif. â The reigning Pac-12 softball champions return to defend their crown Saturday after No. 6 seed Utah secured a 2-1 upset win over No. 2 seed Stanford.
The game wasn't without some late drama, though.
Utah controlled a 2-0 lead for much of the semifinal matchup Friday night at Smith Family Stadium, Stanford's home stadium, before the Cardinal managed to load up bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Mariah Lopez, who came on in relief of starter Sarah Ladd midway through the seventh, took Stanford second baseman Taryn Kern to full count before sending a riser a little too inside, striking Kern's shoulder. It sent one run in and put added pressure on the veteran Utes pitcher.
Stanford center fielder Emily Jones had a chance to be hero in a potential walk-off opportunity, but after taking two straight strikes, the left handed outfielder hit a hard grounder to shortstop. But as Utah shortstop Shonty Passi ran up to field the ball, she collided with a Stanford runner, knocking her to the crowd.
Immediately, the field ump called an out for runner interference. Ball game.
And the Utah dugout immediately rushed to Passi (for the second straight day) to celebrate the upset victory.
A short review of the play was upheld, officially confirming the win, sending Utah back to the championship game for the second straight year (the only two championship games to ever be played in Pac-12 history). The Utes will play the winner of No. 1 UCLA or No. 5 Arizona.
Upset at the #Pac12SB Tournament!
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 11, 2024
No. 6 @Utah_Softball advances to the Championship Game! pic.twitter.com/iPx5zONZBX
Utah opened up the night when Kaylah Nelsen singled to shortstop, sending Aliya Belarde home for the opening run in the first inning. Nelsen followed up the scoring with another in the third inning when she singled down the left field line, once again sending Belarde home for the second run of the night.
Stanford attempted to make a comeback, but Utah's defense held strong to keep a clean slate through six innings. Utah, too, couldn't get anything more on the scoreboard as the teams relied on their defense.
In the seventh inning, though, the pressure mounted and Stanford found a little bit of life. After a groundout to start Stanford's comeback try, Ladd took Jade Berry to full count before walking the third baseman.
Stanford elected to pinch hit relief pitcher NiJaree Canady for Caelan Koch, and hit a ground ball to third baseman Karlie Davison, but Davison bobbled the ball for an error to keep Canady on base, giving the Cardinal the tying runner on first.
Utah head coach Amy Hogue pulled Ladd and inserted Lopez, who threw a complete game Thursday, into the lineup to finish the job. After a fly out to left field for the second out of the inning, Stanford pinch hit Allie Clements for Kaitlyn Lim.
Clements found a sliver of daylight in the infield and hit a shallow pop up between the pitcher and shortstop to record a single to load up bases. It was her first hit since March 23, which was also against Utah.
Lopez earned the save and Ladd got the win after pitching 6.1 innings. Ladd only allowed three hits and had one strikeout against 25 batters, and Lopez allowed only one hit against four batters.
"Shoutout to Sarah Ladd," Hogue said. "She came out hot and did exactly what we needed her to do to feed our defense. I'm super proud of that win for her. It's probably the biggest we've had. And in order to meet the goals we have as a program to get back into that championship, she was the one who led us there and I couldn't be more proud."
