NCAA Softball Super Regional Preview: Washington vs. Utah
An all Pac-12 matchup awaits in Seattle this week when the No. 6 seed Washington welcomes the eleventh seed Utah. These two met for a three-game series back in mid-May with the Huskies taking all three games. The two combined to put up 44 runs in the three games. Washington dropped the hammer in game one winning 12-1. Games two and three both went extra innings with the Huskies coming out on top 4-2 (8 innings) and 13-12 (8 innings). Both are playing at a high level right now which should make for a great series.
From the Plate
For Washington Ali Aguilar is heating up at the plate. In the regional, she went 5-for-7 (.714 average) with two home runs and four RBIs. Aguilar leads the Huskies in home runs (12) and runs (56). Two others in the lineup have double digit home runs in Casey Stangel (11) and Morganne Flores (10). Junior Taylor Van Zee leads the team in batting (.366) and doubles (16). This team also has speed on the bases which can cause problems for the defense and have stolen 46-of-59 bases attempted.
Utah currently has six starters batting above the .300 mark. Leading the way is Bonita, CA native Hannah Flippen. Flippen has an impressive slash line of .436/.522/.758 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs. Right behind her is senior Anissa Urtez with a .405 average and 50 RBIs as well. They have a tendency as a team to score in bunches. The problem with that is they also, at times, have struggled to score. Example, in the first game of the regional they won 10-0 over Fordham scoring early and often. In game two they faced in-state rival BYU 3-2 in walk-off fashion. The next day the exploded for a 14-0 win over the same BYU team. If the bats are alive, they are a dangerous team.
From the Circle
Washington has relied heavily on sophomore Taran Alvelo (31-6). She has thrown 216 innings of the teams 369.2. She threw all three games of the regional picking up three wins including a no-hitter against Montana. On the season she has 183 strikeouts. In their series this year, she saw action in all three games picking up all three wins. She only threw a total of 11 innings in the three-game set but allowed just eight hits and zero earned runs. Washington’s three other pitchers combined gave up 15 earned runs in the series. It will be interesting to see how much they plan on using her in the super regional based on their last meeting.
Pitching for the Utes has been good, but not exactly lights out. They will use three in Miranda Viramontes (14-3), Hailey Hilburn (5-2) and Katie Donovan (17-9). Donovan has thrown the most innings and comes into the series with a 3.10 ERA over 144.2 innings. Viramontes has seen the bulk of the other innings (113.1). They will use both pitchers and Hilburn in relief. They need to avoid the big inning and play sound defense.
Analysis
This should one of the more competitive super regionals this weekend. Both teams are playing well right now and coming into the tournament, Utah was viewed as a real threat no matter where they ended up. They have had some big wins this year over Tennessee and LSU. They also swept UCLA and took 2-of-3 against the No. 2 overall seed Arizona. Washington comes in with early season wins over Auburn and Oklahoma in nonconference action. They were swept by Arizona and dropped 2-of3 against UCLA. The first thing to look at is if Washington throws Alvelo all three games. The more the Utes see her, the better they may hit. Utah will have to avoid the big inning and play solid defense. There is a slight edge going to Washington playing at home.
Prediction
This is a tough call but we are going with the slight upset and Utah winning it, but it will go all three games.
