The Washington Huskies offense was stifled by the Utah Utes on Saturday afternoon, as coach Heather Tarr’s team lost 2-1 to drop its third straight game. The Huskies are in a bit of a tailspin, as they have now lost 5 of their last 6 before the Pac-12 Tournament begins on Wednesday at Stanford.
Utah’s Kaylah Nelsen opened the scoring with an RBI single off Lindsay Lopez in the first inning, and the Utes doubled their lead when Lopez walked in center fielder Abby Dayton in the second inning. Catcher Sydney Stewart responded with an RBI double in the third to score shortstop Rylee Holtorf, but that was all the offense Washington could muster.
Even though the Huskies recorded 8 hits, they were only able to push one run across. 3 of those were doubles from Stewart, who tied the school record for doubles in a game with her performance.
Lopez took the loss, her third of the season, after managing to work just 1 1/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, and a walk before giving way to Sidne Peters, who let up 2 hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings. Mariah Lopez earned the win for the Utes, improving to 21-10 on the season after coming in to relieve starter Sarah Ladd.
The Utes ace went the final 4 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk, as the Huskies failed to figure her out for the second straight day.
The Utes improved to 32-19 overall and 10-13 in Pac-12 play with the victory, while the Huskies continued to stumble, dropping to 31-12 on the year and 13-10 against conference foes. The two teams will conclude the series and regular season on Sunday at noon.