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Passi’s Clutch Homer Propels Utah Softball Past Oregon

by Utah Athletics
May 9, 2024

STANFORD, Calif. – Shonty Passi blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning and the University of Utah softball team held on for a 7-4 victory over the No. 22 Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium in Stanford, Calif.
 
This triumph improves Utah's record to 33-19 in 2024, while Oregon falls to 28-19.

"What a fun way to win our first game of the week," said Hogue. "This team went through all of the hard things in that game. We made mistakes and came right back. We picked each other up over and over and over again. It was a true team win today. Little things turned into big things all game long. Some were for us, some against us, but we had the momentum at the end and wrapped it up.
 
"There were lots of highlights for me, some obvious and some not so obvious. The team knows about them and that's what matters most. One game down, two to go. On to the next!"
 
The Utes started the seventh-inning trailing by a run, but infield hits from Haley Denning and Abby Dayton got the comeback started and both runners moved up on a sacrifice. Two batters later, a wild pitch allowed Denning to scamper home with the tying run and an intentional walk brought up Passi. Utah's freshman shortstop took a first pitch strike, then demolished an 0-1 pitch, sending it over the wall in left-center to put her team ahead.
 

 
In the bottom of the seventh, the Ducks tried to stage an uprising of their own, putting a pair on base, but Mariah Lopez then struck out each of the next two batters to seal Utah's win.
 
The events that set up Passi's clutch clout started with the Ducks scoring first, as they strung together three hits in the opening inning to put the Utes in an early 2-0 hole. In the third, the Utes managed to slice the deficit to one, when Abby Dayton singled and Kaylah Nelsen smacked an RBI double off the wall in right.
 
Utah's offense came to life again in the fifth, thanks to a single and a pair of errors that loaded the bases. Nelsen tied the game by lining an RBI single into left and when Sophie Jacquez ripped a hit of her own into right moments later, the Utes had their first lead.
 
Unfortunately for Utah, their lead didn't last. The Ducks pushed across the tying run in their half of the fifth and added an unearned run the sixth for a late 4-3 edge, but that just set the stage for Passi's heroics.
 

 
Up Next
The Utes will now wait to see who they'll play in round two of the tournament, where they'll face either Stanford or California.
 
Follow the Utes!
Fans can follow along on social media (Twitter: @Utah_Softball |Instagram: @utahsoftball | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utessoftball).

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