Utes finish strong after turmoil

The season didn't exactly get off to a flying start for the Utah women's softball team.

Just a couple of weeks before the start of training, longtime coach Mona Stevens resigned after nine seasons "to pursue other opportunities."

That left assistant coaches Kyle Magnusson and Marianne Bullis to pick up the pieces and try to salvage the season.

And what a job they did.

After starting out 3-5, the Utes suddenly caught fire and reeled off eight straight wins. By the end of the season, the Utes had challenged for the Mountain West Conference regular-season title, captured the tournament title as the No. 3 seed and capped off the season by winning a couple of games in the NCAA tournament before being eliminated by No. 3-seed Texas.

The Utes finished with a 40-21 record, their best mark since 1997 and only the sixth time in history that the team had topped the 40-win mark.

"We improved in everything," said Magnusson. "We set a new fielding record (.968), a new strikeout record (385) and our batting average went up from .248 to .293. We played together a little better and pitched very well."

Senior Jackie Wong, a first-team all-West Region selection, led the way with a .439 batting average, ninth best in the nation. In the field she made just one error at second base in 240 chances, an outstanding .996 fielding average.

"She was amazing," Magnusson said. "She came through with so many clutch hits this year."

Diana Phillips, a sophomore from Taylorsville, earned all-conference honors for the second straight year after batting .350 and stealing 14 bases. Jessica Shiery batted .289 and led the team with 12 home runs and 51 runs batted in.

Staci Hemingway, the Utes' sixth leading hitter during the regular season, had a stellar postseason, batting .368 and a team-best six RBIs. Devina Quintero batted .299 with 13 doubles, while Meghan Crouse hit .280.

The Utes used two pitchers throughout the season, both JC transfers, who performed well. Karina Cannon, a native of Australia, won 20 games and compiled a 2.11 ERA, while Meghan Dyer, who is from California, went 16-9 and led the team with 205 strikeouts in just 155 innings.

"Pitching is a big key in softball," Magnusson said. "If you pitch well, it makes everything else easier."

The good news for the Utes is that nearly everyone will be back.