Utah pulled a win over the No. 13 team in the nation Friday evening.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - No. 17 Utah Softball started the Mary Nutter Classic with a pair of impressive wins over No. 13 Tennessee and Houston on Friday evening.
Miranda Viramontes twirled a complete-game shutout in the opener and the Utes got some timely hitting against the Volunteers for a 3-0 victory.
While we have this break between innings - here is @mirandavee20 shutting the door against Tennessee! #GoUtes #UteFamily pic.twitter.com/7Ck1nOhmbn
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) February 25, 2017
The Utes attacked from the onset as Hannah Flippen doubled to start the game. After a pair of hard-hit balls to the outfield, she took third on a wild pitch. Heather Bowen came through with a single to left for a 1-0 lead.
Delilah Pacheco started the third with a single, moved up on a sacrifice bunt and then over to third on a grounder back to the circle. Once more, the Utes delivered with two outs as Anissa Urtez smoked a single to center.
Bridget Castro started the fifth with a walk and was lifted for pinch runner Ryley Ball. She moved up on a groundout and Barrera singled with two outs for a 3-0 edge.
Meanwhile. Viramontes had faced the minimum through five thanks to Kelly Martinez gunning down a pair of UT baserunners and Urtez deftly turning a double play.
Miranda Viramontes shuts down #13 Tennessee & @Utah_Softball gets timely hitting to earn a 3-0 win at the @NutterClassic #GoUtes #UteFamily pic.twitter.com/eSYC5DqGhC
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) February 25, 2017
The junior hurler then escaped her first real trouble in the sixth on a comebacker and struck out a pair of batters in the seventh to give her five for the contest.
This was Utah's first win against a Top-25 team at a neutral site since beating this very same Volunteer club at the 2015 Mary Nutter Classic.
