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It has been quite a season for the Utah softball team. The Utes had a winning Pac-12 record and finished 32-19 overall, cracking the end of season top 25 rankings. Along the way the Utes relied on several individual player to help carry the team throughout the season. Today five of those players were recognized when the Pac-12 announced their All-Conference honors.
Star second baseman, junior Hannah Flippen earned the biggest award of them all, capturing Pac-12 conference Player of the Year. She is the fifth payer in Utah history to be named conference player of the year and the first since Utah joined the Pac-12 conference. Flippen finished the season with a sizzling .431 batting average, .771 slugging percentage and .528 on base percentage. In addition to the player of the year award, Flippen was also named tothe Pac-12 All-Defensive team and was a Pac-12 All-Academic honoree.
Flippen's teammates, shortstop Anissa Urtez and Pitcher Katie Donovan earned All Pac-12 first team honors. Urtez led the league in fielding assists with 131 and doubles with 16. She was fifth in conference with 65 hits and sixth in conference with 22 RBIs. This was Donovan's second consecutive year being named All Pac-12 first team. She finished third in the conference with 18 wins this season, a career best. She was an innings eater pitching 159.1 innings with a 2.46 ERA.
Joining Flippen on the Pac-12 All-Defensive team was catcher Shelby Pacheco. The senior started all 51 games behind the plate and threw out 15 baserunners, more than any other catcher in the conference. In addition she sported a .984 fielding percentage in conference for the year. Despite only earning an honor for defense, she held her own with a bat in her hands, hitting .340 with a .411 on base percentage.
Rounding out the awrds, freshman outfielder Ally Dickman was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Dickman becomes the fifth consecutive Utah freshman to be named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. The California native finished the season hitting .290 and finished second in the conference with seven doubles.
The Utes will kick off postseason play at the NCAA Regionals in Lexington Kentucky today. They will take on Illinois at 1:30 MT. You can stream the game on ESPN3.