Sure, Utah softball coach Amy Hogue realizes her team graduated a lot of talent, but she’s also highly optimistic about this season because she can take solace in having veteran pitching. After all once upon a time, she was a wide-eyed freshman on a team that went to College World Series led by senior pitchers.
The Utes lost seven seniors and five starters from last year’s team, including Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year and All-American Hannah Flippen. They finished last year with the highest national ranking in program history (No. 14) after a one-run loss against Washington in a game to decide who’d go to the Women’s College World Series.