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Show RED ROCKS LOOK TO THE FUTURE a smug wantata BY RYAN MILLER /ASST. SPORTS EDITOR PHOTO BY CHRIS AYERS s the Red Rocks stood in the tunnel prior to their meet against Michigan last Friday, a misty-eyed Kailah Delaney embraced Georgia Dabritz. The two came into the program together, but they won't be leaving it side by side. "I swear I was crying more than [the seniors];' Delaney said. "It's hard, I've gotten so close to all of those girls, so it was hard to watch their Senior Night and know that next year it'll be different without them:" The Utes are nowhere near done with this season. They have one more dual meet and then the Pac-12 Championships before regionals and an expected appearance in nationals. There is much to still be accomplished this year, but last Friday's Senior Night celebration gave a reason to think about the future. If all had gone right for Delaney, she would have walked out with the seniors against Michigan, surrounded by family and a bouquet of flowers in her hand, but it didn't work out that way. In the fall of 2012, Delaney had knee surgery that forced her to redshirt her sophomore campaign. "The hardest year for me was just to be on the sidelines and not being able to compete': Delaney said. "I tried my best to stay positive and cheer on the girls, but it was a really hard year for me': The Utes stress the importance of living in the moment. Ask a Utah gymnast what's going on with the other team across the gym and they will have no idea. The Red Rocks pay attention to each routine and each skill and not what's going on around them. The Utah coaches also want their team to enjoy the college experience and not be worried about what they can't control. A NIL =TINE OUT I Delaney said that though her redshirt year was tough, it has helped her appreciate the small moments, and a lot of those instances have involved Dabritz. "We lived in the dorms together our freshman year, and we were spending a lot of time together inside the gym, outside the gym, we were doing everything together," Delaney said. "We'd go everywhere together, we just clicked from the very beginning:' While she will be sad to see her friend finish her college career, her absence does open up more opportunity. Dabritz, Corrie Lothrop, Becky Tutka and Tory Wilson will leave big shoes to fill for the current underclassman. "I have thought, 'Yeah, it would be awesome to go out there and maybe do all-around; because I know it is a possibility," Delaney said. Another underclassman who appears to be in position for an allaround spot next season is freshman Kari Lee. The Arizona native has already secured a spot in three events and brought jubilation to her team and the crowd on Friday when she scored a 9.975 on beam. "It was just excitement all over': Lee said. "That night was emotional, and I was excited all night for the seniors and then everything kind of came together. It was fun out there:' Next season will bring a lot of change for the Utes, that much is clear, but one thing the Red Rocks won't have to get used to is not seeing Dabritz around. Though her eligibility is done after this season, Dabritz is still a year away from graduating, and that's something Delaney is happy about. "She'll be here every day' Delaney said. "I was sad on Friday night, but I had to remind myself that she is still going to be around, and I'm still going to see her all the time:' r.miller@chronicle.utah.ed @millerjryan Heather Bowen gets into the swing of things BY BROCK JENSEN UTES REGAIN CONFIDENCE FOLLOWING WEEKEND VICTORY BY IAN SMITH/STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY KIFFER CREVELING here was a slight sense of relief at practice on Tuesday for the Utah baseball team — not enough to feel comfortable, but just enough to notice. The Utes just came off their most successful weekend all season, a season which has been full of struggles thus far on the offensive side. They took two of three games away from Kansas and also won their first series of the season against the Jayhawks. The players had bigger smiles than usual as they prepared for practice. After a grueling first couple of weeks of the season, beating a Big 12 team lifted their individual spirits and overall team confidence. Junior Cody Scaggari was a big reason the Utes got rolling in the right direction this weekend. In three games against the Jayhawks, he went 7-for-13 at the plate. He also recorded seven RBIs and smashed two home runs, which brought him to three on the year. "I just stuck with the approach that the coaches taught us going in," Scaggari said. "Pretty confident, I guess. Confidence T was a big part of it. Basically, going in and trying to make a difference and trying to lead the team to some victories. Someone needed to step up, and I felt like it was a good opportunity to:' It wasn't just Scaggari who was swinging the bat well, as multiple Utah hitters recorded key hits and RBIs, something head coach Bill Kinneberg said the team has been lacking for the better part of their young season. "I think what it comes down to and what's happened to us prior to that, we weren't getting that key hit or that key RBI or making that key defensive play," Kinneberg said. "Kansas had opportunities and we got outs and limited their opportunities and we created more opportunities and then took advantage of them and got some scoring:' Scaggari said the team's confidence and morale are very high, not only because the offense is starting to show signs of how good they can be, but because the team's pitching staff has been hard at work trying to give the offense some cushion as they push through their tough stretch. Juniors Dalton Carroll and Bret Helton, as well as freshman Jayson Rose, have all impressed this year and had their key moments on the mound. Rose is 1-2 on the year and controlled 8 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015 } Kansas in his time on the bump over the weekend. Helton is 1-1 and is looking to continue his success as the opening-night starter. Carroll, who is coming off a completegame victory in his last outing, said that while it can be hard to go the distance, he is happy to do it for the team. "I had been through their lineup one or two times," he said. "If you look at the stats, I only had three strikeouts. The biggest thing was just letting them hit [the ball] and letting my defense do the work:" Continuing the sudden success they saw in Kansas last week through their first weekend of Pac-12 play is something the players believe they can and will do for the remainder of the season. "I think this was a good [last] weekend for us," Carroll said. "Not only because we did take the series, but Kansas is a pretty good hitting team:" Carroll said all the teams in the Pac-12 can swing and hit very well and that the Utes will have to be ready for teams like the Jayhawks for the rest of the season. i.smith@chronicle.utah.edu @ISmithAtTheU H /STAFF WRITER eather Bowen's journey to college softball started at a young age when her and her family lived in the baseballheavy city of Chicago. "My aunt lived right by a baseball field, and I remember watching boys play baseball there': Bowen said. Little did she realize at the time that she would soon find herself actually on the field playing baseball with the boys. Her family moved to Las Vegas when she was eight years old, and there she started to develop her baseball and softball skills. Bowen played for a recreational baseball team, which was filled primarily with boys. Bowen did more than just hold her own. As a pitcher she left many boys with memories of striking out again and again. "They still talk and joke with me about those moments, even though I don't remember them exactly' Bowen said. After playing baseball for a couple of years, one of her friends told her to come try out for their softball team. Realizing there could be a better future for her in softball, she made the switch and hasn't looked back since. Bowen played shortstop growing up and her high school years were filled with many accolades and accomplishments. She started all four years at Centennial High School and was the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Nevada in her sophomore and senior seasons. During her sophomore campaign Bowen said she recorded a home run in each of her first 14 games or so. Eventually teams picked up on this trend, and a year later Bowen didn't get much of a chance to show off her batting skills. "Everyone walked me in my junior year': Bowen said. "It was frustrating not to get a chance to hit, and it kind of sucked:' Though Bowen realized she was still a valuable asset to the team because she got on base so much, it wasn't the most exciting season of her career. Ultimately, whether opposing teams pitched to her or around her, it didn't stop her team's success, as they claimed the Nevada state championship in her sophomore and junior years. For someone who has had so much success, her on-field performance early this season hasn't been exactly what the freshman was hoping for. Bowen has only gone 8-of-42 so far this season, playing mainly as a DP, which means she hits but doesn't field. "It was tough to adjust and get into the swing of things': Bowen said. The hitting coach for Utah, Maggie Livreri, has been impressed with the freshman's ability to stick through some early season struggles. "It hasn't been because of lack of effort," Livreri said. "Heather is a really hard worker and is dedicated to getting better all the time:" That work finally paid off last weekend at the Hawaii Spring Fling tournament. She went 4-of-11 at the plate and recorded the first home run of her collegiate career. "It was great to see her regain some of her confidence," Livreri said. Bowen will look to continue adjusting and improving her onfield performance as the team enters Pac-12 play this weekend against UCLA. bjensen@chronicle.utah.edu @brockjensen02 9 |