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Between her 6-foot height and a facemask that summons comparisons to a gladiator, Katie Donovan has no problem cutting an intimidating figure in the pitching circle.

But this season, during which she went 18-10 and struck out 132 batters, has seen her find stronger footing in another arena: her mind. Utah's sophomore ace and first-team All Pac-12 pitcher knows when she's fogging up with doubt or worry, she can look elsewhere for help.

Senior third baseman Kristen Stewart is cool-headed, and has a way of settling down the entire infield. Senior catcher Shelby Pacheco has high energy that picks up the team's spirit. And if Donovan feels nervous before a game, she can unwind with her fellow sophomore starting pitcher Miranda Viramontes.

"I've learned a lot about how I process things, and how I can feel overwhelmed," she said. "When I start to struggle, I can reach out to my team."

It's not unusual for competitive men and women's sports teams to seek a mental edge, but the extent to which Utah softball (32-19, 13-10 Pac-12) has embraced sports psychology and broken down team dynamics has helped propel a special season.

It has been a two-year process, involving personality assessments, team counseling sessions, private retreats and a lot of opening up to one another. Coach Amy Hogue said the result of Utah's efforts to sharpen its mental game has the program feeling confident about its chances in the NCAA Tournament.

"We've got a lot of veterans, and I'm running out of things to teach them on the field," she joked. "But we decided a while ago that this was where we needed to make our next big push: Just being mentally ready."

When the Utes take the field against Illinois on Friday morning for the NCAA Tournament regional round in Lexington, Ky., this weekend, they'll do it knowing they've put in a lot of work to enhance their competitive mentality.

The team has met about eight times this school year with sports psychologist Nicole Detling, who leads discussions about how the team is getting along and various dynamics between teammates. Team manager and graduate assistant Mattie Snow also plays a day-to-day role as a mediator and mental coach.

The team features a core that grew up together: Hannah Flippen, Anissa Urtez, Bridget Castro, Stewart and Pacheco have all started for at least three years. Along with getting a feel for making defensive plays in the field or rallying hits together, the teammates have gotten to know what each player can bring.

Viramontes, who pitched for a 3.06 ERA this year, finds herself riding more emotional highs and lows than other players. If she's looking for an even keel, Stewart is the one she turns to in a timeout.

"She's just easy to approach, and kind of takes things down," Viramontes said. "That's kind of what we learned from personality tests. You kind of already know a lot about yourself, but you learn more about your teammates and who you can go to in certain situations."

For the pitching staff especially, they look to each other. Donovan and Viramontes pitch different styles and have vastly different personalities.

But the staff with the Pac-12's third-best ERA has embraced its uniqueness: Donovan finds Viramontes can help break up anxiety before a start, while Viramontes seeks advice in Donovan's technician-like approach.

"A lot of times, pitchers can be competing with each other because they're so individually focused," Hogue said. "Our staff doesn't really act that way. Handing off the ball to another pitcher isn't a negative. They've really leaned on each other and each found their place."

Just as a team hopes to be batting or pitching its best entering the postseason, the Utes feel their mental competitiveness is razor-sharp after narrowly dropping a a three-game series to top-5 ranked Oregon. The Utes had not yet beaten the Ducks in the Pac-12 era before taking a 3-2 game last Friday.

This weekend, Utah looks to advance to a Super Regional site for the first time. The Utes believe they can — and for them, that's half the battle.

Twitter: @kylegoon —

Utah vs. Illinois

P NCAA Tournament first round at John Cropp Stadium, Lexington, Ky.

• Friday, 9 a.m. MST, ESPN3

• Utah is in a double-elimination, four-team bracket with Illinois, Butler and Kentucky. —

Utes earn all Pac-12 honors

Led by second baseman Hannah Flippen's Player of the Year honors, five total Utes were honored by the conference's All Pac-12 teams released Thursday morning:

Hannah Flippen, Jr., 2B • Pac-12 Player of the Year, first-team All Pac-12, All-Defensive team; hit .542 in Pac-12 games with .667 on-base percentage

Anissa Urtez, Jr., SS • First team All Pac-12; led team with 16 doubles, batted .389 for the year

Katie Donovan, So., P • First team All Pac-12; 2.46 ERA for fourth in Pac-12, career-best 18 wins

Shelby Pacheco, Sr., C • All-Defensive team; caught 15 runners stealing to lead league

Ally Dickman, Fr., OF • All-Freshman team; batted .290 with 11 doubles