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Lexington, Ky. • Utah pitcher Miranda Viramontes said that playing in an NCAA softball regional tournament game last season — the Utes' first NCAA tournament berth in nine years — resulted in a whirlwind of emotions that were not all constructive.

This year, with the Utes in their second consecutive regional, Viramontes said the nerves were gone. Just the excitement remained.

Utah largely played that way in the first game of the tournament Friday, holding on to edge the Illinois Fighting Illini, 1-0, at John Cropp Stadium.

Coach Amy Hogue's team played superb defensively in the field and on the mound in improving to 33-19 heading into a second round game Saturday at 11 a.m. MDT time against either host Kentucky or Butler.

Kentucky led Butler, 2-0, in the first inning of the second game Friday before heavy rains came and washed away play for the rest of the day.

If Utah wins today, the Utes advance to the regional final for the second consecutive year.

Viramontes, a sophomore right-hander, gave up just three hits to the Illini (35-22) before giving way to sophomore relief pitcher Katie Donovan with two on and two outs in the top of the seventh inning. Donovan walked Carly Thomas to load the bases, but then struck out Kylie Johnson swinging on an 0-2 pitch.

"Last year I was feeling more nerves about the regional thing, but this year I was more excited," said Viramontes, who improved to 9-7 on the season. "Me and Kay Kay [Frond]) were both up last night until around two in the morning. It was like the night before Christmas because it was so exciting."

"I'd echo what Miranda had to say," Hogue said. "We've been giving her the ball in the first game most weekends, and she handled this like it was any other weekend. It is different, but it didn't feel any different this year. It felt like another Pac-12 weekend, meaning it's going to be hard every weekend. You go out and do what you can do, and check the scoreboard at the end and see if it was enough."

Utah scored the only run of the game on an RBI single from junior shortstop Anissa Urtez with two outs in the third inning. That drove in Fronda, who had reached via a one-out single, and stole second.

That made a hard-luck loser of Illinois junior pitcher Breanna Wonderly, who pitched a complete game, five hitter.

Fronda had three of Utah's five hits, notching a double and two singles.

But that was plenty, given the effectiveness of Viramontes, who wasn't threatened until the seventh. Viramontes struck out six and walked just one.

"A little bit of everything," Viramontes said when asked what was working. "My drop, my changeup … pretty much what I was throwing the whole time. I'm proud of the way I went out there composed, and just did what I know how to do."

The Illini were underwhelmed by Viramonte's performance, however.

"I think it was just us," Illinois coach Tyra Perry said. "She threw the type of pitches that my hitters hit well. We were just anxious."

"We just needed to adjust quicker," junior rightfielder Nicole Evans added. "We need to talk to each other more."

The Illini get a chance to redeem themselves in this double elimination event Saturday when they play the Kentucky-Butler loser at 1:30 MDT.

But Hogue said that Utah, too, left a lot on the table with Friday, especially at the plate.

"We showed what we can do defensively and with our pitching, but I think our offense is going to explode at any time," she said. "I wanted them to in this game, and we haven't yet, but we've got a lot more offensive prowess. I'm looking forward to seeing us loosen up and show what we've got."

Tournament notes • The winner here advances to a best-of-three Super Regional series next weekend, with eight winners at that stage advancing to the College World Series , June 2-8, in Oklahoma City. … The only opponent in the field that the Utes have played this season is Kentucky. Utah lost 1-0 to the Wildcats on Feb. 15. "We actually gained a lot of confidence in that game," Hogue said. "It was early in the season against a top team, and our pitching and defense gave us a chance to win" Kentucky is looking to reach the Super Regional stage for the third time in the past four years. … The Utes carved AIP into the dirt in front of their dugout Friday — initials standing for Anything Is Possible. —

Storylines

R Utah starter Miranda Viramontes and reliever Katie Donovan combine for a three-hit shutout.

• Shortstop Anissa Urtez drives in the Utes' lone run with a single

• Utah plays the winner of the Kentucky-Butler game Saturday at 11 a.m. MDT