SACRAMENTO — Utah Valley opened the 2023 season with an 8-0 defeat at the hands of Big Ten foe Rutgers on Friday at the NorCal Kickoff at Shea Stadium in Sacramento, Calif. The Wolverines rallied late in their second game of the afternoon when Megan Gibbs hit a grand slam, but the rally wasn't enough as Utah Valley fell 7-6 against Big Sky preseason favorite Sacramento State.
"Watching our newcomers perform so well was a highlight for me today," said head coach Cody Thomson. "Watching Taylor Wooten track down balls in the outfield, it was a big moment for her in her first day as a Division I softball player and she performed well. I'm excited to see what she's going to do in her career here at UVU. Britney Moreno had some big shoes to fill coming in at the top of the lineup and she did great. I believe she was our top hitter at the plate today. We still have a lot to iron down but I am excited for this team and what they are capable of doing."
Wooten made a number of nice plays all over the outfield and picked up a trio of hits at the dish and a stolen base to boot. Moreno had a three-hit game with a run scored against the Hornets and was close to a fourth when she scalded a ball that was caught by the shortstop.
Rutgers led off the game with an infield single to short, who came around to score three batters later. The Scarlet Knights added two more in the fourth to extend their lead to three. Rutgers capped off the morning with two more runs in the fifth and three in the seventh.
Taylor Wooten and Libbie Hawker each picked up their first hits in a Wolverine uniform. Payge Armendariz saw her first collegiate action in the circle and picked up her first strikeout in the seventh.
The Wolverines fell behind early again to the Hornets in the second game of the afternoon. Sac State pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first, but Utah Valley cut the deficit in half in the second when Megan Gibbs scored on a wild pitch.
The Hornets chased Katie Zuniga out of the game in the bottom half of the inning with four runs, including a three-run home run over the right-center field fence by Lewa Day. Utah Valley responded with one in the top of the third when Britney Moreno scored on a seeing-eye single up the middle by Kalena Shepherd.
Sac State pushed the lead back up to five in the fourth off of a sacrifice fly. Angelique Mann made a diving snag in right on the play to limit the Hornets to just one run in the inning.
The Wolverines rallied in the top of the seventh, with Wooten doubling down the left field line to lead off the inning and Libbie Hawker reaching on an error. Moreno smoked a ball right at the shortstop, who was able to double up Wooten at second.
Thorpe singled to right and Shepherd walked to load the bases up with two outs. Gibbs launched a towering shot to the opposite field in right that carried over the fence for a grand slam that cut the lead down to one. The energy that blast brought to the Wolverine dugout was quickly quelled as Jaeden Barajas popped out to short to end the game on the very next pitch.
Moreno and Wooten each picked up multiple hits against the Hornets, with fellow newcomers Mann and Emma Haygood each recording their first hits in the green and white.
The Wolverines continue NorCal Kickoff play against WCC foes Santa Clara and Pacific at 10:30 a.m. MT and 1 p.m. MT respectively. Live stats for both games will be available at UVUStats.com.
