ST. GEORGE, Utah — Four different Wolverines had multi-hit games and Katie Zuniga pitched five strong innings in relief to give the Utah Valley softball team an 11-7 come-from-behind victory over the Portland State Vikings at the Trailblazer Tournament. The win salvaged a split on the day after Utah Valley fell 10-3 earlier in the day to UNLV.
Megan Gibbs had herself a day at the plate, going 5-for-7 with a home run, two doubles, and five RBIs across Utah Valley's two games. Gibbs, who entered the weekend tied for 2nd in the WAC in home runs, now has five on the season.
An eight-run rally in the bottom of the second inning put the Wolverines up for good. The first seven batters of the inning reached base and 12 batters stepped up to the plate in total as Utah Valley racked up six hits and two walks in the inning.
"The hitters definitely stepped up against Portland State," said head coach Cody Thomson. "It was good to have a [season] series win over them. Winning the series is our focus, and that's what we have to do in conference play."
The Vikings plated two runs in the top of the second inning off of a single and two doubles. Kalena Shepherd led off the bottom of the second with a walk, then Megan Gibbs and Rylee Thorpe reached on a single and error respectively. Angelique Mann then drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single.
Payge Armendariz stepped up to the dish and delivered her first collegiate hit, a two-RBI single up the middle to put Utah Valley on top. Britney Moreno then doubled over the center fielder's head, and Libbie Hawker drove in two more with a single to left. Hawker used some heads-up baserunning to advance to third on a Taylor Wooten groundout, which allowed her to score on a passed ball in the next at-bat.
Shepherd singled with two outs to revive the rally. Gibbs then doubled her home to cap off the eight-run rally.
PSU answered back with four in the top of the third to knock Brooke Saili out of the game. Zuniga came on in relief, allowing two ER over five innings pitched in relief.
Armendariz pushed the lead back up to three in the bottom of the third when she smoked an RBI double down the right field line that brought in Mann. Utah Valley added another in the fourth when Gibbs doubled home Jaeden Barajas.
Rylee Thorpe put the finishing touches on the victory with a solo home run to center. Zuniga retired the side in the top of the seventh to close out the win.
In the early game, UNLV used a five-run second inning to put the game out of reach. Gibbs drove in all three runs for Utah Valley with an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run home run in the sixth.
The Wolverines will play their final game at the Trailblazer Tournament against another Big Sky foe in Idaho State. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on WAC International.
