Feb. 12, 2011
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
Albuquerque, N.M. - Utah Valley opened the 2011 softball season at New Mexico on Saturday, dropping a doubleheader (10-2, 7-2) in Albuquerque.
"Our problem was that everything we did offensively only came from one inning," UVU head coach Todd Fairbourne said. "We need to learn to become more consistent throughout the game. We did a lot of good things and we also did a lot of bad things. I expect us to come out and play much better on Sunday."
The Wolverines (0-2) broke through in the top of the first in both games but the Lobos (2-0) answered each times with runs in the bottom of the inning.
Mandy Tapia doubled in her first at-bat of the season and scored on a two-out base hit from Amanda Perez in the opener.
New Mexico used two big innings to aid in the win. The Lobos scored four runs in the first and, after Samantha Telarroja hit a solo home run to trim the lead to 4-2, would score six times to end the game.
In the second game of the twin bill, freshman Amanda Robinson hit her first career homer, a solo shot to left, to put Utah Valley up early. New Mexico pushed across three unearned runs in the bottom half, one run in the third and two more in the fourth to lead 6-1.
The Wolverines got three hits in the fifth; a leadoff single by Kyli Flannery, a double by Maggie Christianson and an RBI single from Korryn Coates to cut the deficit to 6-2. But the Lobos countered with another run of their own in the bottom of the inning to go up 7-2.
UVU got another hit from Christianson in the seventh, as she finished 3-for-3 in the game. But she could not score as New Mexico held on to win 7-2.
Kyli Flanary pitched the first game for UVU and freshman Josi Summers pitched the second. All 10 runs the Lobos scored were charged to Flanary, while just three of the seven runs were earned off of Summers. Summers also recorded six strikeouts in her first collegiate start.
"Maggie (Christianson) had a great game for us," Fairbourne added. "We put her out in right field and she made a couple nice plays and was our only player to have a multiple hit game. Mandy (Tapia) and Sam (Telarroja) also had solid days."
UVU and UNM will conclude the season opening series with a single game Sunday at noon. The following week, Feb. 18-20, UVU will travel to Lubbock, Texas to take part in the Texas Tech Invitational.
