March 18, 2011
Box Score
LOS ANGELES -- Deianna Russell belted a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning Friday in leading Utah Valley to a 5-3 extra-inning victory over Loyola Marymount at the Loyola Marymount Invitational.
Earlier in the day, the Wolverines dropped a 2-1 heart-breaker to Canisius before beating LMU to snap a seven-game losing streak.
The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Lions on back-to-back solo homers by Samantha Telarroja and Maggie Christianson. UVU held the lead until the bottom of the sixth when LMU tagged UVU starter Josi Summers for a pair of runs to tie the score.
In extra innings, Amanda Perez, who was placed on second to start the eighth due to the international tiebreaker rule, and Julia Santiago, who entered as a pinch runner for Christianson, who was intentionally walked, scored on Russell's blast.
"I'm proud of the girls. They deserve all the credit. They answered the call against a very good team," UVU softball coach Todd Fairbourne said. "Josi was exceptional today against a very good-hitting team and Russell stepped up big in extra-innings."
Christianson led UVU's 12-hit attack with three hits, while Korryn Coates and Perez had two hits each.
Summers picked up her second win of the year by allowing just three runs (two earned) on seven hits while striking out nine.
In the opener against Canisius, the game was scoreless through five before Canisius plated a run in the sixth and another in the seventh to take a 2-0 lead. UVU's Meghan Yocom accounted for UVU's only run with a solo homer in the seventh.
Yocom and Perez had two hits each in UVU's six-hit attack.
The Wolverines are back in action March 25 when they play Houston Baptist in a GWC mid-season tournament doubleheader in Dallas. The same weekend the Wolverines will have doubleheaders against South Dakota and North Dakota.
