TEMPE, Ariz. – Less than 24 hours after defeating Wisconsin of the Big Ten Conference on opening day, the Utah Valley University softball team managed to hang on to beat Virginia of the ACC, 5-4, on Saturday morning at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona.
 
The win marked UVU's (2-1) second straight over an opponent from a power conference.
 
"This is great win for us, and it is a strong testament of how the team has grown," said head coach Nikki Palmer. "The girls really fought through this one and I was proud of their determination for not allowing them (Virginia) to come back." 
 
Sophomore hurler Bailey Moore helped lead the Wolverines to victory as she managed to pitch out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh inning. With UVU holding a 5-3 advantage entering the last of the seventh, Moore allowed consecutive doubles to UVA (1-3) sluggers to cut the score to just one, at 5-4. With the tying run on second base and no outs in the inning, the sophomore then responded by striking out Virginia's three-hole hitter Danni Ingraham. Moore then drew back-to-back infield groundouts from UVA's Kaitlin Fitzgerald and Aimee Chapdelainer to hold on to the one-run victory.
 
The win marked Moore's first of the season (1-1). In 6.1 innings of work, Moore allowed just two runs on six hits, with two strikeouts and two walks.
 
Utah Valley jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game after scoring a pair of runs in the second and two more in the fourth. In her first collegiate start, freshman catcher Dana De La Torre came through with a two-RBI single in the second inning to start the scoring for the Wolverines. Junior Dynasty Lauvai and sophomore Brittney Vansway then supplied the offense in the fourth as Lauvai drove home the third run of the game with an RBI single and Vansway promptly followed with the fourth thanks to a run producing double.
 
The game got interesting in the last of the sixth as the Cavaliers scored back-to-back runs thanks to a pair of bases loaded walks to pull within a run at 4-3. Sophomore first baseman Hailey Kofler then answered for the Wolverines in the top of the seventh with a key solo home run, her second of the season, to give UVU a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
Junior Morgan Smith led UVU at the plate in the contest by going 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run scored. Five other Wolverines finished with a hit apiece in the game, and four of those drove home runs.
 
Saturday morning's contest against UVA was played at Arizona State's Farrington Stadium.
 
The Wolverines will continue play at the Kajikawa Classic on Saturday at 4 p.m. against San José State of the Mountain West. UVU will then close the opening-season tournament versus Indiana of the Big Ten on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Both games will be contested at the Tempe Sports Complex.