SAN DIEGO – The Utah Valley University softball team dropped a pair of games to Boston University and Saint Joseph's on Saturday at the San Diego Classic I by respective scores of 11-4 and 7-2 at San Diego State's SDSU Softball Stadium.
 
Trailing 8-0 to the Terriers (4-8) in the fifth inning of the first game of the day, UVU (4-16) managed to extend the game thanks to a three-run home run from Brianna Gatlin. Following back-to-back singles by Kendall Ohman and Morgan Smith, Gatlin delivered her second round tripper of the season to make it an 8-3 contest.
 
Boston U of the Patriot League later extended its lead to 11-3 thanks to a trio of unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning and UVU capped the scoring with a solo home run from Brittney Vansway to leadoff the bottom of the seventh to make it 11-4.
 
The Wolverines committed a total of five errors in the contest, as five of BU's 11 runs were unearned in the game.
 
Lauren Hynes went the distance in the circle to improve to 3-3 on the season for Boston U, while Dynasty Lauvai (0-2) suffered the loss in relief for UVU after giving up one earned run (three total) in two innings of work.
 
Gatlin, Vansway and Kristy Snyder all recorded two hits apiece in the game for the Wolverines.
 
In the second game of the afternoon against SJU (5-7), the Wolverines were the first to get on the board thanks to a pair of Saint Joseph's errors to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With Smith on third and one out in the inning, Vansway reached on what would have been the third out of the frame to bring in Smith and take an early 1-0 advantage.
 
The Hawks of the Atlantic 10 Conference didn't take long to come back however, by scoring seven runs in the second to take a 7-1 advantage. Five different Saint Joseph's batters collected RBIs in the frame, as SJU managed to score seven times on six hits in the inning.
 
UVU later countered with a run of its own in the fourth on an RBI single from the freshman Ohman, but it wasn't enough as SJU managed to hold on for the 7-2 victory.
 
Despite suffering the loss to SJU, the leadoff hitter Smith led the Wolverines by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
 
Bailey Moore (2-8) was tagged with the loss by allowing six runs on five hits in 1.1 innings, while Anna Lauterbach (1-1) earned the win in relief for the Hawks by not allowing a run in 3.2 innings.
 
The Wolverines will conclude play at the San Diego Classic I on Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. MT/11:30 a.m. PT contest against No. 11 Texas A&M. Following the Classic finale, UVU will return to Southern California the following weekend, March 10-12, at the Long Beach Louisville Slugger Invitational.