RENO, Nev. – Behind a total of five home runs on the day and solid pitching, the Utah Valley University softball team opened the Nevada Classic with a pair of victories on Friday by defeating Saint Mary's, 5-1, and the host Nevada Wolf Pack, 11-7.
 
UVU improves to 3-8 on the season with the victories and has now won three straight ballgames. As a team, the Wolverines banged out a total of 23 hits on the day.
 
"Today we had a lot of energy and confidence. We trusted the process, and the outcome was what we we've been working for," freshman catcher Basia Query said.
 
GAME ONE VS. SAINT MARY'S
With the opening game of the tournament scoreless in the second inning, freshman Lyndsay Steverson got the Wolverines on the board with a three-run home run to give UVU a 3-0 advantage. Steverson's three-run shot scored both freshman Basia Query and sophomore Eryn Sustayta, who had previously each singled prior to Steverson's big fly.
 
The Gaels (9-9) then countered back with a run of their own in the last of the third on an RBI triple from Halle Sullivan to make it a 3-1 game. The run would be the lone one that UVU would allow in the contest, however, as junior right-hander Lauren Frailey twirled another gem for the Wolverines. A game removed from pitching a complete-game shutout against Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference, Frailey didn't disappoint as she allowed just the one run on six hits while striking out three and drawing 14 groundouts.
 
With UVU still holding to a 3-1 advantage late in the contest, the Wolverines managed to score a solo run in sixth and another in the seventh to put the game away. Steverson blasted out her second home run of game in the sixth to give UVU a 4-1 lead, and senior Brittney Vansway drove home the final run of the contest via a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 5-1.
 
Frailey improves to 2-2 on the year after pitching her second complete-game victory in as many games, while SMC's Katlyn Whitt (3-3) is tagged with the loss after giving up three runs in 5.0 innings of work.
 
With the first two home runs of her collegiate career, Steverson led UVU at the plate by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs.
 
GAME TWO VS. NEVADA
The Wolverine bats continued to stay hot in the second game, as UVU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning following a two-run home run from freshman Taylor Miller. The long ball scored Sustayta who had previously walked in the frame.
 
The host Wolf Pack (12-9) then countered back with a run of their own in bottom of the second to make it a 2-1 game, but Utah Valley answered back with three more runs in the third to extend its lead to 5-1. Vansway drove home UVU's first run of the third with an RBI double to left, while the freshman Query followed with her team-leading third home run of the year with a two-run shot to left-center to make it a 5-1 contest.
 
UVU then extended its advantage to 6-1 on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly from Vansway, before Nevada countered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to make to cut the deficit in half at 6-3. After a scoreless fifth, the Wolverines then added a trio of insurance runs in the sixth following an RBI single from freshman Caragh Morris and a two-run home run from the senior Vansway to take a 9-3 lead.
 
The Wolf Pack didn't go away, however, as they added a pair of runs in the sixth to cut it to 9-5, but UVU added two more insurance runs in the seventh to put the game away. Morris drove home the first run of the final inning with an RBI single up the middle and Vansway promptly followed with an RBI double to left to make it 11-5.
 
Despite allowing two runs, Frailey -- who came on in relief of junior Makayla Shadle in the sixth -- then managed to pitch out of trouble in the seventh to preserve the 11-7 victory for the Wolverines.
 
The starter Shadle earned the win to improve to 1-1 on the year, while Nevada's McKenna Isenberg (7-4) took the loss.
 
Vansway and Morris led UVU offensively in the ballgame by each recording three hits apiece. Vansway finished 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, two runs scored and five runs batted in, while Morris went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
 
"I'm really proud of the way our team performed today. We have been working hard every day to put all our work on the board," said senior infielder Brittney Vansway. "This is only the beginning of our success."
 
UP NEXT FOR UVU
The Wolverines will conclude the Nevada Classic on Saturday with two more games. UVU will first open the day with a 10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT meeting against Saint Mary's, before closing the tournament against the host Wolf Pack that afternoon at 3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT. Following the conclusion of the tournament, the Wolverines will return to Orem for a pair of home-opening midweek doubleheaders against Maine (Tuesday, March 14) and Wagner (Wednesday, March 15) next week.