PROVO, Utah – The Utah Valley University softball team jumped out to a 4-0 lead over No. 21 Brigham Young on a wet Wednesday evening at Gail Miller Field in Provo, but it wasn't enough as BYU scored 12 unanswered runs en route to earning a 12-4 run-rule victory over the Wolverines.
The Wolverines drop to 12-21 on the season with the setback, while the ranked Cougars improve to 33-10 with the win.
UVU got off to a strong start by scoring three first-inning runs to jump out to a 3-0 lead. With two outs and a runner on first,
Lyndsay Steverson started the scoring with a two-run home run to left-center to give the Wolverines an early 2-0 lead. The round tripper marked her ninth of the season and her first since she blasted out eight homers during a seven-game stretch in mid March. Following a two-out walk by
Taleigh Williams,
Basia Query then drove her home with a triple off the wall in centerfield to give UVU the 3-0 advantage.
After UVU starter
Makayla Shadle managed to pitch out of a jam in the bottom of the first, the Wolverine offense then promptly loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the second.
Caragh Morris then delivered a bloop single down the leftfield line to drive home
Eryn Sustayta, but that was all the offense the Wolverines could muster in the frame as BYU ace McKenna Bull came on in relief and managed to retire the next three batters to escape the jam.
BYU's offense then got things going in the bottom of the second by scoring seven times to overcome the early deficit and take a 7-4 lead. The Cougars banged out a total of three home runs in the frame, as Rylee Jensen, Lexi Tarrow and Caitlyn Alldredge all drove the ball out of the park to give BYU the lead.
Brigham Young then tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third to extend its lead to 9-4. Lauren Bell hit out BYU's fourth homer of the day and Alexa Strid followed with an RBI single of her own to give the Cougars a little breathing room.
BYU then tacked on two more runs in the fourth and one more in the sixth – on a run-rule walk-off home run from Tarrow – to put the ballgame away.
Shadle (1-3) was tagged with the loss for UVU after allowing five runs in an inning and a third, while BYU's Bull (22-4) earned the win in relief after giving up just one hit and no runs in 5.0 innings of work. A total of four pitchers saw action in the game for Utah Valley.
Steverson paced the Wolverines at the plate in the contest by going 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored, while Tarrow led the Cougars with a 4-for-5 outing with two homers, three runs batted in and three runs scored.
The ballgame marks Brigham Young's 12th consecutive victory on the season, and its fifth straight over the Wolverines.
Wednesday's non-conference contest was a part of the UCCU Crosstown Class between Utah Valley and BYU.
UVU will now return to Orem for its final Western Athletic Conference series of the season this weekend (April 29-30) when UMKC comes to town. Due to anticipated bad weather on Friday, the series will now feature a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m. MT and a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m. Following the series, Utah Valley will remain home to welcome in-state foe Weber State to town for Senior Day on Wednesday, May 3.
