POCATELLO, Idaho – Utah Valley University softball dropped both ends of a Tuesday doubleheader at Idaho State, 5-0 and 8-6, at Miller Ranch Stadium.
 
The Wolverines (7-12) were kept quiet in the opener before a rally in the nightcap fell short. Basia Query hit a 7th-inning home run in game two with UVU down 8-4, but the Bengals (8-16) were able to hold on for the win.
 
In the opener, ISU got a gem from starting pitcher Autumn Pease in a combined shutout. Pease struck out nine in five innings while Mariah Mulcahy got the final six outs. The two combined to allow just three UVU hits.
 
Idaho State finished with nine hits with three coming from Bille Jean Wells. Emma Bordenkecher went 2-for-2 with two RBIs while walking twice and Amber Arreloa also drove in two runs for the Bengals.
 
In the second game, ISU scored twice in the first on a two-run home run from Bordenkecher, but Utah Valley got one back in the second, one more in the third to tie it and then took the lead with two in the fourth.
 
Linnah Rebolledo had an RBI single in the second and Jordan Freas drove in a run in the third. Utah Valley took the lead in the fourth when Karleigh Olsen singled with two on and two out. Her hit scored Berlyn Carreron before an error allowed Rebolledo to score a fourth UVU run.
 
Idaho State answered though, tying it with two in the bottom of the fourth and then took the lead with two in the fifth on a two-run single from Jaden DeMoss. MaKenzie Van Sickle hit a two-run home run to extend it to an 8-4 game in the sixth.
 
Utah Valley will open WAC play this weekend with three games in Phoenix at Grand Canyon University, the site of the 2019 WAC Tournament in May. The Wolverines and Lopes will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 5 p.m. MT before Saturday's finale, which also starts at 5 p.m. MT.