GREELEY, Colo. – Devyn Cretz followed up a perfect game from
Brooke Carter earlier in the day with a two-hit shutout as Utah Valley University defeated the University of Northern Iowa, 9-0, in six innings on Friday afternoon. Carter tossed the first perfect game in the program's NCAA Division I history earlier in the day -- also a 9-0 win -- over host Northern Colorado.
"That doesn't happen very often. They were both awesome," said UVU head coach
Stacy May-Johnson. "Our defense stole a couple of hits to keep the perfect game intact. The pitching and defense were really stingy today."
In her appearance, Cretz struck out five and walked just one, and pitched to just three batters above the minimum.
With the game scoreless entering the bottom of the fourth, the Wolverines put three runs on the board with
Kyla Hardy,
Siena Sandoval and
Jaeden Barajas each driving in a run.
Utah Valley exploded in the sixth, ending the game via run-rule for the second straight contest. Sandoval doubled with one out, part of a 3-for-3 game for her,
Peyton Prigge walked and
Emery Nielson reached on an infield single to load the bases. A wild pitch moved everyone up and allowed Sandoval to score to make it 4-0.
Madison Carr loaded the bases again with a base hit to third before
Jade Miller delivered an RBI single for the second run of the inning and a 5-0 lead.
Basia Query drove in another run on a fielder's choice before
Abby Doughty ended the game with a three-run home run.
Doughty was 2-for-4 with the three RBIs against the Panthers (6-12) while Nielson also had two hits for Utah Valley. In Friday's two games combined, Doughty collected five hits, scored three runs and drove in three, while Miller also had five hits – including her first home run in the first game – and drove in four runs.
"We've got tough outs one-through-nine and it's really a team effort. We're also changing the game on the base paths, forcing a ton of action. Even without hitting very many home runs we're still hitting the ball hard and putting pressure on the defense," May-Johnson said.
The tournament continues on Saturday with the Wolverines facing Omaha at 10 a.m. MT and host Northern Colorado again at 2 p.m. MT.
