LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Utah Valley won a slugfest to open a Saturday doubleheader at New Mexico State, 18-14, before the Aggies used a six-run sixth to win in game two, 12-7, to split the twin bill and take the WAC series.
The 18 runs scored by the Wolverines (12-15, 3-6) in game one are the second most all-time in a single game while also a program record against an NCAA Division I program.
Linnah Rebolledo had six hits over the course of Saturday's two games, four of which were doubles, and also drove in six runs, with four of those coming in the win.
Megan Gibbs homered twice in the night cap for her second multi-homer game of the season, and has a team-high nine homers on the season.
GAME 1
Madison Carr tied a school record with five hits and scored three times while Rebolledo was 3-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs.
Mikaela Thomson homered and drove in three and
Karleigh Olsen also had two hits, with UVU finishing with a season-high 16 hits in the contest.
Down 3-0 after an inning, the Wolverines scored three in the second to tie it with two coming on a double by Gibbs. After the Aggies took a 5-3 lead on a Jillian Taylor home run in the bottom of the inning, UVU put up eight runs in the fourth — all coming with two outs — to take control of the game.
Utah Valley sent 14 hitters to the plate and took advantage of six walks in the inning and had five hits, including a two-run double from
Rylee Thorpe and two-run home run by Thomson. Rebolledo had two plate appearances in the inning and drove in the first run of the frame on a double and the last run on a bases-loaded walk.
New Mexico State had five home runs in the game, including a solo shot by Hannah Lindsay in the fifth that trimmed the UVU lead to 11-8 after five. The Wolverines put up another crooked number in the sixth, scoring six times to extend it to 17-8.
Olsen drove in a run with a double, Rebolledo had two RBIs on another double and both Thomson and
Laynee Betancur also drove in runs in the inning. NM State answered with five runs, including a two-run home run on Lindsay's second homer of the game. That cut the lead to 17-13 but a Gibbs sacrifice fly added one more for UVU. Carley hit the Aggies' fifth home run with a two-out, solo homer in the seventh.
In addition to Rebolledo's four batted in, both Gibbs and Thomson had three RBIs each while Thorpe added two.
Game 2
Thomson put UVU in front with a two-run double in the top of the first inning and, after NM State scored once in the bottom of the inning, the Wolverines got two more on a Rebolledo double in the second to make it 4-1. Rebolledo was 3-for-3 with two doubles in the finale and finished the doubleheader 6-for-7 at the plate.
New Mexico State used the long ball to come back and take the lead in the third, with three different players leaving the park in the inning. Ramsey Lopez, Kayla Bowen and Gabby Aragon all hit solo home runs during the four-run frame that put the Aggies up 5-4.
Gibbs tied it in the fifth, hitting a 3-2 pitch out of the park for her eighth home run of the season. That run was answered in the bottom half of the inning on a squeeze play to put New Mexico State back in front, but a wild pitch in the sixth allowed pinch-runner
Brynne Hilton to score and tie it again.
The Aggies put the game away with the big sixth inning, with both Lindsay and Lopez hitting home runs in the inning. Gibbs' second home run of the game and third of the series accounted for the game's final run.
Utah Valley returns to Orem for an in-state contest against Weber State on Tuesday at 4 p.m. MT. The Wolverines will then travel to Phoenix for a three-games series in WAC play at Grand Canyon next weekend.
