HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Madison Carr went 4-for-4 while Danyé Albritton put Utah Valley in front for good with a bases-clearing double in 9-5 win over Lamar in the opening game the 2022 WAC Softball Tournament.
 
Rylee Thorpe was 3-for-4 and scored two runs and Katie Zuniga pitched 4.2 innings in relief and matched her season high with six strikeouts. The Wolverines (23-25) advanced to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face Abilene Christian on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. CT/3 p.m. MT.
 
The Wolverines got on the board three batters into the game after Carr singled, stole second and came in on a double past third by Thorpe. After UVU added a run in the second, the Cardinals used the long ball to put four runs on the board in the third. Sam Bean led off the inning with a home run to left and Audrey Fleming later hit a three-run home run to right center to give Lamar a 4-2 lead.
 
Utah Valley answered, scoring five times in the bottom of the inning. Carr led off with a double and Linnah Rebolledo reached on an infield single before Thorpe bunted for a single and the throw to first got away, allowing Carr to score. Kalena Shepherd drove in Rebolledo with a grounder to second to tie the game with one out. Mikaela Thomson and Megan Gibbs both drew walks to load the bases before Albritton's two-out, three-run double gave the Wolverines a 7-4 lead.
 
Kaylee Ancelot got one of those runs back in the fourth with a double to right center with two runners aboard. Bean scored from second, but Hayley Freudenberg was gunned down when Betancur and Albritton combined to hit Shepherd at the plate to keep it a 7-5 game. 
 
The Cardinals (11-38) got the leadoff hitter aboard to begin the fifth, but Zuniga struck out the next three batters to strand the runner. With pinch-runner Brynne Hilton at first with two down in the bottom of the inning, Betancur split the outfielders with a double to left center before Carr placed her fourth hit of the game into shallow right, scoring Hilton to make it 8-5. UVU added its final run in the sixth when Thorpe singled to begin the inning and scored on a double to left center by Thomson. In addition to her four-hit day, Carr also stole three bases with the Wolverines swiping a total of six in the game.