SACRAMENTO — Brooke Saili pitched a complete game shutout and Megan Gibbs hit her second home run of the season to pace the Utah Valley Softball team as the Wolverines picked up their first win of the season, toppling the Santa Clara Broncos 6-0 at Shea Stadium on Saturday.
Katie Zuniga followed that up with 6.1 shutout innings against the Pacific Tigers as Utah Valley secured the 6-1 victory to move to .500 on the young season.
The Wolverine pitching staff combined to allow just one unearned run over Saturday's 14 innings, with the lone run being unearned in the seventh inning off of an error at first.
"I challenged the pitching staff yesterday. I want to make sure we're stepping up in these preseason games," said head coach Cody Thomson. "They really stepped up today, with no earned runs. I'm really proud of Katie [Zuniga] and Brooke [Saili]. They're going to be the ones that'll drive us to victory."
Utah Valley rode a pair of big innings in the victories. The Wolverines put up six in the third inning on Santa Clara and a four spot in the second against Pacific.
"The timely hitting is what it's all about," said Thomson. "Doubles, triples, and home runs are what will win you Division I softball games. The team took that to heart today and got the job done."
The bottom of the order set the table for the Wolverines in the third inning of the opener against Santa Clara, with Libbie Hawker and Kassidy Stiles reaching base to start the inning. Britney Moreno moved the runners up with a slap to second. Rylee Thorpe and Kalena Shepherd came up in the clutch with back-to-back RBI singles to keep the line moving.
Megan Gibbs launched her second home run in as many days with a line shot to left that cut through the strong wind blowing in. Emma Haygood split the gap in right-center for a double, and Taylor Wooten continued her hot streak at the plate with an RBI single on the first pitch she saw.
The Wolverines put pressure on the Tigers from the start in game two. Hawker and Moreno each singled to start the game. Shepherd doubled Hawker home two batters later.
The first six batters in the second inning reached for Utah Valley as the Wolverines rallied for four runs. Jaeden Barajas and Stiles each singled to center. Barajas scored on a bunt by Libbie Hawker after a throwing error by the third baseman sailed down the right field line.
Moreno hit a grounder to third that took a tricky hop and snuck into left field, allowing Stiles and Hawker to score.
Barajas led off the fifth with a line drive down the left field line for a double. Stiles bunted her to third and Hawker brought her in on a groundout to first.
Pacific got one back in the bottom of the seventh after a double came around to score on a fielding error.
The Wolverines will conclude NorCal Kickoff play at UC Davis on Sunday morning at 10:30 am MT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at UVUStats.com.
