SEATTLE — Avery Sapp tossed a complete game and Payge Armendariz hit a walk-off single that scored Megan Gibbs to lead No. 3 Utah Valley to a WAC Tournament-opening 2-1 win over No. 6 UT Arlington on Wednesday afternoon at Logan Field.
After the Mavericks tied the game in the seventh with a solo homer, the Wolverines were able to break through with a run in the eighth as Gibbs came around to score from first on Armendariz's single to right center.
"I'm so proud of the team for just sticking with it," said head coach Cody Thomson. "We knew it was going to be a pretty low-scoring game. Gibbs is one of those kids that runs a lot faster than people think, and she's one of our kids that gets a great jump."
As was the theme with the prior three games this season against UTA, Wednesday's game was another pitcher's duel. The prior three games in Arlington were all one-run games, including a pair of walk-off wins for the Mavericks.
Sapp — who threw a complete game shutout against UTA back on April 12 — came two outs away from another before giving up the game-tying home run. In two starts against the Mavericks this year, Sapp has thrown 15 innings and allowed just one run.
UTA ran itself out of a scoring chance in the second with some overaggressive baserunning. With one out and runners at first and second, the Mavericks laid down a sacrifice bunt. Halle Morris threw the batter out at first, then Britney Moreno threw out the lead runner with plenty of time at the plate.
After trading zeroes through the first two and a half innings, Utah Valley broke with a run in the third. Ry Binne singled and Amber Rodriguez doubled with one out to set the table for Morris, who drove in Binne with a sacrifice fly.
Following a leadoff single by the Mavericks in the third, Sapp retired 13 of the next 14 batters to get to the seventh. Marley Neises then hit a game-tying solo homer to prolong the game.
UVU threatened in the home half of the seventh, but were unable to push across a run. Angelique Mann led off the inning with a double, but three groundouts prevented her from scoring.
Gibbs reached base with a one-out single to center. After a popout, Armendariz roped a single up the middle that rolled into the gap in right center. A slight stumble by the center fielder gave Gibbs all the time she needed to score from first, narrowly beating the throw and knocking the ball loose in the process of sliding.
Utah Valley moves on in the winner's bracket to face No. 2 California Baptist tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. MT. All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UVUStats.com.
