SACRAMENTO — Avery Sapp struck out nine in a complete game and Emma Haygood went 2-for-3 with three RBI's to lead Utah Valley to a 6-5 win over the Boise State Broncos for the team's first win of the young season to earn a Saturday split at the NorCal Kickoff.
Sac State blitzed the Wolverines to take a 9-1 victory in the second game of the day in five innings.
GAME ONE
After a scoreless first, Utah Valley rallied for three in the second to take the lead for good. After the first three batters reached to load the bases, Haygood slapped a single through the left side to plate the first runner. A bases-loaded walk from Rachael Brown and a groundout by Amber Rodriguez plated the next two runners.
BSU pushed across a run apiece in the fourth and fifth to cut the lead down to one. The Wolverines were able to re-extend the lead back up to three with a two-RBI single by Haygood into no-man's land between the shortstop, center fielder, and left fielder.
Another Bronco run in the bottom of the sixth was met with another Wolverine response in the top of the seventh. Megan Gibbs roped a double into right center to plate Peyton Hall from first. Gibbs holds the team lead in hits so far this season with five, three of which have gone for extra bases.
A furious BSU rally in the seventh ended with the potential tying run stranded on third. The Broncos strung together three hits over the first four batters of the inning to plate two runs, but Sapp was able to hunker down and get a pair of groundouts to second to end the game.
GAME TWO
The Hornets took the lead in the first on back-to-back homers and never looked back. A seven-run third pushed Sac State into run-rule territory.
Utah Valley got a run back in the fourth after a foul ball sac fly by Gibbs brought in Rodriguez. Freshman Lily Riley came in to pitch the final 1.1 innings and struck out two in her first collegiate action.
UP NEXT
The Wolverines wrap up the weekend tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. MT against the San Jose State Spartans. The game will be streamed live on the GoUVU YouTube channel, with live stats at UVUStats.com.
