ST. GEORGE, Utah — A hotly contested doubleheader at Karl Brooks Field went the way of the Utah Tech Trailblazers, as the Utah Valley Wolverines fell 10-8 and 7-2 on Friday afternoon in the Old Hammer Rivalry.
The crooked number bit the Wolverines, as Utah Tech had four different rallies of two or more runs, including a six-run rally that gave the Blazers all the offense they needed in game two.
Peyton Hall and Tatum Hall each homered in game one to lead Utah Valley and Megan Gibbs reached base in five out of seven plate appearances on the day, going 2-for-3 with three walks out of the leadoff spot.
Cam Davis gave the Wolverines 5.1 strong innings out of the bullpen, allowing one ER across two appearances.
GAME ONE
Utah Valley struck first without recording a hit, as Gibbs led off the game with a walk, advanced on a wild pitch, then moved to third on a groundout. Amber Rodriguez hit a sharp chopper to first, and Gibbs never hesitated to beat the throw and score.
Utah Tech rallied for four runs in the bottom half to take a 4-1 lead after one. That Trailblazer lead was short-lived, as the Wolverines rallied for six in the top of the second, bookended by the Hall homers.
Peyton Hall got the rally started with a two-run shot over the wall in left. Rachael Brown narrowly missed a homer to right center, but settled for a double. Kendyl Purdy hit a comebacker to the pitcher, whose throw to first was high and allowed Brown's pinch runner Mya Higareda to score. Britney Moreno singled home Purdy, then came around to score on the Tatum Hall homer and make it 7-4.
The Trailblazers made sure the Wolverine lead was short-lived as well, as they rallied for three in the second and one in the third to take an 8-7 lead after four. Brown re-tied the game with a sac fly in the fifth to score Angelique Mann, but Utah Tech was able to get the winning runs with a two-run rally in the bottom half of the fifth.
GAME TWO
Payge Armendariz got the start in the circle in game two and got a tough-luck loss after a few breaks snowballed into a six-run fourth inning for the Trailblazers.
The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Higareda's single deep into the hole between first and second allowed Tatum Hall to score.
Utah Tech tied the game in the bottom of the third with some aggressive baserunning by advancing on a stolen base and a dropped third strike before scoring on a single to left.
Peyton Hall put the Wolverines back on top in the top of the fourth with an RBI single. Mann singled and Emma Haygood doubled to set the table.
The Trailblazers rallied for six in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good, with four of those coming with two outs.
The Wolverines and Trailblazers will wrap up this year's rendition of the Old Hammer Rivalry tomorrow at noon MDT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats available at UtahTechTrailblazers.com.
