OREM, Utah — Peyton Hall, Bailey Marvin, and Britney Moreno each homered to slug Utah Valley past the UT Arlington Mavericks, 7-5 and take the three-game series two games to one.
Peyton Hall's longball was a solo shot and Marvin and Moreno's each brought in two. Megan Gibbs rounded out the scoring with a pair of RBIs herself.
"I was really excited for Brit to hit that home run. She's been working really hard and having some great at bats," said head coach Cody Thomson. "This weekend was huge for the Wolverines. We need to get on a roll and this weekend is really going to help us with that. I'm proud of how the team performed and stepped up."
Avery Sapp picked up her second win of the series with a gritty performance in the circle. Aside from a four-run fifth inning by the Mavs, which was aided in part by an error in the field, Sapp held UTA to one run over the other six frames while striking out five.
The Mavs opened the scoring with a run in the first, but Sapp was able to limit the damage to that with a pair of strikeouts and a nice snag on a line drive comebacker.
Moreno led off the home half of the first with a double, then came in to score after a pair of groundouts by Tatum Hall and Gibbs.
Peyton Hall gave Utah Valley its first lead of the afternoon in the second with a solo home run over the wall in left to make it 2-1.
Marvin and Angelique Mann showed off the leather in the third to get the Wolverines back in the dugout. Marvin turned an unassisted double play on a line drive, then Mann made a Superman-style catch in center to rob UTA's Dee McClarity.
Marvin pushed the lead up to three with a two-out, two-run shot in the third. Gibbs picked up her second RBI of the day in the fourth with a missile of a double that ate up the left fielder, driving in Angelique Mann to make it 5-1.
UTA tied the game at five in the fifth inning with four runs, three of which came on a home run by Talia Maldonado.
Moreno put the Wolverines up for good with a two-run homer in the sixth. After a one-out single by Mann, Moreno showed bunt, pulled back, and smashed a line drive over the fence in left.
Sapp worked around a leadoff throwing error to keep the Mavs off the board and secure the 7-5 win.
Weather permitting, Utah Valley will make the short trip down University Parkway to take on the BYU Cougars in the final game of the Crosstown Clash series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. Follow @UVUSoftball on social media for updates on potential postponements or time changes.
