OREM, Utah — Utah Valley's seventh-inning rally came up short as the Wolverines fell 4-1 to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Senior Day.
Megan Gibbs capped off her home career with a 1-for-3 day, driving in the lone run of the day with a double in the seventh inning. Gibbs, along with fellow seniors Rachael Brown and Victoria Vasquez were honored postgame.
Utah Valley struggled to get the bats going, as SUU's Riley Nielson took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Rachael Brown broke the seal with a single through the left side.
Lily Riley pitched a strong game in her first start since March 28, going 6-plus innings while being charged with all four runs. Riley held the T-Birds to just two extra-base hits, only one of which led to a run.
SUU struck first in the second inning when the T-Birds after a leadoff single came around to score thanks to a two-out walk and single. SUU doubled that lead in the fifth with three straight singles.
Riley fell on the wrong end of a nine-pitch battle to lead off the seventh when Ariyana Miranda hit a solo homer to make it 3-0. Two singles and a wild pitch put two T-Birds in scoring position, then an error by Britney Moreno allowed the fourth and final run of the day to come in.
Back-to-back doubles by Angelique Mann and Gibbs got the Wolverines on the board, but a deep flyout by Brown, a strikeout by Amber Rodriguez, and a sharp lineout by Tatum Hall ended the game.
Utah Valley will enter the WAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed in Riverside, Calif., hosted by California Baptist. The Wolverines will open tournament play against the No. 5 seed Abilene Christian Wildcats on Wednesday, May 7 at 2 p.m. MDT in a win-or-go-home matchup. With a win, Utah Valley would advance to the double elimination bracket and face the No. 4 seed Seattle U Redhawks later that evening at 8 p.m. MDT. All action will be streamed live on ESPN+, with live stats at UVUStats.com.
