ST. GEORGE, Utah — Angelique Mann hit her second home run of the day and Britney Moreno drove in three while extending her reached-base streak to 16 games to lead Utah Valley (11-6) to a 6-4 win over the Weber State Wildcats (3-15) to close out day one of the Beehive Classic.
Mann kept up the heavy hitting she delivered in game one of the day with a second solo shot in the first inning to give Utah Valley an early lead once again. Mann has now hit safely in eight of her last nine games, seven of which were multi-hit games.
Moreno delivered what proved to be the deciding runs of the ballgame with a two-run triple in the fourth that extended her reached-base streak.
Ella Miller was masterful in the circle, holding the Wildcats to no runs on two hits over the first five frames before giving up one earned and three unearned runs in the sixth. Lily Riley earned her first save of the season after retiring the side in the seventh.
Utah Valley scored in the first inning for the second game in a row and 10th time this season on the solo homer by Mann. The Wolverines tripled that lead to three in the second with two runs, the first on a Moreno sac fly and the second on some aggressive baserunning.
With runners on second and third, Mann hit a sharp grounder to short, whose throw home beat Tatum Hall. Mann took a sharp turn around first, drawing a throw from the catcher that allowed Ry Binne to slide in safely and Mann to go to second.
Megan Sterzer picked up another RBI knock in the fifth with an infield single to make it 4-0 Wolverines, driving in Emma Haygood. Moreno tacked on two more with a stand-up triple into the right field corner in the sixth.
Weber State got its first run of the game after a leadoff walk came around to score on a double. A two-out error prolonged the inning for the Wildcats and they made it hurt, as Appolina Maldonado launched a no-doubt three-run homer to straightaway center to make it 6-4.
Riley was able to shut the door in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts to pick up the save.
Utah Valley will have just one game tomorrow on day two of the Beehive Classic, facing off with the Utah State Aggies at 3 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on WAC International, with live stats at GoUVU.com/stats.
