OREM, Utah — Tatum Hall hit a grand slam and Lily Riley pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts to lead Utah Valley (18-8, 1-0 WAC) to a 5-2 win over Utah Tech (10-19, 0-1 WAC) in the Old Hammer Rivalry.
Riley outdueled Trailblazer ace Sauren Garton, who settled down after a rocky first inning to hold the Wolverines to just one hit over the final six innings. Riley pitched her third straight complete game and sixth of the year to improve to 11-2 on the year.
Garton couldn't find the strike zone early, walking the first two batters and plunking the third before Bailey Marvin worked a bases-loaded walk to make it 1-0. Garton was able to strike out Amber Rodriguez for the first out of the inning, but Tatum Hall capitalized on a mistake up and over the heart of the plate, smashing her second grand slam of the season over the wall in left center.
The Trailblazers got one back in the top of the second when Summer Sanderson slugged a solo homer over the wall in left. Utah Tech trimmed the lead down to three in the third after LB Kahahawai-Kekona hit a looping liner into right center that Angelique Mann was just barely unable to snag on a dive, resulting in a triple. Pappas drove her in two batters later with a sac fly to right.
Riley allowed just three baserunners over the final four frames, stranding a pair of one-out doubles in the sixth and seventh.
Utah Valley and Utah Tech will wrap up their series tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader beginning at noon MT. Admission is free, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats at GoUVU.com/stats.