OREM, Utah — Tatum Hall hit her 10th home run of the season and Britney Moreno went 2-for-4 with an RBI as Utah Valley fell to the Tarleton State Texans, 7-2 on Senior Day on Saturday.
The Wolverines stayed within striking distance most of the afternoon, trailing 2-0 entering the sixth and 3-1 entering the seventh, but a four-run final frame from the Texans put the game to bed.
Utah Valley honored its eight graduating seniors — Angelique Mann, Kendyl Purdy, Mya Higareda, Hannah Ortega, Emma Haygood, Britney Moreno, Payge Armendariz, and Bailey Marvin — with a pregame first pitch ceremony and a postgame recognition. UVU's eight seniors are the team's most since 2018.
Head coach Cody Thomson started all eight seniors in their final conference game at home, with Ortega getting the start in the circle and Armendariz making her first-ever appearance in right field. Ortega continued her stellar pitching of late, holding the Texans to one ER on four hits over three-plus innings of work.
Ortega went toe-to-toe with TSU ace Shelby Schultz, trading zeroes with the Texan southpaw over the first three frames before TSU was able to break through in the fourth.
Tarleton tacked on another run in the fifth and the sixth before Hall was able to send one off the scoreboard in right center to reach double-digit home runs on the campaign. Hall is the 16th Wolverine to hit 10 or more home runs in a season, and the second left-handed batter, joining Heidi Stocks who did it twice in 2007-08.
The Texans pulled away in the seventh, plating one on a tough-luck RBI single that deflected off of Lily Riley and away from the defense. A pinch-hit three-run double from Scarlett Poole gave TSU all the insurance runs it needed.
Utah Valley put pressure on in the seventh, with Moreno picking up an RBI single, but that was all the Wolverines could get.
UVU will close out the home season on Tuesday as the Wolverines look to cap off a season series sweep of the Utah State Aggies. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
