Wolverines split double-header in final day of Lynn Russell Miller Classic
The Utah Valley Wolverines were routed by the Portland State Vikings 8-2 in game one of a Sunday doubleheader at Lynn Russell Miller Classic in Riverside, California. However, in the final game, the Wolverines were able to cap off the series with a 3-2 walk-off win against the Pacific Tigers.
The first game against the Vikings didn’t bode well as the Wolverines went scoreless and allowed three runs to go along with four hits by the Vikings in the first inning. The Wolverines were able to respond in the second inning by getting the bases loaded. Catcher Jaeden Barajas and infielder Jordan Freas would lead way for the Wolverines with an RBI double and sacrifice groundout, scoring Megan Gibbs and Rien Milliken.
No team would score until the fifth inning, where the Vikings erupted for a five-run inning and would never look back. The Vikings were able to shut out the Wolverines for the rest of the game, resulting in an 8-2 loss.
Megan Gibbs led way for the Wolverines, going 2-for-2 in the game and hitting a leadoff double to start the explosive second inning. Outside of Gibbs’s stellar performance, the team only combined for four other hits compared to ten by the Vikings. The Vikings also imposed five RBIs to the Wolverines’ two. Both teams had five walks.
The second game started in a pitch out between Wolverine junior pitcher Brooke Carter and Tiger pitcher Vanessa Strong. Ultimately the Vikings would notch a two-run fourth inning to take the lead. The Wolverines were able to respond in the fifth inning with a solo home run by Jaeden Barajas.
The Wolverines would then hold off the Tigers behind three shutout innings from pitcher Katie Zuniga. In the bottom of the seventh, Madison Carr would single in Rien Milliken for the game-tying run. A few batters later, Mikaela Thomson, daughter of head coach Cody Thomson, delivered the walk-off single, bringing home Carr.
The Wolverines ended the game with nine hits and three RBIs. Carter and Zuniga would combine four strikeouts and hold the Tigers to just two runs off of four hits, giving up only two walks.
The Wolverines now move to 2-3 overall in the season and will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the UNLV Desert Classic on the weekend of Feb 18. They will begin with a double-header against Weber State at 11 a.m. MT and their first of a series against the Kansas City Roos at 1:30 p.m. MT.
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Sophomore at UVU. Writer for the UVU review, statistician for UVU ESPN+, and play-by-play commentator for UVU Men’s Lacrosse.