UVU Softball team goes 3-2 in Vegas tourney
The UVU softball team recently competed in the Marucci Desert Classic in Las Vegas, hosted by UNLV. The Wolverines won three out of the five games to start the season on the right foot.
On the first day of the tournament, the Wolverines kicked off the season with a double-header against the host UNLV Rebels and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. In the first game against UNLV, the Rebels pulled away with a five-run performance in the sixth inning. The Wolverines threatened in the first inning after Brianna Moeller, a senior from Arizona, singled to lead off but couldn’t push a run across. UNLV got a run in the bottom of the first and the score remained 1-0 until a two-run fourth gave the Rebels a cushion.
In addition to Moeller, upperclassmen Lyndsay Steverson and Kaylee Bott also had hits for Utah Valley while Lauren Tycksen had two hits and scored three times for the Rebels.
Jenny Bressler (2-0) got the complete-game win for UNLV while freshman Brylee Marziale lasted into the sixth in her first career start and took the loss.
The nightcap against North Dakota proved much more fruitful for UVU. The Wolverines scored early and often on their way to an 8-4 victory. It began for the Wolverines on an RBI double from Linnah Rebolledo and freshman Abby Doughty belted out the first home run of the 2019 season for UVU.
UND made a late run in the sixth inning, but came up short and Utah Valley prevailed. Junior pitcher Devyn Cretz stole the show as she pitched the complete seven innings and earned the win in her first appearance as a Wolverine. She struck out five UND batters en route to the victory, UVU’s first on the young campaign.
Day two of the tournament belonged to Peyton Angulo, a sophomore from Upland, Calif. Angulo went a perfect 7-7 over the two games, pacing Utah Valley to a couple of easy victories over Seton Hall and Southern Utah, 11-3 and 10-3, respectively.
“Today was one of those days that showed us what each other is truly capable of,” said Angulo. “Going off of four hours of sleep we could have easily rolled over but we didn’t. We came ready to play and battle and that’s what we did.”
Against Seton Hall, Angulo drove in three runs and scored three times herself, ending the game early in the sixth inning. Steverson also led the charge against the Pirates with three hits of her own, including a home run.
A myriad of Wolverines contributed to the onslaught versus SUU, driving in multiple runs and being very active on the basepaths. Freshman Brylee Marziale (1-1) pitched a complete-game for the Wolverines to earn her first career win.
The tournament finale ended in a shootout against 25th ranked Long Beach State. Both teams combined for 26 runs and 32 hits in the outburst, with Long Beach taking the victory 16-10. For the weekend Angulo batted .706 (12-for-17) with four doubles, four RBIs and eight runs scored. Steverson went 9-for-15 (.600) with two home runs, three doubles and eight runs batted in.
Photo courtesy of: UVU Athletics