The Utah softball team won its second straight game on Friday, beating Long Beach State 10-5 on the second day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
After the two offenses only registered three hits through the first two innings, both teams erupted for a third-inning scoring spree.
In the top of the third, Hannah Flippen reached first safely on an error by 49er first baseman Lauren Lombardi, scoring Delilah Pacheco from second for the Utes’ first run. Heather Bowen hit her second double of the season, scoring Flippen from second, followed by Kristen Stewart hammering her second home run of the year to centerfield, scoring Bowen and herself to make it 4-0 in Utah’s favor.
The 49ers responded, however, in their half of the inning, scoring three runs on a Haley Tober dinger to left field to draw Long Beach State to within one. Both sides were held scoreless in the fourth and fifth frames, but Utah added another run to its lead in the top of the sixth when Bella Secaira singled home Kay Kay Fronda to put the Utes up by two.
In the seventh and final inning, Fronda crushed Utah’s first grand slam of the season, scoring herself, Stewart, Bowen and Anissa Urtez to increase the Utes’ lead to 9-3. Later in the inning, Pacheco singled to left field, scoring Bridget Castro to put Utah up 10-3. Long Beach State scored two runs in their last at-bats on RBIs by Nichole Fry and LT Torres to make the final score 10-5. The win marked the second time this year that the Utes have scored 10 or more runs in a game.
Katie Donovan started and recorded her fifth straight win, throwing six innings, striking out six and allowing six hits and three runs. Kayce Nieto pitched the last inning, allowing one hit and two runs.
The Utes play the No. 1 team in the nation, the Florida Gators, at 10:30 a.m. MST on Saturday. They follow that game with Cal State Northridge at 4 p.m. MST.
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