Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Utah
Wildcats earn split with in-state rival Utes
4/11/2013 3:44:00 AM | Softball
SALT LAKE CITY – In need of a major confidence boost as the season heads into its stretch run, the Wildcats got it on Wednesday evening.
Riding a five-hit day from freshman first baseman Krystin Kubo and a 13-hit team performance in the second game, the Weber State University softball team snagged a doubleheader split with in-state rival Utah at Utah Softball Stadium.
The Wildcats pounded out a season-high 13 hits as they captured a 6-1 win over the Utes in the nightcap, after dropping an 11-2 decision in five innings to start the day.
The win over Utah was Weber State's first victory against a Pac-12 school since April 15, 1983 when the Wildcats swept a doubleheader from Arizona. It's WSU's first win over Utah since May 3, 1983 when it defeated the Utes at home, 3-2.
Kubo was 2-for-3 in the first game and 3-for-4 in the win, finishing 5-for-7 as the Wildcats pounded out 18 hits in the two games.
Junior right-hander Kylee Colvin earned the win on the mound, allowing just six hits and one run – a third-inning home run, as she picked up her fourth win of the season.
Junior shortstop Brooke Silva had three hits and two runs scored, while sophomore designated player Stephanie Mathias, sophomore catcher Janel Cunningham, freshman second baseman Brooke Ford, freshman left fielder Rudi Barrios and freshman third baseman Alyson Kulp each recorded two hits on the day.
Weber State took a 2-0 lead in the third inning of second game after hitting three consecutive singles with two outs as Mathias came up with a big hit that scored Silva, with Barrios adding a second run after a throwing error at by Utah's first baseman.
The Utes made it 2-1 with a home run in the fourth inning, but the Wildcats' bats heated up in the sixth to break open the game.
Kubo led off the inning with a single, followed by a single from Ford, and then sophomore Morgan Allaband drew a walk as a pinch hitter to load the bases.
Cunningham hammered a single up the middle that scored pinch runner Jessica Chaulkin and Ford. Utah turned a double-play to get the first two outs of the inning, but Kulp singled through the left side to score London Clarke – who returned to the lineup for Allaband – and then Barrios smashed a triple down the right field line to score Kulp and make it 6-1, and the Wildcats buzzed through the final two innings allowing just three base runners to get the victory.
In the first game, Utah scored six runs in the first inning to open the game up and led 7-0 before Silva scored on a sacrifice fly by Mathias.
Weber State made it 8-2 in the top of the fifth after Silva singled through the right side to score Kulp, but that's as close as the Wildcats would come and the Utes scored three in the bottom of the fifth to end the game early on run rule.
Weber State will be back in action on Friday and Saturday when the Wildcats travel to Sacramento, Calif., for a crucial three-game Big Sky Conference series with Sacramento State. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday, with the series' finale set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
