SB: Utah finishes strong with victory over Cal-State Fullerton
It was quite a way for a team to wrap up an out-of-state tournament.
Entering Sunday, the Utes were undefeated at the Mary Nutter Classic and looking good on improving on that after they lead 6-0 after two innings against Cal-State Fullerton in their final game of the tournament.
About an hour later and Utah found itself trailing 7-6, with its undefeated hopes dwindling.
That's when the seventh inning happened, and with it came a lot of drama that eventually went Utah's way. The Utes not only scored two runs in the seventh, a brilliant unassisted double play led to an 8-7 victory over the Titans to finish the Classic 3-0.
Utah loaded the bases in the top of the seventh after Madi Jacobus walked, Alyssa Barrera singled and Ellessa Bonstrom walked.
After an out, Destiny Quiles got an RBI when her fielder's choice groundball tied the game. Then up stepped Katie Faulk, who delivered on a 1-1 pitch with a single to left field for the what proved to be the game-winning RBI.
The bottom of the seventh was also full of drama when Cal-State Fullerton got its leadoff hitter on base. The Titans seemed poise to win the game when the next batter hit a line drive that had extra bases written all over it, but Alyssa Palacios not only snared the hit for an out, she doubled off the runner at first by diving back to the bag and securing the win.
The second inning was a big one for the Utes. Faulk has a two-RBI single while Jacobus added a bases-clearing double for the early lead. But Fullerton began picking away at the lead, scoring solo runs in the second and third inning before erupting for five runs in the sixth.
Jacobus and Faulk each finished with three RBI's in the game, while Barerra, Bonstrom and Faulk each had multiple hits.
Sydney Sandez threw the complete game, earning the win and upping her record to 8-2 on the season. She gave up 13 hits with two walks and two strikeouts in the victory.
Utah returns to action with a double-header against the University of San Diego on Monday before returning home.