Megan Gibbs hit two home runs and drove in six RBIs and Payge Armendariz pitched a complete game to lead Utah Valley to a 9-4 win over the Tarleton State Texans and secure the first 3-0 start to WAC play since 2014.

The Wolverines (9-13, 3-0 WAC) bounced back from a four-run deficit after the first half inning by rattling off nine unanswered runs to take the win. Armendariz, who pitched the first complete game of her collegiate career, earned the win by allowing two ER and striking out a career-high six.

“We’ve been preparing all year for this weekend, and I feel like the team showed up just like we’ve been practicing,” said head coach Cody Thomson. “We hit it and pitched it well, we had to come back in a couple games, and we had pitchers that hadn’t thrown a lot in the preseason that have worked really hard and it’s translating into the game. The hard work’s paying off.”

Gibbs had the second multi-home run game of her career and the 40th in program history. Gibbs now has seven home runs on the season, moving her into sole possession of fifth place on the UVU career home runs list with 27.

The Texans plated four runs in the first, but only two were earned. Armendariz bounced back from the rocky first inning and allowed just three hits over the final six frames.

Utah Valley responded in a big way with five runs in its half of the first. After Amber Rodriguez singled and Peyton Hall walked, Angelique Mann roped an RBI double to right-center that scored Rodriguez. Halle Morris was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Gibbs, who hit a no-doubter over the fence in left to give the Wolverines the 5-4 lead.

The two teams traded zeroes until the bottom of the fourth when a Tarleton error helped lead to a pair of UVU runs. Armendariz walked to lead off the inning, then was pinch-run for by Libbie Hawker. Laynee Betancur reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, and both runners took an extra 60 feet. Rodriguez then roped a single up the middle that drove in both runners.

Gibbs gave the Wolverines some insurance runs in the fifth when she hit her second home run of the day over the fence in right.

In the win, Peyton Hall extended her hitting streak to 11 games with a 1-for-3 day with a single and a walk. Hall has the longest hitting streak since the 2022 season when Madison Carr hit safely in 12-straight games.

Utah Valley welcomes Mountain West foe Boise State back to Wolverine Softball Field on Tuesday for the third and final game of the season series between the two teams. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. MT and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

The Wolverines will then hit the road for their next six, starting next weekend at GCU.

Former Wolverine softball star wins Mexican championship

Utah Valley softball alum Linnah Rebolledo won the inaugural Liga Mexicana de Softbol (LMS) championship with Charros de Jalisco, defeating Sultanes de Monterrey three games to one in the best-of-five series.

Charros finished the regular season 14-9, second-best behind Monterrey. The team then swept past Diablos Rojos 3-0 in the semifinals to reach the finals. Jalisco took games one, three, and four to secure the championship.

Rebolledo played for Utah Valley from 2018-22 and was named to the All-WAC first team in each of her final two seasons in Orem. As a senior, she batted a career-best .367 with six home runs, 13 doubles and 39 runs batted in. She finished her career with a .322 average, 17 home runs, 33 doubles and 109 RBIs. Her 171 career hits rank seventh on the program’s all-time list.

Rebolledo ranks in the top 10 of numerous UVU statistical categories, including holding the single-season runs record with 50, set in her senior season. Prior to joining Charros de Jalisco, Rebolledo had also been competing with the Mexico National Team since July 2022.

UVU baseball completes sweep of Stephen F. Austin

Utah Valley University baseball completed a sweep of Stephen F. Austin with a 12-2 victory at UCCU Ballpark in Orem on Sunday afternoon.

Garrett Broussard finished the day 4-for-4 with a homer and two doubles, while Nate Bach had his second inside-the-park home run and added a second dinger.

The Wolverines (7-12, 4-2) finished the weekend with a program-high 12 home runs in the sweep of SFA (3-18, 0-6).

Utah Valley earned their first sweep of 2024 and their first since last season against New Mexico State. The bottom third of the UVU lineup recorded eight of the 11 hits and scored eight of the 12 runs.

The Wolverines are back in action this week with a pair of games against Arizona State in Phoenix, starting on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. MT. The series will wrap up with a 2 p.m. MT start at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

UVU hosts Bushell University next weekend at UCCU Ballpark.

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