Utah Softball Trounces UNLV, 14-1

Saturday, April 16

Las Vegas, Nev.

1:00 PM

University of Utah

UNLV

4/16/2011 12:00 AM | Softball

April 16, 2011

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Katelyn Elliott hit her first career home run, a three-run shot in the fifth inning, and head coach Amy Hogue picked up her 100th career win with a 14-1 run-rule victory over Mountain West Conference foe UNLV Saturday at Eller Media Stadium.

Utah (24-17, 2-1 MWC) picked up its 11th win in its last 13 games by outhitting the Rebels 8-1 while 10 different Utes crossed the plate.

"I was really proud of how we recovered from yesterday [a 9-1 loss in five innings at UNLV]," Hogue said. "We just came out and played hard. I knew UNLV was going to bring the same lineup against us as yesterday so it was fun to see us make adjustments and be successful."

Elliott had one RBI this season entering and increased her total to three with one swing of the bat on a 2-2 pitch in the top of the fifth that sailed over the center-field wall.

"[Elliott] has been working really hard," Hogue said. "We just haven't had very many opportunities to get her into the lineup. She has been looking good in practice so we expected her to play well and hit the ball hard."

Junior third baseman Whitney Holm was the other Ute with a multiple-hit performance as she was 2-for-3 with five RBI on a home run and double.

On the mound, Generra Nielson picked her seventh straight win in pitching decisions after tossing her ninth complete game this season. In 5.0 innings against the Rebels, she allowed one earned run on one hit while striking out four and walking two. Nielson has not lost a game since March 19 and now has a 16-10 mark this season.

"[Generra] threw really well today," Hogue said. "When she gets that kind of run support, she is going to be tough to beat."

Utah's offensive outburst began in the second inning when Holm connected on a first-pitch, two-run home run down the left-field line. Holm has now eight this season and is once again tied with first baseman Tia Palauni for team-high honors.

A seven-run, four-hit, one-error third inning put the game out of reach for the Rebels. After the first three hitters reached base, Kelsi Hoopiiaina lined an RBI single through the right side then Holm cranked a two-run double in the right-center field gap. Jackie Sweet added another RBI base hit and Brooke Olson followed by launching a sacrifice fly to center field then Chalese Fankhauser lifted a fly ball to right field that allowed Hannah Clements to plate Utah's seventh and final run of the frame.

After the being held scoreless in the fourth inning, the Utes poured on five more runs in their final at-bat in the fifth. Capped by Elliott's home run, Utah also benefited from a bases loaded walk drawn by Palauni then a UNLV wild pitch that allowed Sweet to score.

"We kept telling the team, `Don't stop playing'," Hogue said. "We knew we couldn't get complacent because of how potent UNLV's offense is. I also wanted to show off our deep bench. Today proved that we can make multiple changes to our lineup and still score a lot of runs."

UNLV opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single by Tayler Aleman but Utah reeled 14 consecutive runs to earn a split of the two games in Las Vegas. The Utes improved to 6-8 this season when their opponents score first.

Utah returns to Ute Softball Thursday to continue MWC action against Colorado State at 4 p.m. Tune into the live stream of Gavin McCallister's play-by-play or watch the live stats on Gametracker at utahutes.com.