LONG BEACH, Calif. –
Mia Gomez doubled twice and drove in three runs and
Hailey Maestretti earned a complete game victory as the University of Utah softball team logged a 4-3 win over Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon at the LBSU Softball Complex in Long Beach, Calif.
The Utes finish the season's first weekend 4-1.
In the first inning, LBSU got started with three straight singles to plate the game's first run, then added a second on an RBI groundout to seize the early advantage. The Utes crept within a run in the third thanks to knocks from
Hailee White and
Kennedy Proctor and a fielder's choice and an error that sent White home.
In the fifth, White singled, Proctor was hit by a pitch and Gomez stroked her first two-bagger of the day into right-center, tallying both runners and giving the visitors their first lead of the day. Gomez's second double of the afternoon came in the seventh and scored Proctor again to make the score 4-2.
Maestretti, meanwhile, kept the home team at bay for five straight innings. When the sophomore southpaw escaped a jam in the third, stranding two, it started a streak in which she retired 10 in a row. In the seventh, a pair of LBSU singles cut the difference to one, but Maestretti induced a fielder's choice groundout and a flyout that put another Utah win in the books.
Up Next
The second weekend of the season will take the Utes to northern California, where they'll start by playing Cal and Santa Clara on Friday.
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