College baseball, softball: Rally falls short as Huskies outlast Utes

SALT LAKE CITY — Despite mounting a ninth-inning comeback, the Utah baseball team dropped the finale in its three-game series against Washington, 7-6 on Sunday.

Going into the ninth inning down 7-4, leadoff hitter Trey Nielsen started the rally when he was hit by a pitch. Connor Eppard walked and Jo Jo Sharrar singled to load the bases. After Cory Hunt struck out, James Brooks stepped to the plate and hit a single through the left side to score Nielsen and Eppard. However, Husky reliever Joshua Fredendall struck out Tyler Relf to end the game.

Utah (12-30, 6-15 Pac-12) does not have a midweek game this week, kicking off the month of May at Arizona State with a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT.

UTAH SOFTBALL: At Salt Lake City, senior first baseman Tia Palauni launched a grand slam over the center field fence in the bottom of the second inning, but the University of Utah softball came up just short of No. 23 Oregon State, 5-4, at Ute Field on Sunday. Utah (26-23, 1-17 Pac-12) and Oregon State finished with eight hits apiece. Palauni went 1-for-2 on the day and homered for the second straight game and the seventh time this season. The Utes travel to No. 3/2 Arizona State next weekend for a three-game conference set in Tempe against the Sun Devils, starting Friday at 7 p.m. MT.

UVU SOFTBALL: At Pocatello, Idaho, the Utah Valley University softball team set a new single-season school record in wins as it swept a doubleheader at Idaho State University on its final day of Pacific Coast Softball Conference play Sunday. Behind solid pitching from Tiffany Mills, the Wolverines (29-22-1, 10-10 PCSC) took the first game 3-2, and Amanda Perez's walk-off home run in the eighth inning gave UVU the second game as well, 4-2. UVU finished tied for second place in the PCSC Mountain Division. The Wolverines will play BYU in Provo on Tuesday and in Orem on Wednesday. Game time is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday night at Gail Miller Field and 5 p.m. Wednesday evening at Wolverine Field.

WEBER STATE SOFTBALL: At Portland, Ore., Weber State closed out its season with a 6-1 loss in the opening game, and then a 4-2 loss in the series finale against Portland State at Erv Lind Stadium on Sunday. The Wildcats wrapped up their season at 10-10 in Pacific Coast Softball Conference play, finishing tied for second place in the Mountain Division after being picked sixth in the preseason polls, and 21-32 overall. The games were the final in a Purple and White uniform for seniors Sarah Clark, Erika James-Dixon, Kami Johnson-Holley, Lyndsey Minnich and Symbree Minniear.