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No. 3 Utah Defeats No. 4 UNLV, 1-0, To Advance To Finals Of MWC Softball Tournament Utes advance to finals for second time in MWC history
May 12, 2006 LAS VEGAS - Final Boxscore in PDF Format
In game seven of the Mountain West Softball Tournament, No. 3 seed Utah (37-19) defeated No. 4 seed UNLV (26-37), 1-0, behind Karina Cannon's complete two-hit shutout game. With the victory, the Utes move on to the finals Saturday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m. (PDT) against the winner of the No. 1 seed San Diego State/No. 2 seed BYU game.
Utah scored the only run of the game in the first inning. Jackie Wong advanced to first base on a fielding error, followed by a single from Diana Phillips. Jessica Shiery advanced Wong on a fielder's choice as she came home on an RBI fly by Devina Quintero.
"This team stuck together," said Utah Head Coach Kyle Magnusson. "If you don't let the other team score, you are going to win a lot of games. We didn't play well last weekend and came out here and won three in a row. We just have one more and have a chance to win it all and earn a bid."
Utah held on to its 1-0 lead and after five scoreless innings, UNLV had a chance to tie the score as Brittany Bolinger advanced to first base on an error, followed by a single from Brittany Freight in the fifth inning. Utah's Cannon remained in control and forced the final two batters to fly out, stranding the runners on base.
"It's tournament time," said UNLV Head Coach Lonni Alameda. "You have to take advantage of your one or two hits, which they did and we couldn't. We had a little rally in the fifth inning and had the right people at the right time but sometimes it doesn't happen for you. We have three great seniors that are leaving this program with a lot of pride and hopefully we can learn our lessons this year and take them into next year."
Cannon (19-7) tossed a complete game in the circle, shutting out UNLV and only allowing two hits in pitching the Utes to the finals. She also tallied five strikeouts in the game, while not walking a batter.
UNLV's Shannon Crisp (11-17) was credited with the loss, pitching two innings, while allowing one run off one hit. The Rebel's Christie Robinson contributed four innings, with three strikeouts and allowing no hits.
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