May 5, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - With a 9-7 lead and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning the Utah Valley State baseball team watched a victory slip away in a 10-9 loss to Utah on Wednesday at Ute Field.
The Utes scored three runs, on a UVSC error, two hits batsman, a walk, two pass balls, and just one hit. The one hit being a groundball up the middle.
It seemed as if the Wolverines were going to run away with their second win in as many days over the Utes, when UVSC ace
Aaron Tash was called upon to close the ninth inning. But it wasn't meant to be, as UVSC miscues allowed Utah to escape with a heart breaking victory.
The game was back-and-forth throughout until the top of the eighth when UVSC took a 7-4 lead on a two-run double by
Canyon Vance. Just when the Wolverines thought they had a little breathing room, the Utes struck back by scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 7-7.
Wolverine starter
Jason Ward pitched 7 2/3 innings, and just ran out of gas in the eighth as the Utes got to him with three runs on four hits. Ward only walked one and struck out four.
Brady Drake finally finished the inning and minimized the damage by getting Eric Chevalier to fly out to left field.
The Wolverines didn't waste time scoring in the ninth as
Trent Perry greeted Ute reliever Ben Buck with a lead off double to left.
Dan Bulow then drove in Perry with a double of his own that sailed over left fielder, John Welsh's head. With Bulow on second,
Todd Bateman hit a RBI single up the middle to give UVSC the 9-7 lead.
Then came the unthinkable bottom half of the ninth. After a groundout and a Wolverine error, Tash hit a batter, and then struck out another batter. With runners on first and second and the UVSC victory still well within grasp Tash plunked another Ute hitter to load the bases, but the Wolverines continued to hold to a 9-7 lead. Two of Tash's pitches got away from Bulow, allowing the Utes to score on both pass balls and tie the game at 9-9. Then Matt Ciaramella delivered the only hit of the inning. A game winning RBI single threw the box.
With the loss the Wolverines fall to 18-16 on the season, while the Utes improve to 14-27, and even the in-state series at 2-2.
Four UVSC hitters had multi-hit days. They were
Josh Hinckley (2-for-4), Vance (2-for-5), Bulow (2-for-5), and Perry (2-for-5); including a two run homerun in the third inning to give UVSC an early 3-2 lead.
The Wolverines and Utes will meet again twice next week with the same format as this week. A Tuesday game scheduled for 7:00 pm at Larry H. Miller Field and a series finale on Wednesday at 2:00 pm at Ute Field.
