April 15, 2007
Mitchell, South Dakota - Two outs away from being swept, Utah Valley (14-23) rallied for seven runs in the ninth inning for an improbable 9-5 win over South Dakota State (16-13) on Sunday.
Trailing 5-2 heading into the ninth, the Wolverines got some help from the Jacks' pitching staff in the form three consecutive one-out walks to load the bases, then did the rest themselves with three clutch two-out hits.
After Jace Brinkerhoff led off the ninth by lining out to right, Austin Heaps, Josh Hinckley and Adam Openshaw all drew walks from reliever Erik Bess. South Dakota State then went to its closer, Jacob Kougl, who came in the game with seven saves and a 1.74 ERA.
Kougl got Scott Croshaw to ground out to second, which allowed pinch runner Ryan Chadwick to score. Keiki Albino then delivered the biggest hit of the series for Utah Valley when he smacked a 2-2 pitch from Kougl down the right field line for a double, tying the game at five.
Tyler Garretson then reached after being hit by a pitch, before Eli Slesk singled to left to score Albino for what ended up the game-winning run.
After Kougl intentionally walked Derrick Thomas, the Jacks went to their third pitcher of the inning, Dalton Decker, who surrendered a single to Brinkerhoff, scoring Garretson and Slesk and giving UV a three-run cushion. The Wolverines added the final run of the inning when Thomas scored on a wild pitch.
UV reliever Craig Brimhall gave up a one-out single to Tony Martin in the bottom of the ninth but got Tim Hanigan to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game. Brimhall earned his first collegiate win after throwing two innings out of the bullpen, including a perfect eighth.
Garretson and Slesk both had two hits each to lead the Wolverines while Martin had two hits and three runs batted in for the Jacks.
South Dakota State jumped ahead 1-0 in the first when Nick Adams drove in Korby Mintken with a single. The Wolverines tied it in the third on a Garretson single to score Dick Bargewell. Garretson then gave UV a 2-1 lead in the fifth with a two-out double to score Croshaw.
Wolverine starter Bryan Smith was coasting along on the hill, having retired eight straight heading into the sixth. Jake Rogers led off the sixth with a home run to left field to tie the game. After retiring the next two hitters, Smith hit a batter and walked the next two before he was lifted for Jory Jensen with the bases full.
Martin then broke the 2-2 with a double to left that took a bad hop past Bargewell and allowed three runs to score.
The Wolverines will play four times at home in the coming week, all against in-state teams beginning with Utah on Tuesday at 7pm. Dixie State will be in Orem beginning on Thursday for a three game series.
