Feb. 28, 2008

CEDAR CITY, Utah - Utah Valley dropped the opener of a three-game series at Southern Utah 13-8 on Thursday afternoon in Cedar City.

The Wolverines (0-4-1) got two hits apiece from Jace Brinkerhoff and Josh Hinckley, but the T-Birds (3-0) racked up 13 hits on the afternoon to stay perfect on the season.

Dustin Wittwer moved to 2-0 on the mound for SUU after throwing seven innings and allowing just four hits on no earned runs (three total). Bryan Smith (0-1) took the loss for Utah Valley after giving up four runs on five hits in two innings of work.

SUU built a 5-0 lead after five innnings before the Wolverines were able to score three in the sixth. Brinkerhoff drove home Tyler Garretson and Ryan Jones with a double before Kevin Arendse singled home Scott Croshaw to get UV with two runs.

But the T-Birds answered with five in the bottom of the inning, with four of the runs coming on a two-run single off the bat of Bucky Aona and a two-run home run from Chester Wilson.

After SUU stretched the lead to 13-3 with a three-run seventh, the Wolverines made a small push in the eighth with five runs to cut the lead in half for the final tally of 13-8.

In the eighth, Hinckley hit a bases loaded double to drive in three runs while Kai Hatch and Garretson each drove in a run.

The series continues tomorrow with a 1pm MT first pitch. Senior Marcus Moore is the scheduled starter for Utah Valley.