March 25, 2008

OREM, Utah - The University of Utah racked up 21 hits and sent Utah Valley to a 12-6 loss in its home opener on Tuesday in Orem at Brent Brown Ballpark. The Wolverines (4-17-1) have now lost six straight.

After the Utes (8-12) scored an unearned run in the top of the first, UV starter Marcus Moore got into a groove, striking out seven over the next three innings. But Utah got to Moore with four runs on seven hits in the fifth and eventually chased the Wolverine senior from the game with two out in the sixth.

Moore took the loss on the mound and fell to 2-4 while Bryn Card (1-1) got the win after throwing two innings in relief.

For UV, Kevin Arendse had two hits and drove in three runs while Jace Brinkerhoff and Adam Openshaw also had two hits apiece.

Jesse Shriner was 4-for-5 for the Utes while Cody Guymon had three hits and drove in three runs. Corey Shimada and Cooper Blanc also had three hits each for Utah.

The Wolverines scored three in the first and one in the second when Scott Croshaw drove in Jake Rickenbach to give the home team a 4-1 advantage.

The Utes added a run in the third before the four-run fifth. Austin Jones had a two run double in the inning that propelled Utah to a 6-4 lead.

Shimada made it 7-4 in the sixth with his fourth home run of the year and Tyler Relf doubled home DC Legg in the seventh to give the Utes an 8-4 advantage.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Arendse blooped a single into center to score Ryan Jones and Brinkerhoff.

Utah added another run in the eighth and three more in the ninth as the Utes finished with eight doubles on the night.

The Wolverines will play their next four against Utah beginning next Wednesday, April 2nd at 7pm in Orem. The two teams will play two times each at their home field with games scheduled April 3-4 at 6pm at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake and a 1pm start on Saturday afternoon, April 5th in Orem.