March 7, 2009
OREM, Utah - Freshman Riley White became the first Wolverine in the school's NCAA D-I history to ever hit for the cycle Saturday in a 19-14 win against Northern Colorado at Brent Brown Ballpark.
White, a true freshman from Lehi, Utah, went 4-for-5 at the plate on the day with a single, double, triple and homerun. He scored three runs and drove in three RBI from the eighth spot in the batting order.
In total the Wolverines scored their highest run total of the season on 18 hits from every spot in the lineup. True freshman Jake Menzo threw two innings of relief to get the win in his first appearance this season. He gave up one run on one hit with a walk and three strikeouts.
"I though our hitters competed unbelievably today," UVU head coach Eric Madsen said. "They had their backs against the wall and could have folded, but didn't and showed a lot of character. Our pitchers need to learn how to turn the page and trust their stuff. Menzo had the recipe today and came in and threw strikes. He did an outstanding job."
White and sophomore Jake Rickenbach went deep in back-to-back at bats in the fifth inning for UVU's only homeruns of the game, but the Bears scored most of their runs off of seven dingers between four players.
Other notable hitters for the Wolverines were Ryan Jones who went 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and three runs, junior Brock Sargent who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs, senior Kevin Arendse who went 3-for-6 with three RBI and a run, and Rickenbach who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs.
Each team had to go to the bullpen three times apiece. Sophomore Kole Mickolio started on the mound for Utah Valley. He and sophomore Kyle Beecher and freshman Zach Bennett did not factor into the decision.
The scoring came in bunches for both teams throughout the game. UVU lead 4-1 after one inning, and trailed 7-4 after three. UNC put up two runs in the fourth inning, but Utah Valley knotted the score at 9-9 with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Utah Valley trailed 13-10 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but put nine runs on the board to seemingly put the game out of reach, 19-13, in the frame. Northern Colorado scored one run in the top of the ninth on a solo homerun, but Menzo closed out the Bears and picked up the win, 19-14.
Utah Valley's next two games will be at home against St. John's Monday and Tuesday at home at Brent Brown Ballpark. Both games are slated to start at 6 p.m.
