April 17, 2009
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley sophomore Jake Rickenbach hit a seventh-inning home run to tie the game at six, but Dallas Baptist scored four late runs for a series-opening 10-6 win on Friday night at Brent Brown Ballpark.
The Patriots (23-11) manufactured a run in the eighth and got some insurance on a pair of home runs in the ninth to defeat the Wolverines (11-25).
Jace Brinkerhoff led Utah Valley with a 3-for-4 day while Ryan Jones and Rickenbach each had a pair of hits. Billy Burgess also hit his fourth home run of the year for the Wolverines.
Dallas Baptist jumped out to a very quick 1-0 lead when Ryan Enos hit his 12th home run of the year on the second pitch of the game from Justin Smith.
The score remained 1-0 until the fourth when Clay Kelly hit a three-run home run to right to put the Patriots up 4-0.
Meanwhile, DBU starter Victor Black stifled the Wolverine hitters the first two times through the batting order. UVU still didn't have a hit off of Black but scored two unearned runs in the fourth.
Brinkerhoff was hit by a pitch and Kevin Arendse walked with one out before Sage Thorpe grounded out to move both runners up. Both Brinkerhoff and Arendse then scored on a throwing error by Patriot third baseman Travis Meiners on a Chris Benson grounder.
Dallas Baptist scored an unearned run of its own in the fifth on a sac-fly by Jason Krizan.
Black retired Dick Bargewell and Jones to begin the fifth and still hadn't allowed a hit through 4.2 innings. Rickenbach ended the no-hit bid with a two-out single to center that was followed by back-to-back from Riley White and Brinkerhoff, who drove in Rickenbach.
Enos singled home Austin Knight in the sixth to make it 6-3 before Burgess hit his home run in the bottom of the inning to get UVU back within two.
In the bottom of the seventh, Jones singled on a slow-roller before Rickenbach's home run to left-center, his second of the season, tied the game at six.
Black was lifted for Chris Haney and after White was retired, Brinkerhoff singled and moved to third on an Arendse single. But Haney then got Thorpe to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and preserve the tie.
With two aboard and nobody out in the eighth, a sac-bunt by Bantz and then a sac-fly by Knight scored Krizan and manufactured what turned out to be the winning run for the Patriots.
Enos hit his second home run of the game and 13th of the year on the first pitch of the ninth. Ryan Goins also homered, his 12th of the year, a two-run, towering shot with one aboard for the final 10-6 tally.
Justin Smith struck out seven and allowed five earned runs, six total, in 6.0 innings and did not factor into the decision. Black also struck out seven in six-plus innings and also took a no-decision. Haney (3-2) didn't allow a run on five hits to earn the win while Jory Jensen (2-4) took the loss after giving up three runs in 2.0 innings.
The series will finish on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
