May 2, 2009
GREELEY, Colo. -- Utah Valley University rolled to a doubleheader sweep, 11-6 and 14-4, at Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines (15-30) hammered out 19 hits in each of the games including five home runs in the opener.
UVU scored 10 times with two outs in the second game against the Bears (12-32) and got three RBI each from Billy Burgess, Chris Benson and Josh Hinckley. Goose Kallunki was 4-for-5 while Burgess, Benson and Sage Thorpe all had three hits.
"That was a very good day for us all around. After we missed opportunities to score yesterday the guys were more focused, understood the approach and we swung the bats extremely well," said head coach Eric Madsen. "On the pitching side, once again Justin gave us the start we needed. He pitched well throughout against a good hitting club."
Kallunki's four-hit game included two doubles and came following a 3-for-5 game that saw the freshman hit his first career home run. He was 7-for-10 with two RBI and four runs during the doubleheader.
"Early on Goose struggled adjusting to college pitching but he's really worked extra hard to get where he needs to be. It's great to see him rewarded for that," Madsen said.
In the first game, UVU trailed 1-0 in the third when Brinkerhoff singled to score Kallunki. Burgess gave the Wolverines a 2-1 lead when he doubled home Jake Rickenbach.
The barrage of home runs started with three in a four-run fourth that gave the Wolverines a 7-1 lead. The inning started with back-to-back home runs from Cole Anderson and Kevin Arendse on consecutive 3-1 counts from UNC starter Cameron Tallman.
Kallunki and Ryan Jones then delivered consecutive doubles, chasing Tallman, before Rickenbach capped the scoring with a two-run blast against Forbes Scott.
Kallunki's home run, a solo shot, came with two out in the fifth before Brinkerhoff homered in the sixth to put the Wolverines up 9-1. Burgess made it a 10-run lead, 11-1, when he singled in the eighth to score Brinkerhoff and Riley White.
Northern Colorado got two-run home runs from Kevin Sandberg, in the eighth, and Trey Keene, in the ninth, to put a dent into the final score.
Justin Smith (7-3) won his sixth straight decision after throwing seven innings and allowing one run on seven hits while striking out eight. Tallman (1-5) took the loss after three innings and six runs on eight hits.
Rickenbach, Brinkerhoff, Burgess and Kallunki all had three hits apiece. Burgess drove in three runs in the game and now has seven in the series.
In the second game, UVU broke through with three runs in the first. Anderson tripled with one out and scored on a sac-fly by Brinkerhoff. The Wolverines then had five consecutive hitters single with Hinckley and Thorpe both driving in runs.
Northern Colorado scored single runs in the first and third to get within a run, 3-2.
Utah Valley plated a pair of runs in the fourth to take a 5-2 lead but had stranded eight runners through the first four innings.
That trend ended in the fifth when UVU scored six times. After loading the bases with nobody out, Ty Jacobs struck Anderson out and got Brinkerhoff to fly out to shallow center. Jacobs was just an out away from getting out of the inning unscathed.
But Burgess walked to force in a run, giving him 14 RBI in five plate appearances with the bases loaded this season. Benson singled to score two runs and Hinckley followed with a double off the wall in right to score two more. Thorpe capped the inning with a single up the middle that scored Hinckley, giving the Wolverines an 11-3 lead.
Burgess drove home two more runs in the sixth with a triple to the gap in right, scoring Jones and Brinkerhoff. Kallunki put an exclamation point on the day with a double to right in the seventh, scoring Thorpe for the 14th and final run of the game.
Kole Mickolio (2-3) threw five innings in relief and allowed one earned run (two total) on four hits. Brandon Hill made the first start of his career and went two innings and allowed one earned run (two total) on three hits while striking out three. Jeff Sciba (1-8) allowed six runs on 12 hits in four innings in suffering the defeat.
The doubleheader sweep clinches the season series for Utah Valley with wins in five of the first seven games. This weekend's four-game series concludes with a noon first pitch on Sunday.
