March 30, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Jace Brinkerhoff was 3-for-3 with a three-run home run, double and five batted in as Utah Valley clinched the season series over Utah with a 10-8 road win on Tuesday night at Spring Mobile Ballpark. The Wolverines (8-10) are now 6-0 against in-state schools with a four-game series with Southern Utah beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. in Orem.
Austin Heaps doubled twice and finished 4-for-4 as UVU finished the night with 16 hits in beating the Utes (12-10) for the second straight week on the road.
"Our guys stayed with it and really trusted their approach better than they had in a long time," said UVU head coach Eric Madsen. "I really felt like the way we just grinded it out was the difference in the game."
C.J. Cron finished 4-for-4 including a two-run home run for Utah and also scored three times while Nik Gumeson also had a home run and a triple to drive in four for the Utes.
Utah Valley got good production out of the bottom of its lineup with Kevin Arendse driving in a pair of runs and Goose Kallunki going 2-for-5 with an RBI.
"When those guys are going we're pretty tough to stop. If we can get them going with the same consistency that we've had at the top of the lineup this is going to be a pretty tough lineup to stop," said Madsen.
Utah scored three times in the bottom of the first - two coming on a two-out triple by Gumeson - to take an early lead and force the Wolverines to play from behind after the opening inning for the eighth straight game.
UVU came back with the six-run third, getting three on a home run to right by Brinkerhoff. Heaps delivered a two-out double scoring Chris Benson on a close play at home with Arendse and Kallunki both adding RBI singles in the frame.
The Wolverines benefitted from an error that prolonged the inning, scoring three times with two outs.
Utah got two back in the bottom of the third on Cron's two-run homer, his seventh of the season.
Heaps doubled again in the fifth and then moved to third on a throwing error Utah pitcher Andrew Wilding. Arendse then hit a hard shot that ricocheted off of Wilding's glove to second for a 4-3 putout but scored Heaps to put UVU up 7-5.
Gumeson's home run tied it the in the fifth before Brinkerhoff drove in his fourth run of the game in the top of the sixth - on a single to left that Derek Amicone - to put the Wolverines back in front by a run.
Utah answered again with a run in the sixth re-tying the game. The Utes had the bases loaded with two outs in the inning but Craig Brimhall got Devin Walker to hit a ground ball to short to end the inning.
Brinkerhoff drove home his fifth RBI of the game with a double to left that scored Thorpe to put UVU up a run in the eighth. Brinkerhoff then came home on a pinch-hit RBI single up the middle by Kirk Doxey to make it 10-8.
Ryan Chadwick (1-1) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to pick up the win for the Wolverines and Brian Whatcott earned his second save of the season after striking out a pair in the ninth. Zach Adams surrendered two runs on four hits in 2/3 of a inning in the eighth to take the loss for Utah.
The two teams will meet again on April 13 in Orem at Brent Brown Ballpark.
