April 16, 2010

GREELEY, Colo. - Utah Valley dropped the opening game of a four-game Great West Conference series at Northern Colorado, 10-4, on Friday at Jackson Field.

In a game that featured two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in GWC play, the Bears (14-15, 5-0) stayed perfect thanks in large part to a strong day from starter Joe Sawicki and a five-run sixth inning.

Jace Brinkerhoff went 4-for-5 on the day for the Wolverines (14-14, 4-1) but got little else offensively, mustering just three other hits for seven total off of Sawicki. Sawicki allowed three earn runs (four total) and struck out five in eight innings and moved to 4-2.

"We've got to find a way to play better baseball," said UVU head coach Eric Madsen. "When things started going their way I was disappointed with the way we reacted. We did not compete very well today."

The Wolverines trailed 2-1 in the third when Brinkerhoff homered to left-center, his team-leading seventh of the season. The score remained 3-2 until the sixth.

In the five-run inning, Northern Colorado got five doubles and sent nine hitters to the plate. After UVU got a run back in the seventh, Kyle Hardman added a three-run home run in the seventh for the final 10-4 tally.

The Wolverines stranded nine runners on base in the game, including the bases loaded in the first and had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh but were limited to just one run.

Jake Rickenbach, Kevin Arensde and Cole McWhorter were the other Wolverines to have hits in the game. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.