May 21, 2010
HOUSTON -- Jake Rickenbach hit a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to send Utah Valley to a doubleheader sweep, 19-10 and 7-6, over Houston Baptist on a hot and humid Texas day.
The win moves the Wolverines to 37-17 overall -- 20 games over .500 for the first time in school history -- and to 25-2 in the Great West Conference.
"Our guys just really believe they can win all the time. Even when they had two outs (in the ninth) in the dugout there wasn't any panic," said head coach Eric Madsen. "It was a great game to be a part of. Both teams played well, both teams had highs and lows and both teams made mistakes. To have to come from behind was awesome for our guys."
The Huskies (26-29, 15-12) took a lead in the eighth when Robbie Buller hit a two-run home run, putting the home team up 6-5. In the ninth, Derek Amicone got a two-out base hit to center before Rickenbach hit a 2-1 pitch from Matt Warren over the wall in left.
The runs were Warren's first runs allowed in conference and dropped his record to 2-2 while Brian Whatcott (4-0) got the win after escaping with the bases loaded in the ninth on a liner to Rickenbach to end the game.
Rickenbach and Jason Zundel each had three hits and every other player in the UVU lineup had at least one hit. Jace Brinkerhoff hit a two-run home run and Chris Benson also homered -- his 13th of the year. Goose Kallunki extended his hit streak to 17 games with a base hit in the second.
The Wolverines finished with 15 hits while the Huskies -- who got four hits from Kolby Arnst and three from Buller -- finished with 14.
In the first game, the Wolverines jumped out to a huge lead after a nine-run third and cruised to the win.
Zundel went 5-for-6 with a home run, three RBI and three runs. Kevin Arendse finished 3-for-4 with a home run, double and four RBI while Brinkerhoff had three hits and three RBI and Amicone had his second straight three-hit game and also drove in three.
Billy Burgess had three runs batted in as well on a pair of hits and a sac-fly. The Wolverines finished with 25 hits in the seven-inning game.
The nine-run inning gave UVU a 13-0 lead after just three innings and a three-run fourth pushed the lead to 16-0 before the Huskies got on the board with four in the fourth.
In the third, Arendse had a three-run home run to put the first runs on the board. Burgess had a two-run double and Benson an RBI triple in the eight-hit frame. Benson was 4-for-5 in the game and scored four times.
The Wolverines go for the series sweep on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in the final game of the 2010 regular season. UVU, the inaugural Great West Conference Champion, has the top seed in next week's GWC Tournament beginning Wednesday in Edinburg, Texas.
