April 1, 2011
RENO, Nevada -- Utah Valley twice held two-run leads, thanks to early home runs from Cole McWhorter and Chris Benson, but it was a pair of two-run home runs by Nevada that made the difference in a 5-4 Wolfpack win on Friday night at Peccole Park.
"I felt like how we competed was great. It was a tough because I thought swung the bat well and hit some balls right at people. I was really pleased with our effort tonight," said head coach Eric Madsen.
McWhorter hit his second home run of the year in the first inning and Austin Heaps had a two-out base hit to drive home Benson to give the Wolverines (6-15) a 2-0 lead in the first.
Joe Kohan hit a two-run home run to left in the bottom of the inning to tie it before Benson led off the third with a solo home run to left, his second of the year, putting Utah Valley back in front by a run.
The Wolverines added another in the third after Austin Heaps drew a one-out walk, Goose Kallunki doubled and Court Zollinger scored Heaps on an RBI groundout.
The Wolfpack's (6-15) scored the three decisive runs in the fifth beginning with consecutive doubles Curtis Frisbie and Carlos Escobar Jr. Nick Melino later hit a two-run home run with what turned out to be the the difference in the game.
Jeremy Gendlek (1-3) took the loss after lasting into the seventh while Tom Jameson (2-4) got the win. Matt Gardner threw a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his fourth save.
Benson finished with three hits; a double, home run and a single, while Kallunki and Heaps had two hits each. Both teams finished with eight hits in the game.
The series continues on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. The game can be heard live on WolverineGreen.com.
