April 29, 2011
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley won both ends of a doubleheader, 17-3 and 12-2, over NYIT in Great West Conference baseball on Friday at Brent Brown Ballpark.
Goose Kallunki drove in eight runs over the twin bill - four in each game - as the Wolverines improved to 18-19 overall and to 10-1 in the Great West. UVU won the first game in seven scheduled innings before ending the second game in the eighth via the 10-run rule.
"We pitched it good, played good defense and we swung the bats well," said head coach Eric Madsen. "We had to scrap in the second game and it was good to see our pitchers make some big-time pitches to get out of some tough situations. So far in the series we've taken advantage of every opportunity they've given us and that's been huge for us."
In the opener, Austin Heaps hit a two-run home run to start the scoring and put UVU up 2-0 in the first. In the second, the Wolverines broke the game wide open, batting through the order twice and scoring 13 runs on six hits, seven walks and a hit batter.
Kallunki had four RBI in the second inning alone with two, two-run singles back up the middle while Jason Zundel delivered a two-run double in the frame. Utah Valley led 15-0 after the second.
Kirk Doxey had three hits and three RBI in the game while Zundel and Alex Exon both scored three times. Wolverine starter Zane Gray went the distance on the mound to get the win.
In the second game, Utah Valley held a slight 3-2 edge until scoring four in the seventh and five more times eighth to end the game early. Kallunki again had two, two-run singles to run his team-leading RBI to 41 on the year.
The Bears (10-23, 6-6) scored a run in the first to take their first lead of the series before the Wolverines got three in the bottom half after an error prolonged the inning.
New York got a run back in the fourth to make it 3-2 and had the tying run at third and nobody out in the fifth. UVU starter Blake Krahenbuhl worked his way out of the jam with a pair of groundouts and a strikeout, preserving the one-run lead.
Krahenbuhl threw six-plus innings, allowing two runs while striking out a season-high eight batters. He got the win and Ryan Chadwick, who entered in the seventh, got the save. Chadwick worked out of a two-on and nobody out situation in the seventh and threw two scoreless innings and hasn't allowed a run in 11.1 innings in GWC action.
In the seventh, Kallunki came up with the bases full and no outs and, just like in the first game, singled back through the middle to drive in two runs. Billy Burgess also had an RBI single and another run came in a on balk to give the Wolverines a 7-2 lead.
In the eighth Kallunki again came to the plate with the bases loaded again and singled to left to score two more. Kai Hatch then tripled home two more runs before Burgess' infield single ended the game.
Hatch had three hits and three RBI in the second game and Kallunki and Benson each had two hits with Benson scoring three times.
The series concludes on Saturday with a 1 p.m. MT first pitch.
