PROVO, Utah – Utah Valley University dropped a midweek non-conference contest at BYU, 15-5, on Tuesday night at Miller Park.
The Wolverines (10-20), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped, got a pair of hits and RBIs from
Kade Andrus. The Cougars (15-17) scored often, including four runs in the sixth among a trio of three-run frames. Parker Starr finished with six RBIs on the night for BYU.
"We didn't play well tonight. It's that simple. To come in and not put up a very good effort is disappointing," said UVU head coach
Eric Madsen. "They (BYU) gave us some opportunities but give them a lot of credit, they took advantage of what we gave them. They did a great job tonight."
Down a run in the third, the Wolverines scored twice, tying the game on a sacrifice fly from Andrus before a two-out RBI single from
Mark Krueger gave UVU a 2-1 lead.
For a moment that lead was preserved when Andrus made a highlight-reel play in left, going over the fence to rob Colton Shaver of what would have been a three-run home run. Two batters later though, Starr lined a bases-loaded, three-run double, pushing BYU back in front, 4-2.
Following an RBI groundout off the bat of
Jordan Schlehuber in the fourth to get UVU back within a run, the Cougars again put three runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning and one more in the fifth – on a Bronson Larsen home run – to take an 8-3 lead.
Palmer Page and Andrus both had RBI singles in the fifth for Utah Valley before BYU's four-run inning, with RBI base hits coming from three different players.
Shaver finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while Tanner Chancey also had three hits, including a double.
Andy Perkins joined Andrus with two hits for UVU while Schlehuber had a pair of RBIs.
The Wolverines, winners of four straight in WAC play, host Sacramento State in a three-game league series beginning Friday at 6 p.m. MT at Brent Brown Ballpark. The Hornets are the defending regular season and tournament champions and are currently tied with Utah Valley and Northern Colorado in third place in the WAC.
