SURPRISE, Ariz. – Utah Valley University staved off a late comeback attempt to upset No. 5 Oregon State, 12-9, on Saturday at Surprise Stadium. Freshman
Ryne Edmondson, playing near his hometown of Chandler, Arizona, had four RBIs to lead the way for the UVU.
The Wolverines (2-1) lead 11-2 at one point before OSU (1-1) attempted to rally. The tying run came to the plate in both the eighth and ninth for the Beavers, but strikeouts ended both innings.
Kyle Valgardson got reigning Pac 12 Freshman of the Year KJ Harrison swinging to end the game.
"It wasn't the prettiest game but I'm really proud of the way we put pressure on them early and then didn't fold down the stretch," said UVU head coach
Eric Madsen. "It was really a grind and to win in that fashion over a program like that will really give us confidence and boost us going forward."
Edmondson was one of four UVU players with two-hit performances with
Trevor Howell and
Stone Ramsey (in his first start since returning from an LDS mission) each collecting two hits and two RBIs. Edmonson's four-RBI effort in game three of 2016 comes following a season that UVU had just one such game all of last season.
"Our newcomers have really done a nice job for us. We have reason to be really excited about the future of Wolverine baseball," Madsen said. "We had a lot of great contributions tonight. From
Jackson Cofer's start to
Patrick Wolfe saving us with a solid performance out of the bullpen, it was a real team effort."
The game lasted four hours and 20 minutes in the warm Arizona sun, with each team using five pitchers and combining to walk 17 batters – 11 coming from Oregon State.
The Wolverines scored three runs right out of the gate, sending nine hitters to the plate in the top of the first.
Greyson Bogden led off the game with a double to center and later scored on a
Mark Krueger grounder. Edmondson singled home
Jordan Schlehuber to make it 2-0 before a two-out error allowed Ramsey to score the third run.
The trio of
Jake Atkinson, Howell and
Justin Erlandson – the bottom three hitters in the Wolverine order -- delivered three consecutive RBI singles to give UVU a 6-0 lead in the third.
After both teams scored two runs in the fourth, Edmondson tripled home two runs with a line drive into the right-field corner during a three-run fifth that gave UVU an 11-2 lead.
In the six-run sixth for OSU, the Beavers sent 10 hitters to the plate with Logan Ice delivering a two-run single during the inning. Utah Valley's lead was cut to 11-8 after the sixth.
Ramsey doubled home Krueger with two outs in the eighth for UVU, pushing the lead to four, 12-8.
Oregon State finished with 15 hits with UVU collecting 13. Billy King had three hits to lead both teams while Ice drove in three runs after coming off the bench for the Beavers.
Cofer picked up the win for the Wolverines. He lasted five innings and allowed two runs on five hits. Valgardson earned the save, his first of the season. Jake Thompson was tagged for six runs, five earned, on seven hits in 2.1 innings and took the loss for Oregon State.
The win over a ranked foe is Utah Valley's sixth all-time. No. 5 is the second highest ranking a Wolverine team has beaten (No. 4 Arizona, 2012).
The Wolverines close out the opening weekend on Sunday at 10 a.m. MT against Ball State. UVU defeated the Cardinals 5-1 on opening day.
