MESA, Ariz. – Utah Valley University erased a five-run deficit, scoring 12 unanswered runs to defeat Seattle University, 13-8, and move on to the WAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday night.
 
The Wolverines (36-21) put together a four-run sixth inning and a six-run seventh to knock off the top seed and regular season champion Redhawks (36-20), and are one win away from their first NCAA Regional berth.
 
Craig Brinkerhoff had his first career five-hit game, going 5-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored and is now 9-for-12 with a home run, six runs scored and three RBIs in the tournament. Jordan Schlehuber went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs and through three WAC Tournament games is 6-for-9 at the plate.
 
"Jordan Schlehuber has come up clutch and put in so many good at-bats in the tournament," said UVU head coach Eric Madsen. "We're getting so many great contributions from everyone."
 
"We've been in those situations before -- we're not necessarily comfortable with it -- but we know if we keep grinding one pitch at a time we've got a chance," Schlehuber said. "The senior leadership has been great and we have some younger guys that have stepped up. We're excited to get back out here tomorrow and hopefully keep it going."
 
Jake Mayer (8-2) came on with UVU down 6-1 in the third and retired the first 14 hitters he faced. He struck out four in 5.2 innings and lasted into the ninth before Logan Hold came on to get the final two outs.
 
"That was the most awesome job I've seen in a long time. We've had gutty performances before, but Jake coming in there and doing that was tremendous," Madsen added.
 
"I just wanted to hold them where they were and throw strikes and give us a chance," Mayer said. "Dave (Carter) has been saying it all season, to trust everything and I just went out there and trusted the process."
 
The Wolverines trailed 6-1 after three innings and were faced with coming back against WAC Pitcher of the Year Nick Meservey. UVU got two runs back in the fourth when Brinkerhoff singled and Mark Krueger hammered a ball over the wall in right for his second home run of the tournament and seventh of the season.
 
In the four-run sixth, the Wolverines got on the board with three straight base hits with Jake Atkinson driving in Brinkerhoff to make it 6-4. Two batters later, with the bases full, Trevor Howell singled home two runs to tie the game before Zac Willis dropped an RBI single into center for the go-ahead run.
 
Meservey was chased during the sixth and finished with 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five runs on eight hits. Tyler Oldenberg (1-3) took the loss for Seattle U.
 
Utah Valley sent 11 hitters to the plate in the seventh with Brinkerhoff collecting two hits in the inning. Justin Erlandson walked with the bases full for an RBI before Schlehuber hit a two-run single to left. A throwing error on a bunt attempt allowed two more runs to score before Greyson Bogden capped the scoring with an RBI base hit. UVU led 13-6 after seven.
 
Max Modeste hit a two-run home run in the ninth to put a dent in the final score.
 
Howell finished 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs while Willis and Krueger both added two hits apiece. The Wolverines had 17 hits on the night.
 
Seattle U will now face No. 2 New Mexico State on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT. The winner of that game will have to defeat Utah Valley twice to earn the WAC's automatic bid. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT. If the Wolverines were to lose on Saturday, the winner-take-all game would be Sunday at noon PT.
 
Saturday's title game will mark the second time in the past three seasons that Utah Valley has advanced to the WAC Tournament Championship.