STOCKTON, Calif. – Jackson Overlund became the first Utah Valley University player to hit for the cycle since 2009 as the Wolverines earned a doubleheader split on Saturday at Pacific. UVU won the nightcap, 6-2, after the Tigers picked a 4-3 win in the first game.
Overlund homered in the second, singled in the fifth, tripled in the seventh and then completed the rare feat with a double in the ninth inning. He finished the day 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. The last cycle by a UVU player came from Chris Benson at Hawai'i during the 2009 season.
Overlund's second-inning home run broke a scoreless tie, and two batters later Pacen Hayes delivered his first career blast for a 2-0 UVU lead. The Wolverines (2-4) added a run in the third after
Paul Estrada led off with a double and
Trevor Howell singled to put runners at the corners before a double steal allowed Estrada to score.
In the fifth, after a leadoff double followed by a single, the Tigers had runners at first and third with no outs. Utah Valley starter Walker Ramsey nearly worked out of it unscathed, getting a liner to short and a pop up to second to keep the runners on. A two-out error allowed Pacific to get on the board though, cutting the UVU lead to 3-1.
Overlund's seventh-inning triple plated
Trevor Peterson, who walked and stole second earlier in the inning.
Kade Poulsen delivered UVU's second straight two-out RBI hit when he singled home Overlund and made it 5-1.
Walker Ramsey, making his first start for Utah Valley, lasted 5.0 innings with just one unearned run coming in against him. He struck out three and allowed just four hits.
Marco Briones pitched 2.0 innings in middle relief before
Ondrej Sebek finished off the game to notch his first save in 2.0 scoreless frames.
Howell went 3-for-3 as UVU finished with 13 hits while Pacific was limited to four hits for the third straight game in the series.
In game one of the doubleheader, a four-run inning proved enough for the Tigers to secure a win as they held off the Wolverines, 4-3.
Scoreless into the bottom of the fourth, Pacific scored four times to take a 4-0 lead. After an error allowed the leadoff man to reach, Nate Verlin doubled home the first run of the game. James Free followed with an RBI single and, following a walk, Tyler Ryan singled home another run. The fourth run came in after
Paxton Schultz came out of the bullpen with runners at the corners and no outs and induced a 5-4-3 double play.
Schultz pitched well in relief, tossing three hitless innings and striking out a pair.
The Wolverines got back into it in the sixth, scoring three times to get within a run. Drew Sims was hit by a pitch to lead off the innings and after
Jake Berry singled him to second,
Paul Estrada came through with his second RBI triple of the season. The hit, to left-center, scored both runners and made it 4-2. A
Trevor Howell groundout allowed Estrada to score to make it 4-3.
In the seventh and final inning of the game,
Callahan Moltzan led off with a walk, but the Wolverines couldn't threaten further to drop their fourth game in a row.
Jackson Cofer (0-1) suffered the loss after pitching in the fourth inning. Two of the four runs against him came in unearned. Justin Giovannoni pitched 4.0 shutout innings and got the win in the abbreviated contest as he and two relievers combined to strike out 11. Ryan Shreve finished the final 1.2 innings and picked up his first save.
The series concludes on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT with
Kaden Schmitt slated to start on the mound for UVU.
