FRESNO, Calif. – Sophomore catcher Drew Sims blasted out a go-ahead solo home run in the ninth inning to propel Utah Valley University to a doubleheader split at Fresno State on Monday afternoon at Bob Bennett Stadium. UVU took Monday's opener, 4-3, before dropping the nightcap, 8-3, and the opening series to the Bulldogs two games to one.
 
With Monday's opening game of the twin bill all knotted up at 3-3 with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Sims delivered for the Wolverines (1-2) with what proved to be the game-winning home run. The Bulldogs (2-1) then responded by breaking open Monday's series finale late with the go-ahead run in the seventh followed by four eighth-inning insurance runs to pull out the finale to take the series. 
 
GAME ONE
The Wolverines were the first to get on the scoreboard in the opening game of Monday's twin bill by driving home a pair of second-inning runs to take a 2-0 lead. Following a two-out walk from Jake Berry, junior transfer Alexander Marco managed to blast out a 1-1 pitch to left for his first home run in a Wolverine uniform to give UVU an early two-run cushion. The round-tripper off the bat of Marco marked UVU's first of the 2019 season. 
 
The Bulldogs then responded with three runs of their own in the last of the third inning to take a 3-2 advantage. With runners on second and third and two outs in the frame, Carter Bins drove them both in with a two-run single to left to make it 2-2. Following a passed ball, Bins then came in to score on a two-out RBI single off the bat of JT Arruda to give the Bulldogs the 3-2 lead. 
 
Still 3-2 Fresno State in the fifth, UVU got two on with just one away following a Michael Beltran walk and a Sims single. After a wild pitch advanced both runners into scoring position, freshman Mick Madsen delivered with his first collegiate hit and RBI by driving Beltran home with a single through the left side to deadlock the score at 3-3.
 
UVU starter Paxton Schultz and a trio of Fresno State relievers settled down from there to put up zeros on the board until the ninth. 
 
With the game still tied at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, Fresno State left-hander Jaime Arias managed to retire the first two batters he faced for two quick outs. With two outs and nobody on, the sophomore catcher Sims delivered for the Wolverines with the two-out go-ahead home run to left center on the very first pitch of the at-bat to give UVU the 4-3 lead.
 
Right-handed reliever Jesse Schmit then came on to pitch the last of the ninth for the Wolverines and promptly mowed down the side in order to record his first save in a UVU uniform. 
 
Schmit earned the save for UVU while fellow right-handed reliever Matt Dalke (1-0) earned the win after pitching a scoreless eighth inning. The two relivers combined to allow just one hit while striking out two over the final two innings of the game. Utah Valley starter Schultz too had a strong outing in the game for the Wolverines by giving up just three runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Schultz also struck out seven and walked just two in his first outing of the 2019 campaign. Fresno reliever Arias (0-1) was tagged with the loss for the 'Dogs. 


Sims led the way at the plate for UVU in game one by going 2-for-5 with what proved to be the game-winning home run in the top of the ninth. Marco was next by going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, while Madsen went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Beltran went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. McCarthy Tatum paced Fresno State by going 2-for-4 with a double.
 
GAME TWO
Trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning in the series finale, Utah Valley then finally got something brewing with two on and just one away. After a hard lineout to left off of the bat of Pacen Hayes for the second out of the frame, the Wolverines then got on the board with clutch two-out RBI double down the leftfield line from Jake Berry to drive in Beltran to make it 3-1. A wild pitch then brought home Sims, who had walked earlier in the inning, to pull the Wolverines within a run at 3-2. Marco then capped the sixth-inning rally with a two-out RBI single through the right side to bring home Berry and deadlock the score at 3-3. 
 
Still tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Fresno State then managed to drive in a run to take a 4-3 lead. After a leadoff walk, pinch runner Jeff Jamison managed to take second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a wild pitch. With one out and the Wolverine infield playing in, Zach Presno then drove home his second run of the game with a chopper over the left side of the infield to give the 'Dogs a one-run advantage.  
 
Fresno State then tacked on four insurance runs in the last of the eighth to make it 8-3. The Bulldogs first run of the frame came home on a double steal, while the second run came in on a UVU throwing error. The Bulldogs then made it 8-3 with a two-out, two-run home run off the bat of Nolan Dempsey to put the game away. 
 
The Wolverines then got a runner on in the ninth, as Kade Poulsen was hit by the pitch with one away, but Fresno State's McCarthy Tatum managed to draw a fielder's choice off the bat of Kody Hall followed by a pop up off the bat of Trevor Howell to end the ballgame. 
 
Senior starter Walked Ramsey (0-1) pitched well for UVU in the contest but ended up taking the loss after allowing four runs on six hits while striking out five in 6.1 innings of work. Fresno's Kevin Larson (1-0) was credited with the win in relief after pitching a scoreless seventh inning. 
 
Sims, Berry, Marco and Hall all recorded hits in the contest for the Wolverines and both Berry and Marco both drove home runs. Dempsey led the Bulldogs by going 2-for-3 in the game with three runs batted in and a run scored. 
 
With rain having altered the series, the Wolverines and Bulldogs lost a game during the opening series as they managed to get just three of the four scheduled games in.  
 
ON DECK FOR UVU
The Wolverines will next head to the East Coast for a three-game series at South Carolina of the SEC this weekend (Feb. 22-24). UVU and the Gamecocks will open the series on Friday at 2 p.m. MT/4 p.m. ET. Game two will then be played Saturday at noon MT/2 p.m. ET while the series finale will follow on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. MT/1:30 p.m. PT. All three games will air live on the SEC Network+/ESPN 3.