OREM, Utah – The Utah Valley University baseball team found itself on the wrong end of a 10-1 ballgame in the series finale against Saint Mary's on Sunday afternoon at UCCU Ballpark. 
 
The Gaels swept the home-opening series to improve to 9-6 overall, while the Wolverines dropped to 2-12 on the year with the setback.
 
"We didn't really perform this weekend like we are capable of," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "It was disappointing to see our effort. We'll learn from this, however, and be ready to play on Monday." 
 
Saint Mary's got off to a quick start by scoring four first-inning runs to jump out to a 4-0 lead. After loading the bases with one away in the frame, Austin Chauvin delivered a bases clearing triple to right to make it 3-0. Jack Murphy then followed with a RBI single to right to extend the Gaels' lead to 4-0. 
 
Both starting pitchers settled in from there until SMC managed to add a pair of unearned runs in the fourth off of a UVU defensive miscue to take a 6-0 advantage. The Wolverines then countered by loading the bases in the last of the fourth off of singles from Michael Beltran and Drew Sims as well as Kody Hall getting hit by a pitch. SMC's Tyler Thornton managed to escape the jam, however, by drawing an inning-ending groundout to keep it a 6-0 score.
 
Saint Mary's then got a double from Murphy in the fifth and he later came around to score on a balk call to make it 7-0. 
 
With the Gaels up 9-0 in the seventh, the Wolverines managed to get on the scoreboard and make it a 9-1 contest. After loading the bases following consecutive singles from Ty Vargas, Kade Poulsen and Jake Plecas, UVU picked up a run on a RBI fielder's choice from Beltran. The run was the only one that the Wolverines could muster, however, as SMC went on to take the series finale by a score of 10-1.   
 
SMC's Tyler Thornton pitched well for the Gaels on the day by allowing just two hits and no runs over 6.0 innings of work. He also struck out eight and walked just one to improve to 3-0 on the year. UVU's Walker Ramsey (0-3) suffered the loss after giving up five earned runs off of six hits in 4.2 innings. Utah Valley relievers Cole Yocum, Romeo Carrillo and Kevin McConnell all pitched scoreless outings in relief for the Wolverines on the day.
 
At the plate, Beltran led UVU by going 1-for-2 with an RBI, while SMC's Murphy paced the way by going 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored, and Gab Giosso went a perfect 2-for-2 off the bench.    
 
The Wolverines will continue their homestand with a pair of midweek games against Niagara University on Monday and Tuesday at 6 p.m. each night at UCCU Ballpark. UVU will then host UC Irvine for a three-game series next weekend (March 15-17).