OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball found itself on the wrong end of a 5-3 13-inning contest to Chicago State on Sunday afternoon at UCCU Ballpark to drop the WAC series to the Cougars. 
 
Deadlocked in a 3-3 tie in extra innings, CSU (10-22, 5-7 WAC) rallied for two runs in the top of the 13th inning en route to earning the win and taking two of the three from the Wolverines (8-27, 5-7 WAC) on the weekend.
 
The Cougars got off to a quick start by scoring two first-inning runs after starting the game with back-to-back-to-back hits. Following hits from Reggie Brock Jr. and Andy Gaytan, Tyler Lowe drove them both home with a two-run single up the middle to give CSU a 2-0 lead.
 
UVU then loaded the bases in the second and managed to get a run back to make it 2-1. Mick Madsen got the inning started with a one-out single and Pacen Hayes quickly followed with a double to left to advance both runners into scoring position. Then with the bases loaded and two away, CSU's Rodny Valdes threw a wild pitch to allow Madsen to score and cut the deficit in half. 
 
Still 2-1 in the fifth, the Wolverines again loaded the bases thanks to a single off the wall from Drew Sims followed by walks from Jake Berry and Kody Hall. With one out, Michael Beltran than drove in Sims with an RBI infield single to tie the game at 2-2. Ryan Eastburn then followed by driving home Berry on an RBI fielder's choice to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead.
 
CSU then responded by loading the bases in the sixth and driving in the tying run to deadlock the score at 3-3. With one out and the bases full, Reggie Brock Jr. managed to drop in a blooper into shallow left-center to plate Coburn and tie the game. 
 
The Cougars again threatened with two on and two out in the seventh, but UVU's Jesse Schmit came on and managed to draw an inning-ending pop-out off the bat of Gaytan to end the threat. 
 
Both sides pitched well over the next couple of innings to send the game to extras all tied up at 3-3. 
 
In the late stages of the game, Chicago State's Valdes and Dylan Cumming combined to retire 15 straight Wolverine batters. UVU finally broke the stretch with a one-out single from Alexander Marco in the bottom of the 11th. He was later stranded, however, as CSU's Cumming managed to retire the next two hitters he faced to send the game to the 12th.
 
The Cougar offense then got things going in the top of the 13th after Jon Coss III was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Matt Cox then too reached on a walk and advanced to second on a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. CSU then plated the go-ahead run on a squeeze play in which Tyler Zunkel dropped down a bunt in front of home plate and Coss III managed to beat a diving tag attempt from UVU catcher Sims to score. The Cougars then tacked on their second run of the inning on a sac fly to right from Brock Jr. to take a 5-3 advantage. 
 
In the bottom of the 13th UVU made things interesting, as Eastburn reached on a one-out walk and Madsen and Hayes later followed by drawing a two-out walk and getting hit by a pitch, respectively, to load the bases with two away. With the tying run standing on second base, CSU's Joe Baier then came on and managed to get Sims to pop-out to end the threat and the ballgame. 
 
CSU's Valdes pitched 8.0 strong innings to give the Cougars a chance by allowing just four hits and three runs while striking out three. Cumming (2-1) then followed with 4.2 innings of shutout relief to earn the win, while Baier was credited with his first save by getting the final out of the ballgame. UVU's Schmit (2-5) was the tough-luck loser in the contest after allowing one earned run (two total) in 4.1 innings of solid relief in which he gave up just two hits. Fellow relievers Travis Parker and Romeo Carrillo also pitched well for the Wolverines on the day by both not allowing a run over 3.1 combined innings of work. 
 
UVU was limited to just five hits on the day, as Beltran, Marco, Madsen, Hayes and Sims all finished with one hit apiece. Brock Jr. led the Cougars at the plate by going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. 
 
The Wolverines will now step out of conference play for the first of two season meetings against in-state foe Utah on Tuesday evening at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City. First pitch for the contest is set for 6 p.m. MT. Following the game, UVU will return home for a three-game league series against New Mexico State beginning Thursday, April 18 at 6 p.m. MT.