ABILENE, Texas – With Utah Valley holding to a late 3-2 lead, Abilene Christian managed to tie it in the ninth and win it in the 11th to sweep the opening weekend series over the Wolverines on Sunday afternoon at Crutcher Scott Field.
 
UVU drops to 0-4 on the young season with the extra-inning setback, while ACU improves to 4-0. 
 
With the Wolverines holding to a 3-2 lead in the last of the ninth, ACU got a leadoff double from Mitchell Dickson followed by an RBI single to left from Joseph Craig to tie the game at 3-3. UVU reliever Pedro Perdomo then did a nice job of pitching out of the jam by retiring the next three batters he faced to send the game to extras.
 
After a scoreless 10th inning, the Wildcats then loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th with just one away. A pitch in the dirt from UVU reliever Devin Smith then got away from catcher Skyler Davis, resulting in a walk-off wild pitch as ACU's Hayden Clearman came in to score the winning run and secure the sweep for the Wildcats. 
 
Despite dropping Sunday's series finale, UVU out-hit ACU on the day (12 to 10). Pacen Hayes and Connor Hall led the Wolverines offensively by each going 3-for-5 in the contest. Hayes and Hall both doubled twice and also each drove in a run on the day. Garrett Broussard too had a nice outing by going 2-for-5 with a run batted in.

"I was proud of the times we battled. I didn't think we gave up all weekend," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "I feel this team was disappointed with the missed opportunities and will be ready to go next weekend."

The Wolverines threatened offensively in both the first and the third, and finally managed to break through with a run in the fourth to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Following a one-out single from Mick Madsen, freshman Broussard later drove him home with a two-out RBI single to right to give UVU the early advantage.
 
With two outs in the fifth, the Wolverines then pieced together a two-out rally to extend their lead to 2-0. Drew Sims and Jeff Arens started the rally with back-to-back singles and Hayes followed by belting a double off the leftfield wall to drive in Sims and extend UVU's lead.
 
With UVU starter Mason Gray having held the Wildcats scoreless into the fifth, ACU's offense then managed to get things going by driving in two runs in the bottom of the fifth to even the score at 2-2. After a hit batter and a stolen base, Abilene Christian's Miller Ladusau drove home the first run with an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-1. After consecutive strikeouts from UVU reliever Jaxson Otis, ACU's Tommy Cruz managed to plate Ladusau with an RBI single up the middle of his own to tie the ballgame.
 
Utah Valley then didn't waste any time answering back, as it pushed across its third run of the game in the top of the sixth to take a 3-2 advantage. After a leadoff single from Jake Plecas, the freshman Hall delivered with an RBI double to left center to drive Plecas all the way around from first to regain the lead.
 
Hayes then again doubled in the seventh and Madsen followed by driving a ball deep into the rightfield corner, but ACU's Colton Eager saved a run by racing down the ball right against the wall to keep it a 3-2 contest. The Wolverines then loaded the bases with two away in the eighth but couldn't push across an insurance run, as Sims grounded out to end the threat.
 
Both Gray and Otis pitched well for UVU on the day. The started Gray went four-plus innings and gave up just two runs on four hits while striking out three and not issuing a walk, while in his first appearance in a UVU uniform Otis shined on the mound by tossing 4.0 innings of scoreless relief. The junior transfer Otis allowed just two hits while striking out three over his four strong innings of shutout relief. 
 
ACU reliever Tanner Riley (1-0) was credited with his first win of the season after throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief for the Wildcats, while the UVU freshman Smith (0-1) was tagged with the loss. 
 
The Wolverines will next head to the Pacific Northwest for a four-game non-conference series at the University of Portland next weekend. The series will run Thursday to Saturday, Feb. 20-22, at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Oregon. 

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