PROVO, Utah – Utah Valley scored seven runs in the eighth but couldn't complete the comeback, as Air Force prevailed, 17-12, in a midweek slugfest on Wednesday afternoon at BYU's Larry H. Miller Field in Provo. 
 
Trailing 12-0 early in the game, UVU (5-14) pecked away at the deficit with three runs in the third, one in the sixth, one in the seventh, and seven more in the eighth, but the Mountain West Falcons (7-12) held on to pull out the contest and sweep the two-game midweek series. 
 
The two teams combined for 29 runs and 30 hits on the afternoon. The 12 runs for the Wolverines marked a season high. UVU also committed a season-high six errors in the ballgame.  
 
"I thought that Kade Poulsen had a good day at the plate for us and it was nice to see us try to come back. We just can't give up that many free runs early, we've got to play better," head UVU coach Eric Madsen said. "It was good to see us get things going and answer back, there's no doubt about that, but it's just disappointing with how we started."
 
Errors plagued the Wolverines early, as the Falcons jumped out to a 9-0 lead after two thanks to a three-run first and a six-run second. UVU committed a pair of errors in the first as two of the three runs came in unearned in the frame. The Wolverines then committed another defensive miscue in the second that helped spark the six-run AFA third to take command early. Cole Blatchford, Gabriel Garcia and Christian Gambale all produced RBI doubles in the big inning for the Falcons.
 
After Air Force tacked on three more runs in the third to make it 12-0, UVU's offense then got things going in the bottom of the frame by putting up a trio of runs on the board to cut the deficit to 12-3. After taking one for the team, Garrett Broussard came around to score the first run for the Wolverines on an RBI groundout from Mitch Moralez. With two runners aboard, Alexander Marco then followed with a two-run double down the leftfield line to make it 12-3. 
 
The Falcons then added a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to extend their lead to 15-3. UVU struck back with a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 15-4. Mick Madsen led off the inning with a walk and Connor Hall followed with a single up the middle. The Wolverines then got an RBI groundout from Trey Newman to drive in Madsen for the run in the frame. UVU then added another run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 15-5. Kade Poulsen doubled off the wall and later came in to score on a sacrifice fly from Jake Plecas. 
 
The Wolverines then managed to make things interesting by putting up a crooked number with seven runs in the last of the eighth to pull within three at 15-12. After a hit batter and a walk, Plecas started the scoring in the big inning with a two-run triple to right center to bring in Hall and Newman. Moralez followed with an RBI double to left and Jeff Arens later plated two more runs with a two-run double to left center. Madsen capped the scoring in the frame for UVU with an RBI single up the middle. 
 
Air Force then responded in the top of the ninth with a pair of insurance runs, however, to put the game away.  
 
AFA's starter John Byrnes was credited with the win to improve to 2-1 on the season while UVU's Cole Yocum (0-1) was tagged with the loss. Relievers Devin Smith, Spenser Triplet, Blake Zeleny and Pedro Perdomo all pitched well for Utah Valley late in the ballgame, as they combined to surrender just three earned runs on six hits while striking out 10 over the final 6.1 innings. 
 
Poulsen led UVU offensively on the day by going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double and a walk, while Arens went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk, and Marco reached base five times by going a perfect 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three walks. 
 
Cayden Zimmerman and Blake Covin both had three-hit days for Air Force, while Tommy Gillman drove in three. 
 
The Wolverines will continue the busy week against Mountain West foes with the scheduled home-opening series against Boise State this Friday to Sunday, March 13-15, at the new doTERRA Field at UCCU Ballpark. Friday's opener is set for a 6 p.m. start while the teams are scheduled for a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., and the series finale is slated for Sunday at noon. With UVU's new turf field in the final stages of completion, check back at GoUVU.com or @UVUBaseball on twitter for updates if the series will get moved to a different location or if it will be played at UCCU Ballpark.