OREM, Utah – Senior Alexander Marco delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh and fellow senior Spenser Triplett came on to record a six-out save to help propel UVU to a 7-5 victory over New Mexico State in UVU's 2021 home finale on Sunday afternoon at UCCU Ballpark.
 
With the win, UVU splits the four-game series against the defending WAC champion NM State Aggies to improve to 9-38 overall and 7-25 in league play. New Mexico State falls to 19-27 on the season and 16-16 in conference play with the setback.
 
"Nick Sims gave us a great start and I give the guys a lot of credit for battling back after we fell behind for a bit there. I think we took advantage of the situation that we were in and got the hits when we needed them," interim head coach David Carter said. "I'm also proud of Spenser coming on and doing a nice job for us down the stretch. He stayed on the plate and trusted in his defense and we did what we needed to do to get the victory." 
 
Trailing 4-3 in the seventh, UVU loaded the bases with nobody out following consecutive singles from Mitch Moralez and Garrett Broussard, as well as senior Kade Poulsen reaching on an HBP. The fellow senior Marco then delivered his clutch two-run double down the leftfield line to put the Wolverines back on top at 5-4. After Brandon Luna was intentionally walked to again load the bases, Drew Sims drove in a run on a fielding error by NMSU's pitcher and Jake Plecas capped the scoring for UVU in the frame with an RBI sacrifice fly to center to bring in Marco and give the Wolverines a late 7-4 advantage.
 
The Aggies then struck back with a run in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Tommy Tabak, but UVU's Triplett responded by retiring the next two hitters he faced to keep it a 7-5 score. NM State then got a lead-off double from Ethan Mann in the ninth, but again Triplett battled back by retiring the next three hitters he faced—including back-to-back strikeouts to end the ballgame.
 
Triplett allowed just one run on three hits while striking out four over the final two innings to earn his fourth save of the season. Devin Smith (1-3) was credited with the win in relief after striking out three over 2.1 innings of work. UVU starter Nick Sims too pitched well for the Wolverines on the day, as he surrendered just two runs on three hits while fanning four over 4.2 innings of action. NM State reliever Ian Mejia was tagged with the loss to drop to 1-3. 
 
Moralez and Tavyn Lords each collected three hits apiece to lead the way for UVU offensively on the day, while Broussard and Marco both went 2-for-4 and Marco drove in a team-high two runs. Tabak and Zerek Saenz paced NMSU by each going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
UVU got off to a quick start thanks to back-to-back-to-back hits in the bottom of the first to jump out to a 1-0 advantage. Moralez started things off with a double to left center and Broussard followed with an infield single to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Poulsen then drove in Moralez with an RBI single to right to put UVU on the board. 
 
The Wolverines later tacked on two more runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0. Jake Plecas started the rally by drawing a walk and Mick Madsen followed by reaching on an error to put Madsen on first with two outs in the frame. Lords then pulled a ball down the first-base line and into the rightfield corner to bring Madsen all the way around from first for an RBI triple. Moralez then plated Lords with a two-out RBI single to give the Wolverines the three-run advantage. 
 
The Aggies then managed to load the bases with two outs in the fifth to get to UVU's bullpen. Cal Villareal then delivered a two-out two-run single to right to pull NM State with a run at 3-2. UVU reliever Devin Smith then responded by drawing an inning-ending pop-out off the bat of Brandon Dieter to maintain the lead for the Wolverines.
 
NM State then got back-to-back doubles from Zach Smits and Ronnie Allen Jr. in the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. With NMSU's Jason Bush later standing on third with two away, Saenz delivered the go-ahead RBI single at the time through the right side to give the Aggies their first lead of the day at 4-3. 
 
UVU later responded with the four-run seventh to earn the come-from-behind victory. 
 
The weekend marked senior weekend for UVU, as the Wolverines previously honored their four seniors—Marco, Poulsen, Jesse Schmit and Triplett—on Saturday. 
 
The Wolverines will next head to Salt Lake City for its final in-state contest of the season, as they'll face the Utah Utes at Smith's Ballpark on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Following the contest, UVU will head to Albuquerque to take on the New Mexico Lobos in a three-game non-conference series Friday to Sunday, May 14-16. Utah Valley will then cap its regular-season with a big four-game series at Seattle U May 20-22 with a spot to the WAC Tournament on the line.