OREM, Utah – Utah Valley rallied with five runs in the bottom of the ninth for their first walk-off win of the season. Freshmen
Luke Iverson delivered the game-winning two-run knock for UVU (14-10) to defeat BYU (8-15). The Wolverines split the season series with the Cougars.
"It was a great win for our team. We played hard to the last pitch and ended up on top," said UVU head coach
Eddie Smith.
The rally started with one out in the ninth on a walk to
Patrick Mills before
Spencer Olsen reached on an error. Mills and pinch runner
Braxton Vick moved up 90 feet after a miscommunication on a pickoff attempt, and the throw went down the line.
Trey Cutchen reached on an infield chopper that was mishandled at first base, allowing Mills to score from first to make it 8-5.
Cole Jordan added an RBI single to right field to score Vick, making it 8-6.
Brandon Luna singled on a full count to score Cutchen and make it an 8-7 lead for BYU. The runners moved up 90 feet on a groundout from
Garrett Broussard.
Luke Iverson hit a grounder through the right side to secure as pinch runner
Cameron Rowe slid under the tag for the 9-8 victory.
BYU scored four runs in the top first inning on a grand slam from Cooper Vest to go up 4-0. In the bottom of the first, the Wolverines chipped away at the deficit, scoring on an RBI double by Cutchen. In the second,
Lucas Piper hit his first home run as a Wolverine to cut the lead into a 4-2 lead, and in the third, they tied the game at 4-4 on an RBI triple from Cutchen and Luna's first RBI of the game.
The Cougars scored one in the fourth, regained the lead at 5-4, and then added two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth before the UVU rally in the ninth.
Nick Sims pitched 1.1 innings with four strikeouts for UVU, as
Colton Kennedy picked his second win of the season after going 2.0 innings, giving up one hit and three punchouts.
Utah Valley will remain at home this weekend for a three-game WAC series against Grand Canyon. The series starts on Friday, Mar. 31, with a 6:05 p.m. MT start. The two teams will play on Saturday, Apr. 1 at 2:05 p.m. MT with the finale scheduled for Sunday, Apr. 2 at 12:05 p.m. MT.
