PORTLAND – Utah Valley baseball split a Saturday doubleheader with Portland at Joe Etzel Field. Portland (6-4) won the opener before UVU (7-4) won a pitcher's duel to take a 2-1 series lead.
Garrett Broussard homered in game two, and the UVU pitching staff shutout the Pilots. It marks the second combined shutout of the year for the UVU pitching staff. UVU previously shutout UC Riverside 5-0 on Feb. 24 in Mesa.
"Our pitching and defense did a great job for the last 14 innings of the day. In tough conditions, we played hard and together all day. It was a good win for the team and another step forward to what we are working to build for the program," said UVU head coach
Eddie Smith.
GAME ONE
Portland jumped out to an early 5-0 lead against UVU. The Wolverines put two runners on in the third after a base hit from
Cole Jordan and a walk to
Trey Cutchen. The two were left stranded before UVU could score.
Utah Valley broke through in the fourth after a leadoff double from
Patrick Mills, he would score a couple of hitters later, a single from
Daniel Dickinson to make it 5-1 Portland.
UVU got a run back after a solo homer from
Cole Jordan made the score 5-2. The pitching combination of
Nick Sims and
Drew Woody did not allow a hit over 4.2 innings to hold the Pilots scoreless. Dickinson went 2-for-4 in the game, and Jordan was 2-for-3.
GAME TWO
Garrett Broussard hit his second homer of the season in the fifth inning, as UVU scored the lone run in the game.
Casey Anderson got the start for UVU and went 4.0 innings allowing three hits and striking out seven in his first start of the season.
The Pilots threatened to tie or take the lead multiple times. Portland loaded the bases in the third inning and looked to take the lead, but Anderson closed the door with a strikeout to leave the bases loaded. In the fifth, UP loaded the bases for a second time before reliever
Reece Rodabaugh came up with an inning strikeout.
Following the outings from Anderson and Rodabaugh.
Davis Spencer came in for the final two innings and earned his first save of the year, allowing two hits and having two k's, but held the Pilots scoreless.
Utah Valley will wrap up the series with Portland tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. MT from Joe Etzel Field in Portland. The Wolverines will play at Northwest Nazarene on Monday, Mar. 6, at 3:00 p.m. MT.
