OREM, Utah – UT Rio Grande Valley won the opening game of the weekend series, 3-1 over Utah Valley. UVU (17-16, 4-7) put the game-tying runs in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth but was unable to score. UTRGV (19-13, 7-6) hit two home runs in the fourth that held up the rest of the way.
"It was great to see the competitive effort tonight. We came up one hit short against a very good UTRGV team," said UVU head coach
Eddie Smith.
The Vaqueros pushed a run across in the second inning on a fielder's choice to take a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines looked to tie the game in the second inning. A one-out
Trey Cutchen single to center field began the inning, and he later moved to second on a fielding error that allowed
Cole Jordan to reach first. UTRGV held strong to prevent the runners from scoring.
UVU, in the third inning, loaded the bases after walks were issued to
Patrick Mills,
Luke Iverson, and
Matthew Schwarz. A lineout ended the inning and kept the lead at 1-0 in favor of UTRGV.
The Wolverines broke through in the fifth inning following a single from
Daniel Dickinson. He has now reached base safely in 21 consecutive games. Mills walked to put runners on first and second, and later they moved up 90 feet on a double steal.
Matthew Schwarz brought home a run on a groundout to make it 3-1.
UVU starter
Logan Gerling went 4.0 innings, allowing six hits and three runs. The bullpen quieted the UTRGV bats in the final five innings.
Mitch Mueller threw 3.0 innings, allowing one hit and six punchouts. In the sixth, he struck out the side. Freshman
Colton Kennedy went the final 2.0 innings, not allowing a hit.
Utah Valley started a late comeback after a leadoff single from
Brandon Luna in the ninth before Mills added a double to right field to put the tying run in scoring position. Iverson was intentionally walked before a groundout ended the game.
Utah Valley and UTRGV will play game two of the three-game series on Apr. 15 at 2:05 p.m. MT. The series will conclude on Apr. 16 at 12:05 p.m. MT. Utah Tech visits UCCU Ballpark on Monday, Apr. 17, for a 6:05 p.m. MT first pitch. It will not count toward the WAC standings.
