OREM, Utah – Utah Valley won the second game of the three-game series over UT Rio Grande Valley, 11-2. UVU (18-16, 5-7) used four home runs on the day to get past UTRGV (19-14, 7-7).
Cole Jordan hit two homers on the day, and
Matthew Schwarz finished 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. Junior
Garrett Broussard hit his third big fly of the year.
"That might be the most complete game we have played as a team in two seasons. Now we have the opportunity to build on that and go do it again tomorrow," said UVU head coach
Eddie Smith.
The Wolverines trailed 1-0 after UTRGV scored against starter
Jayse Burkett. UVU didn't waste much time tying the game up at 1-1.
Daniel Dickinson reached base for the 22
nd consecutive game with a single before later scoring on a single by Schwarz.
Ethan Fowlks came in to relieve Burkett in the second after going 6.0 innings, allowing eight hits and striking out two hitters. It marks his first win of the season.
Devin Smith tossed one inning with two strikeouts, and
Reece Rodabaugh pitched the ninth with two strikeouts.
Utah Valley took the lead in the second, scoring four runs to go up 4-1. Jordan hit his first of two homers to make it 2-1. UVU added two more runs. Dickinson and Iverson were on first and second for a single from Mills to bring home Dickinson. Iverson later scored on a wild pitch to give the Wolverines a three-run advantage.
Jordan hit his second home run of the day, this time a two-run shot making it 6-1. He is the first Wolverine since
Trey Cutchen hit two against Seattle U last season.
In the fourth, UVU would plate two more runs after Iverson was hit by a pitch, and then a walk was issued to Mills. Schwarz hit a double down the right field line to score one and put both runners in scoring position.
Burke Camper made it 8-1 with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Wolverines added three runs in the eighth on a pair of home runs from Broussard and Schwarz. It was the first homer of Schwarz's UVU career to secure the 11-2 win.
Utah Valley concludes the series tomorrow with a 12:05 p.m. MT first pitch against UTRGV. UVU will host Utah Tech on Monday in a non-conference matchup before heading to Sam Houston next weekend.
