HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Utah Valley evened the series with a 15-9 win over Sam Houston on Saturday afternoon at Don Sanders Stadium. UVU (21-17, 7-8) used a season-high 15 runs and 16 hits while holding off a late rally from the potent Sam Houston (23-17, 15-5) offense. Garrett Broussard was 4-for-5 with three runs scored in the victory. Daniel Dickinson and Brandon Luna had three RBIs.
 
"It was a good bounce-back win for our team. Winning is never easy, so to take a game on the road against the top team in the league was a great achievement for our team," said UVU head coach Eddie Smith.
 
Utah Valley jumped on Sam Houston starter Steven Beard, scoring four runs in the second inning. Burke Camper started with a single to left field before Broussard lined a double to the wall in the left field. Brandon Luna drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases before Weston Peninger was hit by a pitch to make it 1-0. Freshman Daniel Dickinson made his reached base streak 26 with a double to right center to bring home two more and put UVU up 3-0. Calyn Halvorson had this first of three hits with a single through the left side to bring home one and put the Wolverines up 4-0. Later in the inning, Patrick Mills got a run home on a sac fly to make it 5-0 UVU.
 
UVU starting pitcher Jayse Burkett held the Bearkats scoreless through two innings, and the Wolverines' offense continued to back him in the third, adding four more runs in the inning that started with back-to-back walks to Cole Jordan and Camper. The two baserunners moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch before Broussard singled up the middle to give UVU a 6-0 lead. The big hit in the inning was a three-run bomb to right for his first big fly of the season, giving the Wolverines a 9-0 lead.
 
Sam Houston rallied and scored two in the bottom of the third inning after RBIs from Walker Janek and Myles Jefferson. Burkett's day ended after 2.2 innings on five hits and two earned runs. He picked up a no-decision.
 
The Wolverines answered in the fourth when they got one back and went up 10-2, as Matthew Schwarz scored from third as Camper got caught in a rundown.
 
Following the Bearkats scoring one run to make it 10-3. UVU jumped back on the offensive attack in the fifth. Broussard singled to start the inning before Luna drew a walk. A bunt by Peninger that was perfectly placed toward third loaded the bases with no one out. The next two runs were scored after Dickinson and Halvorson were both hit by a pitch. The 12-3 lead was extended after groundouts by Mills and Schwartz, putting UVU in front 14-3. A two-out single from Jordan that scored Mills gave UVU a 15-3 advantage.
 
Sam Houston slowly started chipping away at the UVU lead. They would score two in the fifth, seventh, and eighth innings to make it 15-9. Devin Smith (2-1) picked up the win in relief. He finished with 2.1 innings, allowing four hits and three runs. He gave way to Colton Kennedy for the next two innings, followed by Mitch Mueller, who went the final two innings, allowing one hit with four strikeouts.
 
Dickinson, Luna, Halvorson, and Mills all had multi-RBI games. Five UVU hitters finished with multi-hit games in the victory today. Broussard, Halvorson, Dickinson, Camper, and Peninger paced the UVU offensive attack.
 
The Wolverines and Bearkats will decide the series on Sunday, Apr. 23, at 10:05 a.m. MT. The game was moved up due to impending weather in the Huntsville area. The Wolverines will return to UCCU Ballpark on Wednesday, Apr. 26, for a 6:05 p.m. MT game against Washington State. WAC play resumes next week in the Old Hammer Rivalry against Utah Tech in St. George.