Box Score SACRAMENTO – Utah Valley baseball won the final game of a three-game conference series against Sacramento State 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at John Smith Field. UVU (16-14, 4-6) had nine team hits, with three coming from
Luke Iverson, including a pair of doubles. 4.1 innings in relief from reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week,
Casey Anderson, held off a Sac State (16-15, 5-7) comeback.
"It was a great effort by our team to fight through adversity this weekend and come out on top today. There were huge performances from all of our pitchers today to get us the victory," said UVU head coach
Eddie Smith.
The UVU pitching staff shined, with starter
Devin Smith going one inning and gave way to
Nick Sims (1-0), who was credited with the win, throwing 3.1 innings and holding the Hornets to two hits on the afternoon. Anderson pitched the final 4.1 innings of the ballgame, giving up two hits and two walks. He struck out ten hitters on the 18 hitters he faced, earning his second save of the season.
The Hornets scored in the first inning to go up 1-0 after a groundout by JP Smith. The Wolverines quickly responded in the second after
Luke Iverson singled down the left field line, scoring when
Burke Camper doubled off the wall in right-center to tie the game at 1-1.
Trey Cutchen lifted a fly ball to left field to score Camper on a fly ball to give UVU a 2-1 lead for his first of two RBIs.
Utah Valley put runners in scoring position in the fourth and sixth innings. Iverson doubled in the fourth inning, and
Patrick Mills walked and then moved to second base on a groundout. In both innings, UVU was not able to get any runs home.
Late in the game, the Wolverines looked to add a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning after back-to-back singles from
Nate Bach and
Daniel Dickinson put two runners on base before a double play quieted the offensive attack.
Utah Valley broke through in the ninth inning after Iverson's second double of the game put the leadoff hitter in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third base before Cutchen doubled to bring home one run and put UVU up 3-1. A single from
Cole Jordan put runners on the corners before the threat ended.
The Wolverines will play two games with Utah next week beginning on Apr. 10 at Smith's Ballpark at 6:00 p.m. The two teams will head south and play at UCCU Ballpark on Apr. 11 for a 6:05 p.m. MT start. UVU will welcome UTRGV into Orem for a three-game series next weekend.
