NORTHRIDGE, Calif – Utah Valley University baseball fell on opening day 10-6 to CSUN on Friday afternoon at Matador Field. UVU (0-1) got a pair of home runs from
Isaac Lovings in his UVU debut. They rallied to take a 6-5 lead after
Burke Camper hit a solo home run and
Matthew Schwarz scored on a balk. CSUN (1-0) came from behind with a five-run eighth inning for the win.
The Wolverines got the lead-off single from
Daniel Dickinson but stranded him before the Matadors scored two runs in the home half of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead.
Utah Valley tied the game in the top of the third inning when transfer
Isaac Lovings hit his first of two home runs on opening day to make it 2-1 CSUN. In his second at-bat of the season, Dickinson was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single from Camper.
Nate Bach recorded his first RBI of the season with a Sacrifice Fly to even the game at 2-2.
The lead didn't hold up for long as Kevin Fitzer put CSUN in front with a two-run homer to left to make it 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning.
In the sixth inning, the Wolverines looked to get the offense going against the CSUN bullpen.
Garrett Broussard hit a one-out double to right center before Lovings hit a two-run shot to center field to tie the game at 4-4. CSUN, in the bottom of the inning, regained a 5-4 lead.
This time, Utah Valley shot back and took their first lead after a lead-off homer from
Burke Camper tied the game, and
Matthew Schwarz doubled with two outs. The Wolverines had two runners on base after
Cole Jordan walked. The two runners advanced on a wild pitch before getting another base on a balk, allowing Schwarz to score.
Braden Boisvert,
Gray Bailey, and
Eli Sundquist all made their UVU debuts on Friday. Boisvert took a no-decision after going 4.0 innings of work. Bailey finished with 2.2 innings of one-hit ball with a pair of strikeouts, and Sundquist followed with 1.1 innings and a strikeout.
Lovings finished 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBIs, and a walk in his UVU debut. Schwarz and Camper each added a pair of hits.
The Wolverines and Matadors will play game two of the series tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. MT. They will play a single game tomorrow and wrap up the series on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. MT. UVU will then bus to Riverside and play the Highlanders on Sunday around 5:30 p.m. MT.
