RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Utah Valley University baseball split a pair of contests on Sunday. They defeated CSUN 10-6 before dropping the nightcap to UC Riverside 8-4.
 
GAME ONE
The Wolverines struck first in the top of the first inning after Daniel Dickinson and Burke Camper walked, and Dickinson moved to third on a passed ball. Cole Jordan made it 1-0 on a sacrifice fly to center field. The lead didn't hold up long as Andrew Sojka hit a solo shot to right field to tie the game up at 1-1.
 
Utah Valley regained the lead in the third after Cougar Cooke and Dickinson were hit with pitches. Later in the inning, Calyn Halvorson flied out to center, but it would score a run to make it 2-1. Jackson Thomas made the start and tossed one inning before junior college transfer Aaron Rice came in to go the next 3.2 innings.
 
UVU opened the game up in the top of the fifth inning when Jayden Smith was hit by a pitch, and Dickinson recorded the first Wolverine hit with a single to left field. Burke Camper hit a clutch double down the left-field line to score one. Utah Valley loaded the bases for Garrett Broussard, who singled home a pair of runs to make it 5-1, and then Luke Iverson tripled to right field to clear the bases and make it 7-1 Wolverines.
 
CSUN did not go away, scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 7-4, but the Wolverines answered in the top of the sixth with a three-run homer from Calyn Halvorson making it 10-4.
 
The UVU bullpen was able to hold the lead as Robby Butenschoen went 1.0 inning with a strikeout in his UVU debut, and Nick Sims came in and recorded a strikeout to end a bases load threat for the Matadors. Matthew Schavon pitched the ninth with a strikeout and a walk.
 
Halvorson finished 2-for-4 with four RBI's in the win this morning. Camper and Dickinson each scored two runs for UVU.
 
GAME TWO
The Wolverines' starting pitcher, Colton Kennedy, allowed one hit through the first three innings, and the UCR starter held UVU hitless through five. The Highlanders took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer from Jayden Lopez.
 
Utah Valley answered back in the sixth when they took advantage of a pair of walks to Cooke, and Nate Bach put a pair of runners on base. Halvorson cut the UCR lead in half with a single through the left side to make it 2-1.
 
The Highlanders added three runs in the sixth inning to take a 4-1 lead and then tacked on four more in the seventh for the 8-1 lead. UVU started to chip away at the lead when Halvorson's single moved Camper to second; he came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 8-2.
 
Isaac Lovings and Jayden Smith reached to start the ninth inning for UVU. They loaded up the bases on a single from Dickinson before scoring their first run of the inning on a walk to Camper. Trailing 8-3, Bach supplied an RBI single on a sac fly to make it 8-4 before Tyler Gebb secured the win for UC Riverside.
 
Halvorson and Smith each finished with two hits in the loss. Jacob Beltran made his UVU debut and pitched one inning, allowing one hit.
 
The Wolverines will stay on the road next week for a matchup with WCC foe Saint Mary's that will begin on Friday, Feb 23. The two will play a doubleheader on Saturday and wrap up the series on Sunday, Feb. 25.