STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Utah Valley University split a Saturday doubleheader with Tarleton State University at the Tarleton Baseball Complex. UVU (27-25, 17-10) won the opening game of the day, 11-7, before dropping the nightcap to Tarleton State (26-26, 16-11).
 
"That was another nice series win. There were some great performances on the mound from Eli Sundquist and Robby Butenschoen to secure Game 1. In Game 2, it was great to see Ethan Fowlks have perhaps his best outing of the season. He will be counted on heavily down the stretch," said UVU head coach Eddie Smith.
 
The Wolverines reached two milestones in the games. They became the first team in the country to hit 100 homers and be hit 100 times. UVU was third nationally in hit-by-pitch entering the weekend, trailing only UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount.
 
Utah Valley reached the 100-homer plateau and became the first WAC program since 2010 to have triple-digit homers and the first in the modern BBCOR era. New Mexico State was the last program to reach the mark back in 2010.
 
GAME ONE
Utah Valley jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning after loading the bases on singles by Daniel Dickinson and Burke Camper before Calyn Halvorson was hit by a pitch. UVU's Cole Jordan and Nate Bach each singled to bring home runs and make it 2-0 UVU. Jayden Smith lifted a fly ball that was caught but hit it deep enough for a run to score to go up 3-0. The big blow of the inning came on a home run by Isaac Lovings to cap the inning's scoring.
 
Tarleton State chipped back into the game, scoring two runs in the second inning before the Wolverines came back up in the fourth inning with Lovings and Matthew Schwarz working a pair of walks to put two runners on base for Dickinson, who doubled home a run and made it 7-5. UVU capitalized on a defensive error by the Texans and made it 8-5 on a ground ball that was hit right back to the pitcher; the attempted throw home was sailed to the backstop and allowed everyone to reach.
 
Leading 8-5 heading to the bottom of the sixth, Tarleton State scored a run to cut the lead to 8-6 with a sacrifice fly and thought they had cut the deficit to one at 8-7 on a home run, but the hitter was called out on appeal after not touching home.
 
The Wolverines got right back on the board with a one-out double by Smith, who scored on the next hitter when Broussard singled to make it 9-6. Utah Valley wasn't done yet, though, as they tacked on a run in the eighth inning. Bach singled home a pair of runs to make the game an 11-6 advantage for UVU, who looked to add more on a single from Smith, but Trace Morrison came up with a throw home to get the runner trying to score from second.
 
Eli Sundquist made his second appearance on the weekend, tossed 2 1/3 innings, allowing only one hit, and struck out five on the day. He earned his first save of the year. Robby Butenschoen earned the win and improved to 5-0 on the season with 4 1/3 innings on three hits and two runs.
 
Dickinson, Camper, Bach, Smith, and Broussard had two hits in the game. The Wolverines as a team have tallied 150 multi-hit games as a team.
 
GAME TWO
The Texans held a 1-0 lead heading into the visitor's half of the third inning when the UVU offense took their first lead. Schwarz recorded a single to center field before Camper drew a walk to put two runners on base. They both moved up a base on a groundout and scored on a single by Jordan to put Utah Valley in front 2-1.
 
The Wolverines added to their lead with a pair of runs in the fifth inning that started with three consecutive hits by Dickinson, Camper, and Halvorson. The last single by Halvorson allowed a run to score and make it 3-1 while moving Camper to third base, who scored on an error at second base to make it 4-1, Wolverines.
 
UVU starter Chase Hennessey helped set the tone early, going 1 1/3 innings and having a pair of first-inning strikeouts. Ethan Fowlks came in and got into a groove, tossing 3 2/3 innings on four strikeouts before the thunderstorms rolled through Stephenville, and the game had to be delayed over two hours. After the delay, Tarleton State's bats came alive, and they scored seven runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to take a 9-4 lead and went on to win the game.
 
Utah Valley returns to UCCU Ballpark for a three-game series against Grand Canyon. The series begins on Thursday, May 16 at 6:05 p.m. MT, with the second game being played on Friday, May 17 at 6:05 p.m. MT. The series wraps up with a 12:05 p.m. MT start on Saturday, May 18.