RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Utah Valley University baseball dropped their 2025 season opener 3-2 to UC Riverside on Friday night at the Riverside Sports Complex. Corbin Kirk tossed five strong innings in his UVU (0-1) debut with five strikeouts. Fellow arms Landon Zaborowski and Jacob Heppner added solid outings on the mound. They combined for eight strikeouts of UCR (1-0) hitters.
"Our pitchers did a phenomenal job of keeping us in the game. Offensively, we did a nice job working counts and getting free bases, but ultimately, we just didn't come up with the hit when we needed it," said UVU head coach Nate Rasmussen.
The Wolverines hitters made the Highlander pitching staff work as they drew eight walks on the night that started in the first inning when Jimmy De Anda drew a free pass and later moved to second on an infield single by Nate Bach. UVU did not score, but it set the table for Kirk, who struck out two of the first three hitters faced.
Utah Valley chased UCR starter Kurt Marton in the fourth inning when Bach and Dominic Longo II reached on walks. Brody Block bunted to move the runners up, followed by Mason Strong being hit to load the bases, but Joshua Martinez worked through the jam and kept the game scoreless.
The Wolverines broke through in the fifth inning after walks were issued to De Anda, Landon Frei, and Bach to load the bases for the second straight inning. The game's first run scored on a ground out from Longo II, allowing a run to score to make it 1-0. The Highlanders answered in the home half of the inning after Ethan Bergan was thrown out by Luke Iverson trying to stretch a single into a double. They would add two hits, including an RBI single by Jacob Badawi, to tie the game up at one.
Strong led off the top of the sixth with a walk before a UC Riverside pitching change. Later in the inning, Jayden Smith singled through the left side for his 13th consecutive game in which he reached base. Luke Iverson knocked in his first run of the season with a single to put UVU in front 2-1.
In his UVU debut, Landon Zaborowski (0-1) went 1 2/3 innings despite allowing back-to-back doubles, which allowed UCR to tie the game. The Wolverines had their second outfield assist, with Iverson and Frei relaying the throw to get the runner at third base. Zaborowski got the final two hitters to keep the game tied.
UC Riverside took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jacob Heppner finished with three strikeouts on six hitters faced to give UVU a chance to rally and tie the game. The backend of the bullpen for the Highlanders stood firm for the opening day win.
The Wolverines and Highlanders will play the second game of their four-game series on Feb. 15 at 2:00 p.m. MT. Colton Kennedy will make his 2025 debut in the contest. The game will be available with an audio stream and live stats on Gohighlanders.com.
