RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Utah Valley baseball won the series finale, 10-7 in 11 innings on Monday against UC Riverside. UVU (2-2) took the lead in the 11^th on a single from Landon Frei and added two more on a home run from Pacific University transfer, CJ Colyer. Garrett Miller was lights out on the mound in the final two innings, striking out five UCR (2-2) hitters.
 
"The guys came out ready to fight today, and that's just what they did. We had some great individual performances that came stacked on top of one another. It was great to end the series on a high note," said UVU head coach Nate Rasmussen.
 
For the first time in 2025, the Wolverines scored in the first inning when Luke Iverson scored on a wild pitch. The lead held up until the bottom of the second inning when the Highlanders answered back with two runs against Utah Valley starter Aaron Rice, who went 3 1/3 innings allowing only two hits.
 
Trailing 3-1 heading to the top of the fifth inning, the Wolverines put runners on the corner after DJ Massey walked and Iverson singled to center field. The duo made it 3-2 when they pulled off a double steal. Iverson scored his second of three runs on the day, later in the inning when Mason Strong reached on a ground ball to short.
 
Cooper Littledike made his debut for the Wolverines and tossed 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and struck out three hitters. Luke Kimmel pitched a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts.
 
The pitching performances gave the offense a chance to come alive, and the offense responded in the eighth, starting with a double by Mason Strong down the left field line before Colyer singled
against UCR's Friday starter Kurt Marton, who made his second appearance of the weekend. The Wolverines took a 6-3 lead when Dominic Longo II homered to left field on a 3-2 pitch. After Marton retired the next two hitters, Iverson added a solo shot to centerfield to make it 7-3.
 
After the Highlanders rallied on Saturday, they looked to get something going in the eighth inning against George Albrecht. Still, UVU went around the horn for an inning-ending double play to eliminate the threat. UCR, however, did rally and tie the game in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
 
Miller struck out the side in the bottom of the tenth inning and UVU's offense did not waste time with singles by Jimmy De Anda and Frei and with two outs, following a UCR pitching change to Saturday's starter Matthew O'Brien, Colyer homered to left field to give the Wolverines a 10-7 lead.
 
Miller then quickly retired the Highlanders in order to secure his first win as a Wolverine after transferring from the College of Southern Idaho.

UP NEXT
Utah Valley will play a four-game series starting Thursday, Feb. 20, at Excite Ballpark in San Jose against the Spartans. Thursday and Friday's game will air on the Mountain West Network, but no stream will be available for Saturday and Sunday.