Box Score GREELEY, Colo. – Utah Valley baseball outslugged Northern Colorado, 14-13, on Sunday afternoon at Jackson Field. Mason Strong finished 4-for-5 for UVU (8-8) with Dominic Longo II and Kevin Parker Jr. adding homers in the win. UNC (5-11) took an early lead before UVU rallied and never looked back.
 
"Great job of competing through adversity today. We are figuring out how to win tight ball games. Tremendous opportunity for us tomorrow," said UVU head coach Nate Rasmussen.
 
The Wolverines looked to strike early, with the first two hitters reaching base before the Bears turned a double play to put a runner on third with two outs. It did not matter though as Strong tripled in the game's first run to make it 1-0.
 
The Bears answered right back and took a 6-1 lead heading to the third inning when the Wolverines chipped away, starting with a triple from Jayden Smith that brought home one run, and scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-3. They later loaded the bases after walks to Strong and Nate Bach, with Longo II being hit by a pitch. It became 6-4 after a failed pickoff attempt, and the throw from the pitcher went into centerfield to allow everyone a free base. Joe McBride grounded out, but a run scored to make it a one-run ballgame.
 
Utah Valley took their first lead after Jimmy De Anda drew a walk and stole second base with Parker Jr. at the plate, who launched a home run to left field to go up 8-6. UVU was not done yet with back-to-back singles from Iverson and Smith. The base runners pulled off a double steal, with Smith taking second on a throwing error, which allowed Iverson to score. Utah Valley led 9-6 heading to the home half of the third inning.
 
Carston Herman relieved UVU starter Aaron Rice and went three innings with three strikeouts, but he did not factor in the decision. The Bears responded with a pair of runs in the fourth to make it a one-run game. Utah Valley responded in the fifth inning with two runs of their own on three consecutive extra-base hits that started with Smith's second triple of the game and doubles by Landon Frei and Strong.
 
It is the second time in this series that a player has hit two triples in a game, with Iverson having two in yesterday's second game.
 
The Bears came back to tie the game in the sixth inning. A two-out rally swung the game in UVU's favor, with singles from Strong and Nate Bach before Longo II went deep to go up 14-11.
 
Colorado native George Albrecht was in the game when UVU took the lead and earned his first win of the season. He finished with 2 2/3 innings of four-hit ball with a strikeout. The Bears threatened in the seventh inning after scoring a run to make it 14-12, but Albrecht's lone strikeout ended the threat.
 
Northern Colorado put the game-tying run at the plate in the eighth inning, and UVU turned to Carter Krosky, who recorded a pair of groundouts before Luke Kimmel came in and struck out the final hitter of the inning to strand the tying run 90 feet from home.
 
Utah Valley looked to add an insurance run in the ninth with runners on the corners before Bach stole second, but the UNC staff held strong and did not allow a run. The Bears put the tying run on base before Joey Harmon came in and recorded his first save of the season on a strikeout, groundout, and popout.
 
The Wolverines have now tallied 24 extra-base hits in the series, with seven of them being triples.
 
The Wolverines will go for the five-game sweep tomorrow (Mar. 10) at 12:05 p.m. MT. The game will be on the Summit League Network on Midco Sports Plus. Utah Valley returns home for a four-game series on Friday, Mar. 14, against Embry-Riddle. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. MT.