OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball fell 12-6 on Saturday afternoon to Tarleton State University at UCCU Ballpark. UVU (25-15, 10-5) was led offensively by Luke Iverson, Brody Block, and DJ Massey, who recorded three hits in the contest. TSU (16-25, 5-7) pulled away with a six-run sixth inning.
 
Utah Valley took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after the first two hitters reached base with singles by Iverson and Frei. Mason Strong put the Wolverines in front on a groundout later in the inning with runners on the corners.
 
UVU starting pitcher, Colton Kennedy, worked a 1-2-3 first inning with a pair of strikeouts before the inning ended on a foul out. The Texans quickly took their first lead with three hits in the second, with the big blast coming from Tyson Drake, who homered to left to put them up 3-1.
 
The Wolverines had a big inning on their mind in the second inning, starting with a single by Block, who ended the day 3-for-4 with a walk, before a pitch hit CJ Colyer to put two runners on base and no one out. UVU plated a run when Massey doubled down the left field line to make it 3-2, but Tarleton State's Jake Burcham recorded the final two outs and kept his team in front.
 
The Wolverines kept it close, including chipping the TSU lead down to 4-3 in the fifth inning when Dominic Longo II reached on a throwing error and moved to second on a single by Strong. Trailing 4-2 with the tying run on base, Block delivered again with a single up the middle to make it 4-3.
 
In the late innings, Utah Valley trailed 11-3, and they looked to come back as they loaded the bases with singles by Massey and Iverson before Landon Frei walked. Following a pitching change, Longo II walked to make it 11-4. They cut the lead down to 11-5 on a sacrifice fly by Strong before Nate Bach singled to make it 11-6. The bases remained loaded after new Tarleton State pitcher Andrew Hardin walked Block, but he got the next two hitters on a lineout and strikeout.
 
Kennedy finished with 5 1/3 innings on seven hits and six strikeouts and took his first loss of the season. Jacob Heppner added 3 1/3 innings of relief, and Cooper Littledike tossed 1/3, including a strikeout.
 
Strong recorded his 20^th multi-hit game of the season and has now hit safely in 12 games, while Frei has now reached in 39 games, and Iverson in 38 consecutive games.
 
UP NEXT
The Wolverines will stay at home with the two in-state rivalry games this week, starting on Monday, Apr. 21, at 6:00 p.m. MT against BYU and on Tuesday, Apr. 22, against Utah at 6:00 p.m. MT. The games mark the only visits this season by the local Big 12 foes.