STOCKTON, Calif. – Utah Valley earned a 3-2 victory in 11 innings over the University of the Pacific in Friday's season opener. UVU (1-0) Hunter Katschke became the first Wolverine since Isaac Lovings to homer twice in his UVU debut. His solo home run tied the game in the top of the ninth, and his two-run shot was the go-ahead in the 11th.
 
The UVU pitching staff held Pacific (0-1) to just three hits while combining for 16 strikeouts, with Colton Kennedy finishing with seven, Bradley Gilbert with six, Carter Seely with one, and Maddax Peck adding two.
 
Utah Valley's leadoff man, Luke Iverson, reached in the top of the first inning after working a walk and wasted no time stealing second base to get into scoring position. The Wolverines put two runners in scoring position after Kaden Carpenter walked, but they were unable to get a run across.
 
Mason Strong finished 2-for-4 in his season debut, with both hits being doubles. His first came in the fourth inning on a double down the left-field line. He found himself at third base with one out after a passed ball. UVU had two runners in scoring position after Chipper Beck was hit by a pitch and stole second base, but Garrett Plata recorded a ground ball to end the threat.
 
Colton Kennedy was equally as tough as his counterpart, Plata, on Friday night in the season opener. The UVU senior kept the Tigers hitless into the fifth inning and tallied seven strikeouts. He now has 131 in his UVU career, which moves him into 10th place all time. He passed Blake Krahenbuhl and Patrick Wolfe.
 
The Tigers broke through in the bottom of the fifth inning when Braeden Schnabel recorded the first hit off the UVU senior with a double to deep left field to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Pacific later scored in the inning when Diego Davis singled to left to score Schnabel and make it 1-0.
 
Washington transfer Bradley Gilbert gave his team a chance to tie and win the game in the late innings. He did not allow a hit over four innings, and his six strikeouts set a new career high for the right-hander. He retired six straight hitters while working through the seventh and eighth innings.
 
Utah Valley trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the ninth inning when Katschke hit his first homer in a UVU uniform and the 25th of his NCAA Division I career to even the game with nobody out in the ninth. Iverson recorded his first hit of the season in the tenth inning for the Wolverines, but he was stranded on the basepaths. 
 
New UVU arm Carter Seely was called on from the bullpen, where he recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. Strong led off the top of the 11th with his second double on a high fly that fell when the Pacific left fielder slipped on the warning track. It was the break the Wolverines needed, with Katschke stepping to the plate and launching a deep homer over the left-field wall to make it 3-1, which was the 26th home run of his career combined between UVU and Utah Tech.
 
The Tigers cut the deficit to 3-2 when UNLV transfer Brendan O'Sullivan homered to lead off the bottom half. Pacific later put the tying and go-ahead runs on base before Maddax Peck came in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts in his first appearance as a Wolverine to secure the opening-night victory.
 
UP NEXT
Due to forecasted rain in the Stockton area, the series schedule has been altered. The two teams will return to the diamond on Saturday, Feb. 14, for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. MT / noon PT. Both games will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on pacifictigers.com.