STOCKTON, Calif. – Utah Valley University split a Saturday doubleheader with the University of the Pacific on Saturday. The Wolverines (2-1) won the first game, 9-6, but the Tigers (1-2) rallied to win the second, 13-7.
Mason Strong,
Trenton Rowan, and
Brody Block each drove in three runs for Utah Valley on Saturday.
Luke Iverson recorded his 100
th career RBI in the second game on Saturday to become the 15
th player in the NCAA era to reach the mark.
GAME 1
Utah Valley erupted for six runs in the top of the first inning, sending all nine hitters to the plate.
Jayden Smith and
Kaden Carpenter reached base and moved into scoring position after a wild pitch advanced them to second and third. Both scored to give UVU a 2-0 lead on a single from Strong. He moved to second on a wild pitch and stole third base.
The damage wasn't done yet, as Block drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before UVU put runners on second and third when
Hunter Katschke and
Mason Hamlin moved into scoring position. Arkansas transfer Rowan hit his first home run of the season to right-center field to extend the Wolverines' lead to 6-0.
Utah Valley starter
Quinn Holt went 3 2/3 innings in his debut for the Wolverines, striking out four Tigers.
Chance Wallace came out of the bullpen and recorded a groundout to strand a runner 90 feet from scoring to end the fourth inning.
Strong drove in his third run of the game on a solo home run down the left-field line to extend the lead to 7-3 in the fifth for his first of the season. UVU was not done scoring in the inning, as Hamlin started a two-out rally with an infield single before advancing on a wild pitch.
Chipper Beck pinch-hit and singled him home from second. He added a second RBI in the top of the seventh with a single through the right side to make it 9-5.
After leading Utah Valley in appearances last season,
Garrett Miller made his first appearance of 2026 and tossed three innings with two strikeouts.
Cooper Littledike worked the eighth inning and recorded a strikeout. The Tigers pushed a run across, but Carpenter threw out a runner at third base to end the inning.
Trey Jacobsen secured the win in the ninth for his first save in his initial appearance for the Wolverines.
GAME 2
The Wolverines jumped on Adan Perez in the second inning after Hamlin singled and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Beck drew a walk to put runners on the corners, and Block singled home his first of three RBIs in the game. Holding a 1-0 lead,
Derek Houston hit a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 2-0. Utah Valley doubled the lead when
Luke Iverson lined a two-run double to right field to make it 4-0, and put him over the century mark for career RBIs.
The middle of the order helped extend the lead to 5-0 after walks by Hamlin and Beck put runners on base for Block, who delivered a single up the middle.
Jacob Heppner made his first start of the season and retired the first four batters he faced before Jake Tandy singled, but the UVU defense quickly turned a double play to end the second inning. The Tigers loaded the bases in the third against the left-hander, but the Litchfield Park, Ariz., native induced an inning-ending groundout.
Pacific rallied late and capitalized on a six-run fifth inning to take its first lead of the series, 7-5. Block led off the sixth with a walk and later scored on an RBI single by Houston, who finished with a career-high two RBIs in his third career start and first of 2026.
Pacific added to its lead in the home half of the sixth with three runs to go up 10-6. Utah Valley loaded the bases in the seventh after a walk to Katschke and back-to-back singles by Hamlin and Beck. The Wolverines pushed across one run on a sacrifice fly from Block to make it 10-7. Block's three RBIs were a career high for the California native playing in his home state. Pacific would pull away with a three-run eighth inning to secure a 13-7 win.
UP NEXT
Utah Valley will conclude the series with Pacific at 12:30 p.m. MT / 11:30 a.m. PT on Sunday, Feb. 15. The Wolverines can achieve their best start through four games in the NCAA era with a win. UVU will continue its road trip with a four-game series at Nevada beginning Thursday, Feb. 19.
