OREM, Utah – Utah Valley baseball dropped its 2026 home opener Friday evening, falling 10-9 to UC Riverside at UCCU Ballpark. Mason Strong finished 3-for-4 at the plate, while Kaden Carpenter drove in three runs in a 2-for-5 effort against UCR (3-6). Evan Chavez went 3-for-4 with a home run for the Highlanders.
 
The Wolverines plated the game's first four runs in the second inning. Chipper Beck tripled to left-center field to score Strong and give UVU a 1-0 lead. Derek Houston followed with a groundout to make it 2-0. With two outs, Carpenter delivered a two-run single to score DJ Massey and Luke Iverson and cap the four-run frame.
 
Colton Kennedy made his first home start of the 2026 season and worked 4 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. The performance moved him into eighth place in the UVU career strikeouts record book with 138, passing Adam Gunn (2012-13) and Mason Gray (2019-22).
 
The Highlanders answered with runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the game at 4-4. UVU hitters drew 10 walks in the contest, and free passes to Massey and Mason Hamlin helped the Wolverines regain the lead in the fourth. Carpenter drove in his third run of the game to give UVU a 5-4 advantage.
 
Utah Valley erased an 8-5 deficit in the sixth inning. Iverson doubled to left-center field to open the frame, and the Wolverines took advantage of a Highlander miscue when Hunter Katschke reached on a throwing error that scored a run and kept the inning alive. Strong tied the game at 8-8 with a line-drive single to center field but was stranded at third to end the rally.
 
Bradley Gilbert tossed a five-pitch seventh inning to keep the game tied. UVU put runners in scoring position with two outs as Smith and Iverson reached, but the Highlanders escaped without allowing a run.
 
UC Riverside took a 9-8 lead in the eighth on a one-out single that landed just inside the left-field line. The Highlanders later added an insurance run on a UVU throwing error. Carpenter recovered in right field and threw home to cut down a runner at the plate to limit the damage.
 
The Wolverines looked for late magic in the ninth inning when Brody Block worked a six-pitch walk, and Smith followed with a nine-pitch walk. Massey laid down a bunt down the third-base line to load the bases with no outs. UVU pulled within 10-9 on Iverson's sacrifice fly, but UCR's Matt Hudson retired Hamlin on a flyout to right, and Cooper Brass recorded the final out with the bases loaded.
 
UP NEXT
Utah Valley and UC Riverside continue the series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 12:05 p.m. MT. Both games will air on ESPN+. The series finale is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. Sunday.