TX – Stephenville At the Tarleton Baseball Complex on Saturday, Utah Valley University and Tarleton State University shared a doubleheader. After defeating Tarleton State (26-26, 16-11) in the nightcap, UVU (27-25, 17-10) emerged victorious in the first game of the day, 11-7.
“It was a good series victory once again. Eli Sundquist and Robby Butenschoen both had fantastic outings on the mound to secure Game 1. It was wonderful to witness Ethan Folks having what may have been his greatest performance of the year in Game 2. Eddie Smith, the head coach of UVU, said, “He will be heavily counted on down the stretch.”
During the games, the Wolverines accomplished two goals. They made history by being the first team in the nation to hit 100 home runs and get 100 hits.
With just UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount ahead of it, UVU was third in the country in terms of hit-by-pitch going into the weekend.
After hitting the 100-homer mark, Utah Valley became the first WAC program to achieve triple-digit homers since 2010, as well as the first in the BBCOR era. In 2010, New Mexico State was the final program to hit that threshold.
FIRST GAME
Daniel Dickinson and Burke Camper singled to load the bases before a fastball hit Calyn Halvorson, giving Utah Valley a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Cole Jordan and Nate Bach of UVU each singled to score one run apiece, making the score 2-0.
Jayden Smith hit a caught fly ball with a lift that went deep enough to score a run and put the team ahead 3-0. Isaac Lovings’ home run to close the inning’s scoring dealt the major blow.
After Tarleton State scored two runs in the second inning, the Wolverines regained control of the game in the fourth inning. Lovings and Matthew Schwarz each walked two batters, putting two runners on base for Dickinson, who doubled home a run to make it 7-5.
A ground ball that was hit straight back to the pitcher allowed UVU to take advantage of a defensive blunder by the Texans, making it 8-5. The attempt to throw home was mishandled and went straight to the backstop, allowing everyone to reach.
Tarleton State was ahead 8-5 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. They scored a run on a sacrifice fly to make it 8-6, and they believed they had closed the gap to one at 8-7 on a home run, but the hitter was ruled out on appeal for failing to touch home.
Smith gave the Wolverines a quick response, scoring on a one-out double by the following batter, Broussard, to make it 9-6.
But Utah Valley was far from finished, as they added another run in the eighth inning. After Bach drove in two more to give UVU an 11-6 lead, Smith singled to try to extend the lead, but Trace Morrison stopped the runner attempting to score from second base with a throw home.
In his second outing of the weekend, Eli Sundquist pitched 2 1/3 innings, giving up only one hit while striking out five batters overall. His first save of the year was earned by him. With 4 1/3 innings pitched on three hits and two runs, Robby Butenschoen won the victory and raised his record to 5-0 on the year.
Throughout the game, Dickinson, Camper, Bach, Smith, and Broussard each got two hits. Together, the Wolverines have recorded 150 games with multiple hits.
GAME TWO
When the UVU offense got its first lead in the third inning, the Texans were ahead 1-0 going into the visitor’s half of the inning. Before Camper took a walk to put two runners on base, Schwarz recorded a single to center field. After a groundout, they both advanced a base, and Jordan’s single put Utah Valley ahead 2-1.
Dickinson, Camper, and Halvorson hit three straight hits to start the fifth inning, which saw the Wolverines add two more runs to their advantage.
After advancing Camper to third base and allowing a run to score on an error at second base, Halvorson’s last single made it 3-1. This made it 4-1 for the Wolverines.
With two strikeouts in the first inning during his 1 1/3 innings as the starter for UVU, Chase Hennessey contributed to setting the tone early. Before the thunderstorms moved through Stephenville and forced a two-hour delay in the game, Ethan Fowlks settled into a rhythm, pitching 3 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. Following the interruption, Tarleton State’s bats came to life, scoring one run in the eighth and seven in the sixth to take a 9-4 lead and win the game.
Utah Valley will play Grand Canyon in a three-game series at UCCU Ballpark. The first game of the series is scheduled for Thursday, May 16 at 6:05 p.m. MT, while the second game is scheduled for Friday, May 17 at the same time. On Saturday, May 18, at 12:05 p.m. MT, the series comes to an end.
