Baseball: UVU advances to title game behind Mayer, bats
MESA, Ariz.—Jake Mayer pitched lights out for 5.2 innings and UVU baseball used a six-run seventh inning to drop the Seattle U Redhawks 13-8 and advance to the WAC Baseball Tournament championship game. Mayer came on in relief for starter Patrick Wolfe with two outs in the top of the third inning and kept SU hitless into the ninth. Craig Brinkerhoff led the Wolverines from the plate as he went 5-for-5 with one RBI and three runs scored.
Wolfe got into a hole early with runners on the corners after Griffin Andreychuk and Dalton Hurd led off the game with back-to-back singles. Wolfe got a pair of ground-ball outs, but the Redhawks got on the board after Jake Atkinson hit batter Sean Sutton in the head on an attempt to throw the ball back to Wolfe. Sutton walked to load the bases and SU plated three runs on two more singles for a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
SU posted two more runs in the third after a double to left center by Lucas Denney for a 6-1 lead.
Mark Krueger got the Wolverines back in the game in the bottom of the fourth with his second home run in two days, this one a two-run home run into the UVU bullpen in right field to cut the SU lead to 6-3. UVU took a 7-6 lead in the sixth on a two-out single to center by Zac Willis, which scored Jordan Schlehuber from second and capped a four-run inning.
Mark Krueger hit his second home run in as many days to help bring UVU back from a 6-1 deficit. Photos courtesy of UVU Athletics.
The Wolverines blew open the game in the seventh after Spencer Gothberg capped off three-straight singles to load the bases for Justin Erlandson, who drew a walk and scored Brinkerhoff for an 8-6 lead. Jordan Schlehuber shot a two-run single to left, then Trevor Howell cleared the bases with a bunt after a throwing error by pitcher Jake Prizina sailed wide left and Howell advanced all the way around to third. After Willis struck out, Greyson Bogden capped the inning with a single through the left side of the infield and UVU took a 13-6 lead.
SU threatened in the ninth as Max Modeste sent a one-out, two-run homer into the bullpens to cut the lead to 13-8, but Logan Hold came on in relief and recorded the final two outs to complete the win.
UVU will play either Seattle U or the New Mexico State Aggies in the WAC Tournament title game Saturday, May 28, at 8 p.m. MT at Hohokam Stadium. The game will be streamed live on WAC Digital Network.
I’m a Pacific Northwest guy who loves his Pacific Northwest sports. An amateur movie buff who prefers the disc to digital. Chasing the sports writing dream while I geek out on Assassin’s Creed.