Wolverines escape shutout late as Utes win 14-1

Utah Valley fell 14-1 to the Utah Utes on Tuesday night. The Utes finished with 20 hits, while the Wolverines only had six. This loss brings UVU to 7-27 on the season.

Utah was able to capitalize on both pitching trouble from the Wolverines as well as scoreless pitching from four Utes pitchers — including their starter on the mound, Ben Kibbe, who threw four scoreless innings and only gave up two hits during the night. On the other hand, the Wolverines shuffled players continuously, including eight pitchers throwing in the game. 

The top of the fourth inning had the Utes up 3-0 when Jaylon McLaughlin hit an RBI single. Trey Clarkson followed up with a home run hit down the left field line to bring in two teammates, bringing the Utah lead to 7-0. Things continued to roll the Utes’ way through the rest of the game. 

The Wolverines were down 13-0 in the bottom of the eighth, when the Utes’ pitcher Owen Mortensen threw a wild pitch. Designated hitter Pacen Hayes advanced to second base due to the loose ball, and outfielder Andrew Hacker was able to move into home and succeeded in putting UVU on the scoreboard. 

The UVU team heads out on a two-week road trip beginning this weekend. Their first stop is to play a four-game series at California Baptist in Riverside, California this upcoming weekend (April 23-25). CBU is currently No. 1 in the Western Athletic conference, standing at 21-11.  The Wolverines will then head south to face Dixie State the next week (April 30-May 2), who are sitting at No. 6 in the WAC with a record of 11-23.