SUU Baseball Splits Doubleheader in Dramatic Fashion
OREM, Utah - April 2 - Southern Utah pulled off a dramatic come from behind victory as the lights came on at Brent Brown Ballpark for a second consecutive night to split a doubleheader with the Utah Valley Wolverines on Friday night. SUU dropped game one, 10-5, but came back to score eight runs in the top of the ninth in game two to steal a 13-11 victory.
In game one, Southern Utah put up a five spot in the top of the fifth inning as the first sixth batters of the frame found their way to first base. Goldenberg led off the inning with a single and advanced to second as Brock Westphal was hit by a pitch during the next at bat.
Goldenberg then crossed home plate as Taylor Shaw hit a one-run double to left field for the first run of the inning. Another run crossed the plate on Mitchell Kauweloa's RBI single to center field, prompting Utah Valley to replace starter Ryan Chadwick with Justin Campbell.
However, the hits kept coming for the T-Birds with D.J. Andrade and Bo Cuthbertson recording RBI singles during the next two at bats. Andrade was the final SUU run to cross the plate during the inning. The five-run frame wasn't enough for Southern Utah as the team entered the inning down 6-0. Utah Valley answered the runs with four in the bottom of the inning to take the 10-5 victory.
In game two, the teams matched runs with counter runs as Utah Valley began the game with two runs in the bottom of the first, but it was quickly answered with two runs by the T-Birds in the top of the second.
Goldenberg recorded his first of two home runs on the day to tie the score in the second, 2-2. A run by UVU in the third was, once again, answered by Southern Utah in the top of the fourth on a Braden Warren RBI bunt. The trend continued as the Wolverines scored two in the bottom of the fourth, but a two-run home run by Goldenberg in the top of the fifth tied the game at 5-5.
Utah Valley scored a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth inning to take a 9-5 lead into the top of the ninth inning and looked to be well on its way to victory. However, SUU rewrote the story in the ninth inning stringing together eight runs on seven hits and one UVU error. Seven of the eight runs came before a single out was showing on the board as Levi Swenson, Matt Sanford, Bucky Aona, Goldenberg, Mitchell Kauweloa and Jeremiah Larson each recorded RBI during the frame.
Two more runs by the Wolverines in the bottom of the ninth inning pulled the scored to 13-11, but Braden Yardley came on to induce a ground ball for the final out of the frame. Yardley was awarded the save, his first of the year, while Steve Johnson collected his first victory of the season, throwing 1.1 innings of relief.
Justin Neubauer was given the loss in game one after surrendering six runs (all earned) on six hits and five walks with two strikeouts.
The two teams will wrap of the four-game series tomorrow afternoon with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
