Utes Complete Doubleheader Sweep of UVSC

Friday, April 7

Orem, Utah

6:00 PM

University of Utah

16-12

Utah Valley State (DH)

9-24

Univ. of Utah

Utah Valley State

4/7/2006 12:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 7, 2006

Box Score

OREM, Utah - The University of Utah baseball team completed a doubleheader sweep over Utah Valley State Friday night with a 12-6 win in the nightcap. Sophomore reliever Rory James tossed five shutout innings of relief and the Ute offense rapped out 18 hits in the win.

Utah (16-12) put five runs on the board in the top of the first. Back-to-back doubles from shortstop Ryan Khoury and second baseman Bret Baldwin gave the Utes a 1-0 lead after just two batters had come to the plate. Utah led 3-0 after a sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Erich Kemp. Right fielder Joe Mozeleski then pounded a two-run home run to left field to give Utah a 5-0 lead before UVSC notched its first at-bat.

Utah Valley (9-24) got to Ute starter Eric King for a single run in the first to make it 5-1. Khoury led off the second inning with a solo home run to left field, putting Utah up 6-1. UVSC took advantage of two hits and three walks by King in the bottom of the inning to halve its deficit and get within 6-3.

Utah answered with three two-out runs in the third. Ute catcher Adam Frank was hit by a pitch, followed by a walks to left fielder Corey Shimada and Khoury. Frank came home on a wild pitch. Shimada and Khoury scored on a two-run single from first baseman Jay Brossman, making it 9-3.

The Wolverines picked up two more runs off King in the bottom of the third. Utah increased its lead to 10-5 in the fifth when Brossman delivered an RBI single.

UVSC answered with a single run of its own in the fifth. But it could have been more. King allowed a single and hit a batter to open the inning, before giving way to James. Utah Valley's Kade Boyer greeted James with an RBI single up the middle. Jason Zundel then reached on a bunt single, loading the bases with nobody out. But James got Keiki Albino to fly out to Mozeleski, who pegged UVSC's Cory Newton, who was trying to score on the sacrifice fly. The double play helped James get out of the jam as he retired the next batter to escape the inning with a 10-6 advantage.

From there, James cruised. He retired the Wolverines in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, before allowing a single base hit in the ninth. James (2-0) worked five innings of relief, scattering three hits and striking out two, to pick up the victory.

The Utes picked up a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Shimada ripped a one-out double down the right-field line and came around to score when Newton, the UVSC catcher, threw the ball into center field for an error. Khoury scored the Utes' final run of the night on another Brossman RBI single.

Brossman finished the game 5-for-6 with four RBIs and one run scored. Khoury was 3-for-5 with four runs scored and one RBI. Shimada tacked on three hits in four at-bats, while scoring three times.

The Utes and Wolverines will wrap up their four-game series Saturday afternoon at Wolverine Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

-UU-